TCR Celebrates our Volunteers

Sherry Evans

Taking the TTC one day, sitting next to me was a lady transporting several kittens that she was fostering for Toronto Cat Rescue. We chatted and she sang the praises of TCR, telling me that they were located in my neighbourhood. Perfect! I had been wanting to volunteer at an animal rescue shelter since retirement. I applied to assist at the TCR Volunteer Centre (VC) which serves as a transportation hub to manage the flow of rescued cats between various stages of the rescue process originating with initial intake, to fostering, veterinary care and finding “furever” adoptive families. I was put on the training program. The training was very thorough, underscoring TCR’s diligence toward every element of caring for cats. I was impressed by the degree of preparation, planning, detailed documented procedures and overall rigour of their program.

As it happened, my final training day coincided with Toronto’s COVID lockdown in March 2020. All the cats transiting through the VC immediately disappeared to foster homes but not before I spied beautiful, shy Nicole in one of the cages. Adopting Nicole was a leap of faith as I didn’t have time for a “meet and greet” before she was swept off to foster care. So now I had adopted Nicole but had no volunteer work!

Unbeknownst to me, the VC was still a hub of behind-the-scenes activity facilitating several large rescues plus managing normal activities, now entirely virtual. TCR posted an urgent request, seeking volunteers for carrier disinfection at the VC as each cat must be transported in hygienic, disinfected carriers. To keep the rescue system going, I agreed to become the sole lifeline to ensure clean carriers. The volumes were sometimes challenging to keep up with demand but since the initial disinfecting stage served as the lifeline of the process, I had to get the job done. No skills required but it was part science project mixing the disinfecting fluids and part mechanic replacing broken bits to render the carriers functional. Not fun or glamorous but carrier disinfection is the underpinning of the rescue process. Some carriers were huge! I asked myself how big do these cats get? No exceptions, every one had to be disinfected. The stack of carriers sometimes covered every downstairs wall at the VC. It was reassuring to know that TCR would not compromise or consider short-cuts to diminish the disinfection protocols as cat protection was considered paramount!

Eventually a team was assembled to split up the job amongst others, with me now serving as backup. Amongst TCR’s committed volunteers, I felt that I was contributing in a small but crucial way.