Pam Samec Volunteer Spotlight
“I have been volunteering with Furry Friends for five years now,” Pam says.
As to the reason she got involved? “I had moved to Arizona to live with my sister and her kids. My health was getting worse, and between the warmer weather and family help, I was hoping to feel better. We were living on 40 acres of land and were going to be homesteaders, but six months after I moved there, we had a house fire and lost nearly everything -- including the best animal I will ever know.
“I returned to Vancouver and had to live in an empty house. I was in a very VERY dark place. I went onto Facebook and found Furry Friends saying they desperately needed fosters. I signed up, and several days later, I had a wonderful pregnant cat to spend time with. She had six babies who brought me joy and gave me a purpose. When all of them were adopted, the ladies at Furry Friends told me I had just saved seven lives. The truth is -- they had saved my life!
“Being disabled and low income because of that has greatly limited my abilities. That is why fostering is such a good fit for me. I also pet and housesit for others. I love dogs too and have a fenced-in yard that makes it easy for me to have them here. My favorite part of volunteering is making friends with the adopters and being able to follow the progress of the kitties throughout the years. My biggest challenge, though, is saying goodbye to the sweet babies! And yet, the reason I give back is to have a sense of purpose and help the kitties get a better life.
My proudest moment as a foster was taking in ferals for the first time. I thought they would never come around, and would always be hissing, scratching monsters. Then, one day they were curled up on my lap purring away!
In my ‘earlier’ life, I was a very go, go, go person who loved always being on the move. I was a chef and baker and owned my own catering and specialty cake business. I sold desserts wholesale to local restaurants until I became disabled and was no longer able to do that.
These days I put together bags of food, toiletries, socks, pillows and blankets to hand out to the homeless, and I’m most passionate about social equality and justice.
Currently, I have one cat of my own. I’m watching two cats for six months while their owner is out of the country, and my sister has been staying me with her two cats and a dog. Not to mention whatever fosters I may have.”
A person of many talents, Pam says, “Not only can I make intricate cake designs, I know how to do almost everything when it comes to home repair/remodeling. In fact, I’ve gutted my house and am rebuilding it myself, from the plumbing, electrical and drywalling to building a second-story 500 square foot patio!”
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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.
