Kingdom Animal Shelter
(802) 473 - 3377
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Volunteer Spotlight - Maaike and Renee

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       Maaike just loves cats. For her, they are calming, quiet, and have a wonderful fluffiness. Maaike is in the 7th grade at Riverside School and aside from her academic studies, plays the violin and piano, and has a brown belt in Karate.
       She and her mom, Renee, began volunteering at Kingdom Animal Shelter in the Fall of 2015. They were invited by KAS volunteers Aurora Gilbert and her dad, Joel. Maaike and Aurora are very good friends. Since Maaike loves cats but had none of her own and since Aurora was volunteering at KAS, it seemed like the perfect match.  

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       Of course, as we all know, getting to know the cats at the Shelter and falling in love with them means you might want a kitty or two of your own...which is exactly what happened with Maaike.  So, several months after they began volunteering, they went to visit a litter of kittens being fostered by Nancy Pellegrino and that’s how Nile and Nefertiti went home to live with Maaike and family.  Maaike is very deliberate and careful about doing things just right. So, when she knew she was going to adopt Nile and Nefertiti, she read all she could about caring for cats, what issues could arise, how to have them be healthy and happy.
      Maaike was a bit nervous at first with taking care of the cats at the Shelter. But over the past several years, she has gained great confidence and she and her mom have a special time together, problem solving any issues, getting in touch with the Health coordinator with questions.  They love riding in to the Shelter on a particular morning and wondering what they will find, who will be the new kitties, what medications will be needed, who is in ISO. As also happens with many volunteers, volunteering at KAS changes how you care for your cats at home. It just makes you a bit more aware and deliberate and sensitive to their needs.

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       Maaike and Renee like the responsibility of caring for the KAS cats. It isn’t just a game; it is a serious commitment and it carries the need for great attention to the needs and messages of the cats, rather like a real job at a nursing home. Over their time volunteering, Maaike has had several cats she especially remembers: Luigi, Goliath, Boone, and Nick.
  

​       Renee teaches language arts to grades 6-8 in Glover. She very much loves having time with the cats at the Shelter and especially loves her time with Maaike, sharing this experience. For both of them, it feels good. It is a good way to start the day, getting the cats and kittens fed, watered, cleaned up, tended to. And then, the cats settle into their very self-contented naps. We are so delighted to have Maaike and Renee as part of the volunteer family. They are a wonderful addition, loving, reliable, careful. And we are very grateful to Aurora and Joel for inviting them to come to the Shelter. As Maaike says, she has learned that cats can be rehabilitated, can learn to trust again. A very good lesson for all of us, in so many ways.

Kingdom Animal Shelter
1161 Portland St.
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819


Kingdom Animal Shelter is a non-profit
certified 501(c) (3),
animal rescue organization. 
Please contact us at [email protected] for our 501(c)(3) ID.

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Email: [email protected]