While April is #NationalVolunteerAppreciationMonth, we feel it is important to highlight individuals year-round who make up this incredible group of compassionate animal-loving people. All our volunteers are invaluable to the success of YOUR Humane Society SPCA. Every month we feature a special person as our Volunteer of the Month and for April 2024, that special team member is Cyndy Witzke.
Cyndy hails from Pittsburgh, PA, and later lived in Muskegon, MI. Her family dog, a Beagle named Joe, shared the home with several cats and a crazy talking bird, named Pete. Cyndy told us that she never planned to be without a pet. She shared that she and her husband are “foster flunkies” as they soon adopted their foster dogs as they easily fell in love with them. From our shelter alone, they had Diesel, a beloved black Lab mix who recently passed away, and Beagle Betty (now named Lily), who became quite well-known during our Betty White Challenge promotion and is an accomplished squirrel stalker. Their most recent family addition, Blizzard, is their “we-don’t-know-what” white rascal who lives to counter-surf for tasty finds and has a talent for rearranging their furniture. Cyndy mentioned that despite their quirks, “we are so lucky they have found us.”
Cyndy points out that she always had a soft spot for animals in need and “the shelter put out a call for volunteers and offered training. It was a good time for me to jump in. I will always remember the look of the dogs I have walked at the shelter – hopeful, anxious, or just plain scared. Standing on the other side of the kennel door knowing you’re about to give them some personal attention is a good feeling. The experiences of walking the three dogs we adopted and thinking ‘Yes, this could work,’ will always stick with me.”
While there are many opportunities for our volunteers to make a difference, Cyndy’s volunteer work has been mainly walking dogs but also handling them at adoption events as well as short-term fostering. As if that wasn’t enough, she also likes to help by taking a dog home during our “Home for the Holidays” fostering opportunities for a few days which gives a shelter pet a brief respite and some R&R. We are thankful to have such good people like Cyndy on our volunteer team. Congratulations to her as our April 2024 Volunteer of the Month!
As we often state, “Together Everyone Achieves More”and that’s the definition of TEAMwork. If you are interested in enriching your life by becoming a volunteer at YOUR Humane Society SPCA, contact us at volunteering@hsspca.org. Applications can be completed online at https://hsspca.org/apply-to-vo
