Sandi Long’s involvement with Furry Friends began in the spring of 2011 when she wanted to adopt another kitty. “The cat I had been interested in wasn’t available, but as I was leaving the shelter a beautiful gray kitty with a white chest and long tail started following me,” she laughs. “When I stopped, he stopped and just stared up at me with his huge yellow eyes.” Sandi decided to sit down on the floor so they could get to know each other. That was the day Sushi found a new home. He is now 16 years old, and sleeps on or next to her pillow each night. A few months later, she adopted a beautiful black Manx kitten from Furry Friends. Vegas is 11 years old and dotes on her brother to the point of annoying him at times!

I have volunteered with Furry Friends on and off since 2010. I started at Pet Smart in Hazel Dell cleaning cages and socializing with the kitties being featured for adoption by Furry Friends there.

 I work several hours a week “behind the scenes,” doing graphic design and website maintenance. I’m currently re-designing the entire website to make it more user-friendly. In the past, I’ve done everything: from working Halfway House shifts in all three locations, attending park events and painting murals to running fundraisers and fostering kitties. (Not only have I designed many of the t-shirts and other merchandise Furry Friends sells, I’ve designed many of the logos that we use for our annual fall auction).

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. I’ve also been an advertising copywriter, industrial editor and the Public Relations director of a major hospital.

I started socializing at Furry Friends about five years ago. My father’s cat had passed away and I found a cat named Grayson on the Furry Friends’ website. When we came in to adopt him, I asked if they had any volunteer positions, and that’s how I got started. In fact, I started just as Jamie Garver began her tenure as President, allowing me to see all of the wonderful changes being made at FF.

I have been volunteering with Furry Friends since February of 2023. I decided to volunteer at some sort of rescue when I started to “get an itch” to get another cat! I thought that volunteering would scratch that itch and I wouldn’t have to adopt another one. Two months later, we adopted our little girl Rhubarb (previously Phoenix), who joined our 5-year-old Siamese mix named Rosie and our 3-year-old German Shepherd named Juniper.

I began volunteering for Furry Friends in June 2023. Eager to add a third cat to my family, I embarked on a mission to quell my feline yearnings. Opting to explore volunteering at a shelter as a potential solution, I discovered Furry Friends during my search for suitable cat shelters. Despite my initial intent to satisfy my cat cravings through volunteering, the inevitable happened: I ended up with a third cat anyway. It seems my love for these furry companions knows no bounds!

I began volunteering with Furry Friends in December 2022. I wanted to do something more with my life, so I posted on the NextDoor app asking about local volunteer opportunities.

Furry Friends was suggested with overwhelmingly positive reviews! Because I hadn’t been able to get a cat of my own since moving out of my parents’ house, I was desperate to get some “cat love,” so I went for it. (I’m a young adult still finding her footing in life after graduating from WSU). I applied online and the rest is history.

I started volunteering with Furry Friends in November 2023, about a month after we moved to Vancouver from Maryland.

A new neighbor and fellow cat lover told me about Furry Friends, where she herself had formerly volunteered. I had been volunteering for years at a large rescue in Maryland called Last Chance Animal Rescue, and was missing the connections I had there.