Lance Sjogren Volunteer Spotlight
“I’ve been a volunteer with Furry Friends since September of 2023,” Lance says. “The reason for my getting involved was because I decided that it might be an enjoyable experience to use a little of my spare time to volunteer at a cat shelter. Furry Friends appeared to have a more laid back atmosphere than places like the Humane Society, and so I sent in an application.
“I spend two hours every Wednesday morning at the shelter and usually do the ‘living room.’ Socializing with the cats and the other volunteers is my favorite part about volunteering, while my greatest challenge is remembering names: both people and cats!
“As to why I give back: being retired, I have plenty of free time and volunteering is enjoyable. Before retiring in 2008, I worked in the LA area in the aerospace industry. And although I don’t currently volunteer elsewhere, I used to spend one day a week taking my disabled brother (now deceased) shopping and on whatever other errands he needed done.”
While Lance readily admits he doesn’t follow local issues all that much, he does enjoy watching the progress being made on the city’s various infrastructure projects such as the waterfront and the proposed new I5 bridge.
“At home, I have one cat named Baby, adopted from Furry Friends. Fun fact: When I bought my first house in 2012, it came with a large yard, and although I had always hated gardening before, I became a gardening fanatic! My current obsession is Japanese Maples. I’ve planted at least 60 by now. There are so many varieties of shrub sizes that you can plant quite a few even in a normal-sized yard.”
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Furry Friends Volunteer Spotlights are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.
