August Volunteer of the Month

Cathy Buenzow is our volunteer of the month for August! Cathy has been volunteering for Last Hope since January when we acquired the Adoption Center. Since then she has been busy! She worked very hard to get the Center ready for animals: Painting, repairing walls and floors, and putting fence up in the yard. Her husband even fixed the furnace for us.

Since then she has been working as a lead dog trainer at the Center and as a foster lead for the dogs at the Center. She recently began working on training some of the long-timers to help them find their forever homes.

In addition to all this, she helps out wherever she can: Transporting animals to appointments, doing meet-and-greets with new families or foster families, and home visits. She also takes home Velvet during the week.

When asked why she likes volunteering for Last Hope this is what she says,

“This has so many answers … but at the top of the list is because it is the most rewarding (and emotional at times) thing I’ve ever done. Not only have I found my passion but I have found a whole new set of friends who have the same passion. All the volunteers at Last Hope are literally amazing! I truly admire each one of them for their compassion and their sheer determination to make life better for each and every one of the animals that come into Last Hope. I love everything I do with Last Hope. One of my favorite things, though, is learning everything I can about the dogs that are staying at the Adoption Center. The more I can learn about their history and personality the better story I can tell to a family who wants to adopt.”

But then she adds, “But here are just a few of the REAL reasons I love volunteering for Last Hope…”

And who can blame her? Just look at those faces!

“I had no idea when I started getting involved how much it would suck me in … and not in a bad way. Not only do I wish I had done this earlier in my life, but I wish I could do more. There are so many incredible people at Last Hope who are doing such fantastic stuff.”

Well that applies to you, too, Cathy! Thank you for all you do.