CRAN News

Volunteer of the Month – June 2022

Congratulations to Amanda Bugarovich, our June Volunteer of the Month. Amanda, who is a foster volunteer, is also a practicing veterinarian in our community. Amanda takes on special needs kittens and bottle babies, and in her veterinary practice, she is always willing to have a look at our sick cats and kittens and provide medical care for them. Amanda, as a volunteer, has given up Saturdays to do rabies vaccine clinics for our cats.

Thank you, Amanda for all you do!

Volunteer of the Month – May 2022

Casey McNabb

Casey started volunteering as a CRAN foster in 2018. Since then, she has fostered a variety of kitties in a variety of situations: pregnant cats plus their tiny arrivals, kittens without mamas, scaredy cats needing extra loving attention, sick and delicate kitties. Through all the foster ups and downs, Casey has been a compassionate, reliable, caring foster for many CRAN kitties on their way to their forever home.

From Casey:

I came to CRAN because I wanted to help with kittens and mamas. My friend had been working with another cat rescuer and she referred me to CRAN. I had tried fostering puppies a few times for Wiggly Tails, but I’m really a cat girl. I am honored and so proud to be a CRAN foster mom.

Thank you Casey for all your work to help CRAN cats!

April 2022 Volunteer of the Month: Lisa Cassidy

Congratulations to Lisa Cassidy, CRAN’s Volunteer of the Month for April 2022!

Lisa originally started volunteering when we were West Coast Dog and Cat Rescue in 2016, helping with photos and marketing.

She has done photography AND videography for the WCDC and CRAN kitties for several years, helping our adoptable kitties present their best selves to the public.

Lisa has also helped with multiple behind the scenes tasks – scheduling photo sessions, editing photos and videos, and assisting with software.

Since the end of 2020, Lisa has worked with Lyllian on the Monthly Adoptions report, tracking all adoptions in any given month, organizing photos of the adopted kitties, and providing all of this information for monthly adoption statistics.

Lisa also audits the statistics, to make sure no one is left out.

Her work is invaluable to CRAN, making her a great nominee for Volunteer of the Month.

Thank you, Lisa!

March 2022 Volunteer of the Month: Sandy Hafdahl

Sandy started volunteering in August 2020, behind the scenes first by editing cat pictures, then recording status updates of various cats and kittens, and now she is the cat promotion lead, bringing our CRAN kitties to the attention of the adopting public, on their way to their forever homes. From Sandy about her experience with volunteering: “I became aware of CRAN when it was West Coast Dog & Cat Rescue. I have been a friend of Louanne’s forever and at the time I was working for her when she started fostering cats. I would get to know some of the cats she was fostering while I was at work. Some of them were very talkative and cute so I would have to visit them. I had been retired for a while when Louanne asked if I wanted to help with cat photos. I said yes. I really like being able to help behind the scenes getting photos and bios up on the website and it makes me feel good when I see the cats are finding homes”.

Thank you Sandy for all you are doing to help CRAN cats!

Volunteer of the Month – February 2022

Emily Schnabel

Congratulations to Emily Schnabel our February Volunteer of the Month!

Emily has been a fostering since 2020 and has also volunteered as an adoption counselor, TLC volunteer and an Advocat and she does all of this on top of being a full-time student! We asked Emily how she got started with CRAN and what she enjoys about volunteering: “As for what brought me to CRAN, a friend of mine Rebecca, had been fostering a mom and babies for you all (Macaroni and kittens- Orzo, Ziti, etc). Rebecca asked me if I would be interested in fostering Macaroni because she felt she wasn’t getting enough attention. I said yes, Kim quickly approved it, and the rest is history!

It’s been a joy to work with CRAN and in the past year I really have felt like a part of CRAN’s volunteer community. It’s inspiring to spend time with people who are so committed to a mission and who care so deeply and advocate for beings that don’t have the power that we do.”

Thank you so much for all you have done and are doing for CRAN!

January 2022 Volunteer of the Month

January 2022 Volunteer of the Month: Winter Watson

Meet our January Volunteer of the Month – Winter Watson.
Winter started as a foster during the first pandemic year.

Cranky cats?
Check.
Timid kittens?
Check 
Mush babies?
Check
Bottle babies?
Check

Winter takes them all on and with a loving hand, prepares them for their next adventure.
We asked Winter to share about his experience with CRAN:
“I was new in town, and, as a young person with more time than money, volunteering is a great way to build connections. I knew I wanted to live with cats, and I liked how CRAN does not euthanize cats unnecessarily so I started fostering as a COVID safe way to get involved. I’d say about three dozen, probably no fewer and not much higher. When my housing situation changed, I started volunteering at TLC to get more cat time, and that has truly been a wonderful experience to meet so many amazing cats and kittens. I recommend fostering and volunteering at the catteries to people all the time.”

Thank you Winter!

Volunteer of the Month – December 2021

Mushu Dappletini Scofield – Moosh has been volunteering for CRAN since the beginning of time. Moosh is our trusted dog-test volunteer, allowing a variety of cats and kittens to meet her and alert us to any alarms they might have about canines. Moosh also volunteers on a regular basis at TLC with her human companion, Martha Scofield. We asked for Martha’s favorite story about MuShu’s volunteering: “This happened on a Sunday when I was busy fixing food dishes for the ringworm room. Sarah was already in the room. I had a tray of food with three bowls of yummy stinky cat food ready but Sarah couldn’t take them off my hands just yet. I got busy doing something else. (All this time MuShu was manning her usual post in the kitchen.) I didn’t want to balance the tray on the laundry bins so I set it on the floor thinking Sarah was going to pick it right up. The minute I got distracted, The Moosh jumped off her perch, moseyed down the hall, then proceeded to help herself. Ate all three bowls of food. Only realized something was amiss when I heard Sarah exclaiming about something. She didn’t realize MuShu was helping herself to all that food because the kick plate on the door was just high enough to hide her misdeed when she had her head down scarfing every last morsel of cat food. Only when MuShu lifted her head up – probably coming up for air after that marathon food binge – did Sarah see what was going on. Needless to say, The Tsarina of TLC was quite pleased with herself!”

Volunteer of the Month – November 2021

Casey Hitchcock – Casey is one of our COVID fosters – she and her family started fostering at the beginning of the pandemic, and have become invaluable to CRAN’s foster program. Casey does it all – socialize, feed, scoop, care for sick kittens, happy kittens, crazy kittens, you name it! When we asked Casey what her favorite memory is of volunteering, she said “I have absolutely loved fostering for CRAN, and I’m two cats richer for it! I think my favorite memory was getting Joey (pictured) who was returned from being adopted. It was supposed to be just a short-term foster.As he immediately snuggled into my arms and I cradled him, my husband looked over at us and said, “We aren’t giving this damn cat back, are we?” It was love!”

Volunteer of the Month – October 2021

Tom Heusel initially started by fostering along with his wife Rachele Raia but they immediately foster failed, and were reluctant to foster again. Rachele became an adoption counselor and Tom has become CRAN’s go-to volunteer for transport. When we need cats or kittens transported from a foster home to a medical appointment, a couple texts with Tom, and the transportation is all set. Tom has picked up and delivered kittens in the early morning hours, from foster to WAG, from foster to McKenzie, from foster to Lucky Paws, in all sorts of weather, and he is also usually available for afternoon pickups as well. When asked about volunteering, Tom’s response was:
“It’s nice to be able to contribute. Our foster families do incredible work 24 hours a day with multiple cats.  My early morning wake-ups for 6:50 a.m. appointments are easy and no inconvenience (many years of 6:45 am shifts in the OR.)
(Does this “Volunteer of the Month” come with a free cat?)”

Thank you Tom!

Volunteer of the Month – September 2021

Rachel, Louis, Ellie and Leah Nosce,are our September 2021 Volunteer(s) of the month. It’s a family affair for this caring group who have been fosters for CRAN since 2018. Are there kittens in need of socialization? Rachel and Louis and their daughters are up to the task. Is there a singleton kitten in need of a safe harbor? Just ask Rachel or Louis. Friendly kittens, scared kittens, sick kittens – the Nosce family nurtures them all, and prepares them for happy adoptions. Congratulations and Thank You for all you do!