In 1974, a group of dedicated individuals came together to create what we now know as SICSA Pet Adoption Center. Margaret Aschenbrenner has been volunteering at SICSA nearly that long. In her 36 years volunteering at SICSA, she has helped with Friends of SICSA (FOS), was one of the first volunteer representatives to sit on the Board of Directors, worked as our Volunteer Coordinator for 11 years, but she says her most important job she’s had was fostering. She and her husband have fostered cats, and after she retired, she fostered bottle baby kittens and puppies. Now, she exclusively volunteers in Vet Check, and has involved with Vet Check for 30 years!
She began volunteering at SICSA to help pets in need and continues to volunteer because she loves that people of all ages and backgrounds feel as strongly about helping pets as she does. Volunteering can be emotional at SICSA. Occasionally, it is heartbreaking but much more often it is heartwarming! She told us how fortunate she felt to have interacted with some of the original founders of SICSA and how dedicated everyone was when SICSA was primarily run by volunteers. In the small house that SICSA used to be in, volunteers worked so closely with one another everyone knew each other!
She told us all about the animal that made the largest impact on her while she has been volunteering:
“Red was a reddish-brown hound who was SICSA’s ambassador and greeter. He was allowed to free run in the house. He was laid back unless Dick Hersh was around. Dick was a volunteer dog kenneler who spent extra time playing with him. A short film about the cruelty of dumping dogs had Red as the main actor.”
Thank you, Margaret, for all of the time, dedication and love you have given SICSA as an organization and to our animals. We are so blessed to have you helping us in so many different aspects.
