Volunteer >> Volunteer Spotlight

Caroline Gaetano

By Liz Marsden

They say charity begins at home, and Caroline Gaetano is an advocate for animals in her own neighborhood and beyond.  As an active member of the West Hartford Dog Park Coalition, she is on the forefront of the sometimes cantankerous effort to bring off-leash exercise and socialization opportunities to dogs and their people in her area.  It’s an uphill endeavor, but one that Caroline feels is worth working for.  “With so many other towns succeeding with their dog parks, it’s just a matter of time,” she says optimistically. 

Caroline found her way to OC three years ago, when she noticed a very attractive wall calendar!  Of course it was the annual OC calendar, and the calendar’s owner suggested that Caroline attend the next volunteer orientation.  “I heard Susan’s presentation and I was just so impressed,” Caroline remembers.  She signed up right away to work in the office every Friday (and still continues to do so three years later) and work at special events.  A year and a half ago, Caroline began working with our SafePet program, and is now the program’s assistant manager.  Her job requires her to check the voicemail three times a day and promptly return phone calls to people who are in crisis and need care for their pets on a temporary basis.  Callers can be anyone from an elderly person who is going into surgery and won’t be able to care for their pet during recovery, to someone entering a substance abuse program.

SafePet provides foster care in a volunteer’s home, medical care including spaying/neutering if needed, and all other care of the pet for up to 60 days. In order to take advantage of SafePet, the animal’s owner must be working with a social worker or other care coordinator, and have no family or friends who can assist with their pet’s care.  “Often what I do is talk through options with a person – many times talking together, we can find solutions in their existing network of family and neighbors.”  The job can be a bit overwhelming – you never know what situation you will be asked to help with.  Caroline personally picks up animals going into foster care and drives them to the vet and then to their foster home.  “It’s a great feeling to know you’ve made a difference in someone’s life – not only the pet’s, but the person’s,” she says.

Making a difference on such a grassroots level is just one of the reasons Caroline appreciates volunteering for Our Companions.  “I know that there isn’t a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork clogging up the system the way it can in some larger organizations,” she says.  “I know that what I do is directly impacting the community.”

Previous Volunteer Spotlights

April 2010- Caroline Gaetano
March 2010- Carol Noyes
January 2010- Cathy Ferreira
November 2010- Gina Hoag
October 2010 - Helene Kapelewski
August 2010 - Lisa Ireland
May 2010 - Regina Radzicki
April 2010 - Veteran Volunteers
February 2010- Mandy Wieting
December 2009 - Pat McGuiness
October 2009 - Risa Davidson
August 2009 - Deb Soricelli
June 2009 - Henry Petrofsky
March 2009 - Jacquie Roy
Dec 2008 - Gretchen Labau
Sept 2008 Todd Johnston
July 2008 Lyn Garson
May 2008 Daryl Carbone
March 2008 Sue King
Jan 2008 Jon Phillips