The Man Who Raised $60,000 by Napping with Cats

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Terry Laurmen used to be a high school teacher, but seeing as how he is in his 70s, it should come as no surprise to learn that he has long been retired. Laurmen is a cat lover, but since his travels plus his housing situation mean that he can’t keep a cat of his own. As a result, he volunteers for non-profit organizations where he can come into contact with cats, with the latest being Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary.

Like its name suggests, Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary is a pet shelter that specializes in cats. It has a more casual feel than a lot of the pet shelters that can be found out there, seeing as how its cats are free-range in comfortable surroundings instead of being forced to spend much of their time in kennels because of a lack of shelter space. This impression is helped by the volunteers who help out with the cats in various ways.

How Did Terry Laurmen Help Safe Haven Raise More than $60,000?

Regardless, Laurmen spends much of his time as a volunteer grooming the cats at Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary. From time to time, he takes breaks for the purpose of resting his eyes, which will often lead to him falling asleep while in the company of the cats. Something that the founder of Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary Elizabeth Feldhausen found charming enough for her to take a series of photos before posting them to the pet shelter’s Facebook page along with much praise for Laurmen’s efforts.

The Facebook post became popular. In fact, it became so popular that it became talked-about in not just the United States but also other countries such as China and Portugal. Laurmen actually knows about this because one of his friends in Portugal actually told him that the Facebook post had reached Portuguese newspapers, which caught him by surprise to say the least. Something that can be seen in the numerous interviews that he has conducted ever since he has become internationally known.

As for Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary, it has received more than $60,000 in donations from interested individuals, which is an incredible boon for the non-organization because caring for cats is expensive. This is particularly true when it comes to the cats who end up in pet shelters, seeing as how they often have medical as well as other problems that need time and money to treat in a successful manner. Luckily, the donations that have been coming in should provide the non-profit organization with a much-needed funding boost, which should enable it to pay for surgical procedures as well as other vital costs.

With that said, Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary couldn’t do its work without both its staff members and its volunteers. Currently, it has two core staffers in addition to Feldhausen, who is very much involved in the running of the non-profit organization. However, it has 11 volunteers including Laurmen, who do a great deal for the pet shelter’s feline inhabitants as well. After all, cats can get just as stressed-out by changing circumstances as humans, meaning that the sense of constancy provided by the volunteers coming in on a regular basis do a great deal for their psychological well-being and thus their physical well-being.

Further Considerations

On the whole, the story is a nice reminder that the world can be a wonderful place, which makes for a refreshing contrast from the negative-trending nature of the news. With that said, it is also a reminder of the importance of pet shelters that serve to take in cats that have nowhere else to go. Unfortunately, while there are a lot of cat lovers out there who are willing to help out with both time and effort, pet shelters can’t do their work without money as well, meaning that interested individuals might want to look more into their local non-profit organizations to see how they might be able to help.

Having said this, interested individuals should be positive. Yes, there is still a great deal that remains to be done when it comes to animal welfare. However, it is clear that the situation for cats as well as other pet animals has improved by significant margins over the last few decades, meaning that there is reason to hope that said statistics will continue to improve in the time to come.