Now retired, Tom still volunteers and has 16 years at North Shore Animal League America under his belt. He continues to find the work both fulfilling and engaging. Though he did not grow up in a household with pets, thanks to his wife and daughters, that eventually changed for the better. After parenting several cats, Tom and his wife adopted their first dog, a German Short-Haired Pointer named Dottie, from Animal League America and she was the first of more to come.
Tom initially signed up to volunteer after his daughters expressed interest. He had agreed to do the hour-drive back and forth from their home and thought, “I’m not going to drive all that way and then come back, so I volunteered too.” Over a decade later, he’s still grateful for the hours he spends with the animals, the volunteers, and the visitors.
