Volunteering
Every volunteer at Bear Den Sanctuary is unique and has a story. In today’s busy world, most people don’t make time to volunteer with a nonprofit. I find it interesting to find out why they choose to volunteer their time and secondly, why they chose to volunteer at a cat sanctuary.
Sometimes I meet people and I know everything to know about them from birth to present in the first 10 minutes of meeting them. They tell me all about their families, childhood traumas, what they hate about their jobs, and have shown me a phone full of pictures of their cats. I believe these folks are called extroverts.
Shannan
Shannan is a quiet, patient soul. She shares a little tiny bit about herself each time she comes to the Sanctuary. While some volunteers have regular, weekly shifts, Shannan generally messages me in the evenings that she’d like to spend some time with the cats. Quality time and patience are her gifts to the sanctuary cats.
Bear Den Sanctuary is a forever home for unadoptable and feral cats. Many cats are fearful or have a longstanding distrust of humans and usually for very good reasons. Shannan is working to help the more fearful cats learn to trust people. She will quietly sit for hours in one spot at the Sanctuary patiently allowing cats to approach her. She gears up for these sessions with various cat treats while nestled up in inviting soft, warm blankets. “Every time I come, I’m going to try and pet a cat that has never been petted before.”
Ran A Cat Sanctuary
After months and months of volunteering at the Sanctuary, Shannan revealed something profound. She had previously run her own cat sanctuary!
She rescued cats off the streets and cats who were owner surrendered. She helped cats with medical needs and cats who were abused. Her true passion in life is to help cats in need one at a time.
Through a series of life tribulations and challenges, she was forced to close her Rescue. Now Shannan chooses to invest her time helping and enriching the lives of the scared cats at Bear Den.
I’ve never met anyone like Shannan before. When I walk by her during one of her cat therapy sessions, there is the sense of someone who has experienced a lot of hurt in life.
Cats Are Spiritual Creatures
The way she connects with the shyest of the shy cats and the most scared of the scared cats, it’s like they sense she’s been through some things in life too. They connect on some sort of shared commonality and find mutual solace in one another.
They say cats have a heightened intuition and are highly spiritual creatures due to their perceived ability to sense energy. There is something magical about the way cats choose to interact with people who truly love and care about them. I’m so lucky I get to witness this magic with Shannan and the cats at the Sanctuary.
