Although she’s been a Furry Friends volunteer for less than a year, Aly Benson is already involved in working at the Halfway House, fostering difficult to place kitties and adopting.

At the house, Aly is part of the “awesome Monday morning crew.” “I really enjoy getting to know these ladies and hanging out with them each week,” she said.

            Her responsibilities include taking care of the living room and washing dishes. She spends about two hours each week at the house. But that’s not all. At home, she now has four hard-to-place foster kitties; has adopted a cat from the Humane Society, and she received a Persian for Christmas.

“My biggest joy has been loving my foster kittens,” she said. She also enjoys reading about cat adoptions on Facebook.

Before Christmas, she was able to find foster homes for some of her cats, but she decided to keep one from the litter because “my son wrote the sweetest letter to Santa asking for a kitten and we couldn’t resist.”

Although she is proud and happy to have placed the fosters, “letting them go was definitely my greatest challenge.”

Aly and her “wonderful” husband Chris have had franchises for 22 years for four Subway restaurants in East Vancouver, Camas, Washougal and Stevenson. The couple has a 9-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son.

When she’s not working or volunteering for Furry Friends, Aly enjoys playing video games, reading or watching reality TV.

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We would like to thank Alice Perry Linker for writing this spotlight. Alice is a retired newspaper reporter and editor who last worked for The Reflector in Battle Ground, WA. Earlier, she worked for the La Grande (OR) Observer, and she and husband Ray owned the Creswell (OR) Chronicle for eight years. Alice, who now lives in Gresham, OR, has two sons and one grandson. She enjoys hiking, gardening and playing (badly) the piano. Alice has volunteered her writing and proof reading skills to Furry Friends for several years.