Volunteer >> Volunteer Spotlight

Carol Noyes

By Liz Marsden

Volunteerism is nothing new to Carol.  She serves on the Volunteer Advisory Board and as an usher for the Hartford Stage, and she took care of stray animals on her own time before one fateful day in the cat food section at her local grocery.  “I got into a conversation with another customer about what finicky eaters cats are – it’s not just a marketing scheme,” she remembers.  “I compared the picky eating habits of my two indoor cats to that of the ferals in my yard – that is to say, they’d gobble up anything!” 

The other customer asked about the ferals, who, naturally, had been prolific breeders in the short time Carol had been caring for them.  “The woman asked me if I’d heard of Our Companions,” Carol recalls.  She hadn’t, and the customer filled her in on OC’s feral cat efforts and willingness to help people trap, neuter, and release (TNR).  When Carol got home, she found OC online. Before long, she was trapping and neutering with the best of them.  Sadie Sidewinder, the first mama cat she trapped and spayed, still lives in Carol’s yard and is glad for every meal she gets – and in the winter, she moves inside a heated cat shelter on Carol’s porch.  An area raccoon sometimes steals part of Sadie’s dinner, but that’s another story.

“I grew up with animals, and have always loved animals, but it wasn’t until the past decade that I became much more aware of animal welfare issues,” Carol says. After the TNR project was finished, Carol attended an OC volunteer orientation and began working on the Poster Project.  “It was something I could do while still working full time.”  Once she retired from her full-time job a little over a year ago, Carol got even more involved with OC.  She began volunteering for special events such as the annual Easter Egg Hunt and the Road Race at Mystic Aquarium.  She works in the Bloomfield office doing anything that needs doing.  And she became an assistant trainer for Canine College, learning to perform behavior evaluations for dogs who are up for adoption, as well as helping in the weekly public dog training classes.  “I was surprised to find out how many dogs out there are in trouble because of behavior problems,” says Carol.  “The classes are a great service to the community, and I’m so impressed with Marie (Joyner)’s knowledge.” 

Carol adopted two cats from OC after her previous two indoor cats passed away.  Daffodil, a tuxedo kitty, plays fetch like a dog, and Lovey, a calico, follows Carol around the house like a dog.  “Even though I don’t have a dog, I sometimes feel I do with these two around!” 

Previous Volunteer Spotlights

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