“He couldn’t make sounds,” said Ann Hedderick, coordinator of the volunteer program at the EFRC. “The keepers put rocks in a ball, so they knew whenever he was hitting the ball around he was hungry. Otherwise he couldn’t tell us.”
The EFRC provides a haven for Charlie and other abused exotic cats. Hedderick said the EFRC was founded in 1991 by Joe Taft with three cats to its name. Today, the EFRC is home to more than 200 cats. They hail from 24 different states, and they all were bred into the United States pet or trophy trade.
In order to take care of the cats, the EFRC relies heavily on unpaid volunteer service to augment the work of the paid keepers who clean the cages and feed the cats. Hedderick said they are always looking for more volunteers to do tours.
“If we don’t have enough volunteers, we have to pull keepers to do tours, and then the cats aren’t getting fed,” Hedderick said.
Hedderick had wanted to study animals since college, but she ended up doing 30 years of work in computers.
The EFRC gave her the chance to work with animals as she had always wanted.
She got started at the EFRC when she stayed in the overnight room in a house inside an enclosure where cats roam right outside the window.
Guests who stay in the overnight room get to go on unlimited tours and watch the keepers feed the cats.
“I read a newspaper article about this place, and it mentioned that there was an overnight room,” Hedderick said. “I told my husband that’s what I wanted to do for my birthday, and I’ve been here ever since. They are easy to fall in love with.”
Hedderick has served as a volunteer for 11 years. She now trains other volunteers like Dana Roach.
Roach has been volunteering at the EFRC for two and a half years. He said he has always been interested in wildlife. He studied conservation law enforcement in college, and he worked at Yellowstone National Park before becoming an explosives handler.
“I had a lot of spare time on my hands, and I had always looked for a place where I could volunteer and give back a little bit,” Roach said. “One day me and a friend from work came up here, and I never left.”
Roach said one of his favorite parts about volunteering is getting to build a relationship with the cats.
It takes the cats several months, if not years, to get comfortable with new volunteers, and he said it is rewarding to hear them make their “chuff” sound of greeting at you for the first time.
“I go home and chuff to my kids, it drives them nuts,” Roach said. “The people at work think I’m crazy. ‘What are you gonna do this weekend, Dana, go work for free again?’ I say, ‘Yes, thank you.’”
Roach said volunteering is not for everyone. Volunteers are required to give at least 12 hours of service per month, but Roach said he believes it’s a worthy cause and he feels like he’s doing his part.
“It’s good that there are places like this, when you go on the rescues and see some of the conditions that these cats are in, this is obviously the best that we can do for them,” Roach said. “For the most part, the cats here are spoiled. You can tell they’re happy.”
Hedderick also said the volunteer job is not easy, but it is worth it to keep the cats company and develop bonds with them.
“It’s just such a neat place, and people are always so interested to see the cats,” Hedderick said. “It gives you some experience in working with people, and the cats grow on you. Once all of a sudden one recognizes you and comes right up to you. It really gets your heart.”
