Volunteer Spotlight: Aileen McBride
There is a good chance you may already know Aileen. She adoption counsels at every one of our events and has fostered many of our animals. Aileen is currently fostering our ‘fospice’ dog, Nacho, who has been battling an on surge of tumors. He was a really shy guy and Aileen has really shown him the TLC he needed to now be a playful, happy pup! If you have not had the pleasure yet, you can get to know Aileen here now before the next event!
Q. What is your favorite part about volunteering/ fostering?
If I had all the time, money, and resources in the world I'd adopt all the animals I could and build my own little rescue ranch/sanctuary. Since I'm nowhere near that point in my life and I always want to be able to help, I try to volunteer and foster to the best of my current abilities.
Q. Why did you start working with Best Friends?
I think it was shortly after I visited the sanctuary in January 2015. I went there by myself on a week-long 'sabbatical' from work and was really blown away by my entire experience there. On my last day the staff at the welcome center sent me home with a link to the Best Friends volunteer page in New York and the rest is history. What's interesting is that I've been attending Strut Your Mutt in NYC since 2010 though (via other rescue groups), without really understanding what Best Friends was!
Q. Do you have any pets of your own at home?
But of course! I have a Silky Terrier named Beau who is also part Gremlin (the angry kind, not the cute kind). I recently adopted a cat from Best Friends (foster failure!) who I am still trying to find the perfect name for. I also have my little fos-pice (foster/hospice) Chihuahua mix named Nacho. He's been with me just about a year and a half and we've been through two surgeries (his, not mine) together.
Q. What do you do for fun outside of volunteering?
My work schedule can be pretty intense sometimes but I always try to make time for hobbies. There are few things I love more than food so I am constantly trying to find new places to eat at (especially now that I've been vegan for a year - it's like starting the restaurant search from scratch!) I also have a blog that I run and I DJ from time to time.
Q. Do you have a favorite foster pet?
You know...I've fostered over 150 animals (mostly kitties) in my life but my favorite foster is always going to be my fos-pice, Nacho. There's really no experience like it in the world. This little guy came to me as a quivering ball of fur and has grown to become a confidant and happy dog. He didn't know what toys were, he had some interesting resource guarding preferences, and at the end of the day only wanted to hide in the corner of whatever room he's in. Now he greets anyone at the door, loves meeting new dogs on the street, and wags his tail so much that his entire butt wiggles (and sometimes he falls over from it). I mean really, what could top that?
Q. Outside of cats and dogs, what is your favorite animal and why?
Unicorns. Because, unicorns.