Meet Kerry Phillips, our June volunteer of the month. Wild Blue asked Kerry to tell us something about his experience and here is what he said.

I started volunteering at Wild Blue last October. I had attended events and made a few contributions before that but I had a job where I was on call 24/7; not predictable enough for steady volunteering. That changed at the end of September (I turned 65 and shifted to a part-time work schedule, an event Melinda had been waiting (somewhat impatiently) for. She pounced, and now I am at the sanctuary 3 or 4 times a week.

I was raised on a farm that had dairy cattle so there were always cats around. I was always trying to sneak the kittens into the house (which my mother forbade, to little avail). The Air Force kind of interrupted having cats until I got to the Springs in 85, when, thanks to Melinda (we’ve been friends for 34 years) I adopted a Calico named Underfoot who was about to be euthanized. I’ve had cats ever since (with some intervals for mourning; Melinda and Gordon, tired of my moping about for months after Underfoot passed, basically kidnapped me to the Humane Society where I adopted a tiny black kitten I named Whisker). She was the light of my life for the next 17 years. I have 2 now, Socrates (AKA Socket) and Safari (from Wild Blue, didn’t change her name), both black shorthairs. I think of them as Whisker’s foster kids, but they are my kids too, the King and Queen of my home (guess I haven’t really changed much).

Like every other volunteer, I just love cats and I love Wild Blue’s mission.