Meet Liz! She is one RASKC’s longest serving volunteers who faithfully contributes a weekly shift, which she has been doing with cats at Reber Ranch since 2008. Liz is extremely proficient, extraordinarily reliable, and exudes great cheer. For many years Liz helped in taking care of all the laundry associated with RASKC’s cat-care at Reber Ranch. Liz often attends volunteer-appreciation gatherings like at Seattle Meowtropolitan Cat Café’, our volunteer banquets, and RASKC’s southeast King County partner-stores get-together. Liz’s mom sometimes attends too. Thank you for all of your years of service, Liz, with hopefully many more to come!

Q: How did you hear about RASKC?

A: I knew about “The Shelter” ever since I was a kid back in the 1970’s. Of course, it went by a different name and bears little resemblance to what RASKC is now. Other “shelters” in the area weren’t much better. Perhaps the less said about what it was back in those less enlightened times, the better.

Q: What made you want to volunteer, especially to work with animals?

A: I still had that out-of-date image in mind when I approached what was then King County Animal Care and Control in December of 2007. But I was happy to find out things had changed and that there were volunteer opportunities to help care for cats. I had lost the last cat I had in my household a few months before. After being in the constant company of cats for so many years, the loneliness was getting to me. I wasn’t ready for another quite yet, and my husband wasn’t either. The volunteer opportunity provided a solution to my dilemma.

Q: What do you do when you aren’t volunteering at RASKC?

A: I am a systems/data analyst for Boeing Global Services, supporting the production and delivery of airplane maintenance manuals to customers in several digital formats. During my off hours I enjoy knitting, crochet, reading, listening to music and podcasts, and drinking local craft beer at my favorite watering hole.

Q: What have you gained and hope to gain from your experience as a volunteer with RASKC?

A: It’s been great to see RASKC continue to improve over the years. I’ve observed how good, caring leadership is what really makes a difference; it’s what helps us as volunteers make a difference too.

Q: What is the best thing about your cat? How would you describe her personality?

A: Dahlia, adopted at Reber Ranch in April 2008, hops in my lap when I get home from work, follows me around the house, sleeps on my bed with me, and “talks” to me in Calico. Dahlia loves people and greets all visitors who come to the house. She did the same when she was at Reber, greeting customers and begging them to pet her. Getting brushed is her favorite thing.

Q: What is the best advice you would give people who want pets?

A: Well, I’d say it’s like any relationship: You’ll get out of it what you put into it, but with pets you get even more back. And I like what former Officer Rebecca Cleveland Diehl once said about pets, “They’re not perfect, but they don’t expect you to be, either.”

Q: Describe a memorable moment you’ve had with an animal.

A: Two girls, I think around eight or 10 years old, were at Reber one morning looking at the cats. They had lost their cat to old age a month before. They were ready for another cat but their mother was not, they said. Reber had three cats at the time. One of them, Timber, was shy and hiding inside a cat tree in the playpen. Well, mom comes by, and Timber pops his head out of the hidey-hole and looks up her right in the face. She gasped and said, “Okay children, pick out two cats, but one of them has to be this one!”

Interested in volunteering with RASKC?
We’d love for you to join! Simply visit us at http://www.kingcounty.gov/RASKCVolunteer
Hope to see you at our next Volunteer Orientation!