Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail: Opal and the Ellises
No strangers to Furry Friends, Sam and Katelyn adopted their first cat from us, now an easygoing and relaxed male who’s presently nine years old.
Volunteer Spotlight: Linda Rader
Linda Rader gives new meaning to the term “everyday hero.” While some might call her a crazy cat lady, we, at Furry Friends, call her “an angel here on earth.”
Volunteer Spotlight: Kailen Hannemann
Volunteering at Furry Friends since 2019, Kailen, who’s always loved cats, works two hours a week and subs from time to time as well. A shift lead on the Thursday PM crew, she enjoys making the wet food and mixing together flavors to give the kitties something different to eat.
Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail: Mr. Floofmeister and Laura Pelayo
“Mr. Floofmeister is our third kitty,” says Laura. “We have two female kitties named Catmeat and Diva. We had no plans to get a third cat, but we were browsing the Furry Friends website (as one does) and instantly fell in love with Mr. Floofmeister. We kept his original name so we wouldn’t give him an identity crisis. While his name is Mr. Floofmeister, he likes to go by Floofy for short.
Volunteer Spotlight: Lyla Rayyan
When Lyla and her husband moved to Vancouver, she longed to become part of the community, and began volunteering for us in March 2022.
Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail: Olive and the Douglasses
“Olive is not our first kitty,” says Tani. “However, she is the first little one we have adopted from Furry Friends. We decided to keep her name because she would come to us when we called her by that name.
Volunteer Spotlight: Mary Wakely
Mary started working the Thursday evening shift at the Halfway House in February of 2020 with an awesome crew who has been together for ages. She also picks up the Tuesday voicemails and is on the auction committee.
Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail: Butter and Chevy and the Ruges
“We adopted Butter and Chevy (formerly Batter) in December of 2022,” says Mira. “We both grew up with lots of kitties and having moved out on our own, we only had one kitty, Turbo, who was a bottle baby I had rescued.
Volunteer Spotlight: Janice Lawrence
I have been with Furry Friends for 5 years. I had looked online for volunteer opportunities when I got close to full retirement and Furry Friends looked like a good fit. Although I had been volunteering at the Humane Society, I wanted to focus more on cats.
Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail: Lily and the Gustofsons
“After we lost our cat Pearl, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for another pet,” explains Kathy. “Plus, we still had two other cats, Tiny and Bean, and Lucy, my daughter’s cat, since my daughter had moved back home.
Volunteer Spotlight: Joshua McClellan
After Joshua and his wife Kelli began fostering for Furry Friends two years ago, they quickly got involved with the Halfway House. Joshua then signed up to be a permanent sub, but soon found himself as a regular full-time shift volunteer for two hours on Wednesday nights.
Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail: Willow and the Fujimotos
“Willow, formerly called Korn, is the first kitty we’ve had since having children,” Theresa explains. “Initially, we were interested in meeting his brother Karmel, but because he had already been adopted by another family, we decided to meet Willow instead.
Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail: Dopey, Artemis and the Eisenhardts
“Dopey and Artemis (formerly Sneezy) were not our first cats,” admits Kristy. “In fact, they brought our current house total to six. They came from a litter of seven, named after the seven dwarfs, and we loved them immediately.
Volunteer Spotlight: Andrew Mellin
I began with Furry Friends once I got my driver’s license at the start of 2021 during the pandemic. Since school and every other activity had been cancelled, I was looking for something to get me out of the house. Volunteering at a cat shelter seemed like the perfect option.
Furry Friends Fur-Ever Tail: Bella and Lauri Schaff
“I have been an animal lover since I was a child. When I moved out on my own, I adopted my first rescue at a shelter in Dickinson, ND. Since then, I have rescued three cats. Each one has been immensely spoiled with love. Some have even gone on hikes with me in the Black Hills of SD.
Volunteer Spotlight: Amy Hoover
Amy has volunteered at Furry Friends since October 2022. The retired RN had seen a story about us on the news and knew that she wanted to help. She used to volunteer every Wednesday and Friday but had to stop once the school year started since she’s currently a substitute teacher.
Volunteer Spotlight: Jean Moran
I have been a volunteer for two years. I learned about Furry Friends in 2016 from a neighbor who was fostering kittens for you, and knew that I wanted to volunteer as soon as I retired from my full time job in Portland.
2023 Year End Review by FF Executive Director Jenn Hutchman
Wow what a great and challenging year Furry Friends has had! I will share our many amazing accomplishments in 2023 in this letter. First, I would like to send out a very heartfelt THANK YOU to all our supporters, volunteers, sponsors, and donors! Together with our Board of Directors, Leadership, Staff, and YOU, we have made a difference in so many lives and in many cases, we have saved lives! Give yourself the credit you deserve!
2023 Year End FF President’s Report
What an amazing year 2023 has been for Furry Friends! We have faced many challenges—and many successes– throughout the year, but the one thing that has always shined through is our commitment to the cats in our care.
Jim Grafmyre: New Board Member
Furry Friends is delighted to extend a warm welcome to volunteer Jim Grafmyre, who has joined our Executive Board. Jim holds the role of Facility Maintenance, Information Technology, and Security.
Volunteer Spotlight: Kate Goudschaal
Kate Goudschaal has become an expert in caring for newborns—newborn kittens, that is. In her 15 years of fostering, she has volunteered for various animal rescue organizations, including Furry Friends, which she joined more than two years ago.
Spotlight on Nomi Berger
I’m unique in that I volunteer my writing skills to this amazing rescue in Vancouver, WA from my home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada! As for the journey that brought me here? Words are my passion and were my profession. A journalism graduate from The American University in Washington, D.C., I’m the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles.
Volunteer Spotlight on Kelli Thompson
Introducing our new Volunteer Coordinator, Kelli Thompson! Kelli has been volunteering with Furry Friends for a little over a year, and initially started out as one of our kitten foster
parents. In that amount of time, Kelli and her husband, Josh McClellan, have fostered 8 different litters of kittens! You may have also seen them at the Halfway House, since Kelli and Josh have
recently been working as House Shift substitutes as well.
Spotlight on Jazmynn Hoffman
Jazmynn Hoffman is our second paid staff member for Furry Friends! She is our House Manager and Volunteer Coordinator. She also assists with adoptions, intakes, babysitting kittens for fosters, and she recently started fostering kittens herself.