Volunteer of the Month - Kathryn!

It takes us 300 volunteers per week to do what we do and be open to the general public for 56 hours a week... Volunteers are like gold and diamonds to us... There is a direct link between the number of dog lives we can save and the number of dedicated volunteers who believe in the cause of No-Kill for Ventura County... 

But beyond the 300 hours of energy, sweat and hard work by those volunteers who come in and run the rescue shop, take care of the puppies and dogs, do laundry, clean up poop and run 16+ loads of laundry, it probably takes that many hours each week to get done all of the other things for TLC... Everyone comes to the table with their talents... So although someone might not be wearing one of our red smocks and you see them at the rescue shop, they might be working just as hard behind the scenes, saving dogs' lives...

Such is the case with Kathryn (Rutherford)... Kathryn started volunteering with TLC early in 2012 and at 69 years old, I only can hope and pray I have half as much energy as she does when I reach that age!

I have never seen this lady have a 'bad' day... If you meet her early in the morning, she always has a sweet "Gooooood Mornnnnning!" for you... I have never asked Kathryn to do something for TLC that she hasn't jumped in with both feet and both hands to grab the task, envelope it and make it her own... Initially Kathryn started at TLC as a dog walker and then as part of the Bathing Brigade... One day she came to me and said she wanted to do something 'more important' for TLC and I suggested that she take over our fundraising events...

And in 2013, there were some months that her events actually paid the huge electric bill we get ($1,000+) each month from dear Edison Electric...

Not only fundraising, Kathryn is one of our die-hard foster moms... More than once she has taken on a next-to-impossible save... Each and every one of them has blossomed under her care and dedication... Kathryn now has many 'feathers' in her 'guardian angel' cape!... For sure, Barkley and PandaBear owe their very lives to our dear, sweet Kathryn... Arabella was on death row with no hair down the length of her back and now, she's full clothed again, plump, happy and adopted!

This is the magic of TLC... Great folks on Team TLC who believe in the cause and do all that they can do with their talents to go that extra hundred miles to make a difference in the lives of the homeless dogs that end up in shelters through no fault of their own!

Congratulations, Kathryn!  And thank you so VERY much for all that you do!