Jane and I were returning a foster cat late at night in Whalley and ended up having a strange man get in the back seat of the SALI truck
I first met Jane at SALI’s garage sale last year. She was cruising with her two grandkids and car full of foster dogs. Jane was really interested in what we do at SALI and wanted to offer some time as a volunteer. At that time she was one of the bunny barn coordinators at the Surrey SPCA and foster for A Better Life Dog Rescue. That didn’t seem to be keeping her busy enough, so I got her involved in our Guardian Program serving as chaperone to me when I went to deliver pet food or pick up dogs/cats in some of the not so nice areas of our community. This ended up being a great time for chat sessions. Jane is a great story teller and I can listen to her for hours. On one occasion we were returning a foster cat late at night in Whalley and ended up having a strange man get in the back seat of the SALI truck. This was very disconcerting, but having Jane there I knew she could get started on a story and he would be spellbound 🙂 It all ended up ok, but from now on doors are locked!
Jane is no longer with the SPCA, she still fosters for Better Life Dog Rescue and is now a volunteer at SALI’s Farm every Tuesday. She is matched up with a 3 year old girl and I would say they both have the same amount of energy. Jane never stops. When we are done with our set-up on Tuesday she gets out the lawn mower and mows any lawn she can find at the farm.
Jane brought one of her foster dogs to the Ocean Park Dog Wash and we offered to wash him for free. Jane would have none of it and made a donation. This is who Jane is. She is always giving, giving, giving and doing, doing, doing.
In Jane’s words “I have loved all animals all my life or at least as far back as I can remember. I played “farm” and had an array of stuffed animals which took up most of my bed but “had” to sleep with me. I was always rescuing birds and small rodents and trying to nurse them back to health which never worked and so our backyards were covered in small crosses and stone memorials to a life that ended far too soon. My love of dogs goes back to my youth but we did not get a dog till I was about 15. It was a long wait. Once I was married we were only dogless for one year while we lived in England. We now have two dogs of our own plus two fosters, 3 rabbits, one rat and one budgie. Another love is second hand shopping and garage sales and that is where I met Keryn. We arranged to meet and discuss animal welfare and related topics and yada yada yada here we are. I have volunteered with one thing or another since childhood. I was always keen on helping organize things, set them up and tear them down. My interests were always animals, kids, sports and things related to animals, kids and sports and my adult life is not much different except I don’t do sports anymore. I very much liked the direction Sali was going and as I had some free time I decided to volunteer. I am glad that I did.”
I hope you get to meet Jane one day and hear one of her crazy stories. We are so thankful to have Jane on our side. She is a true champion for those in need of a helping hand.