Volunteer Spotlight: Scott

By Kimberly Green | April 19, 2022

This Volunteer Appreciation Week, we’re spotlighting a few of our amazing foster volunteers! With ongoing support of our regular clients and our new Preserving Families in Times of Crisis program, which is funded by PetSmart Charities, we’ve had a lot of need for foster volunteers in recent months. Thank you so much to these dedicated volunteers for their support!

Let’s kick things off with Scott, a brand-new volunteer who joined PAWS NY about four months ago. Right away he started working as a Housecall volunteer and signed up to foster Tappy and Angelina for a few weeks while their guardian was hospitalized. 

Scott, who has spent much of his life volunteering and working with nonprofits, says, “There is so much in the world I cannot affect, but this is one way I can help.” Learn more about Scott, his work in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and his favorite memories with Tappy and Angelina in the Q&A below!

Scott Volunteer Spotlight - A man with silver hair and glasses in a dark long-sleeved shirt lounges and lays back on a couch, with a small dog tucked up on his left side, and a larger yellow lab curled up on his right side.

Scott with Tappy and Angelina

How did you hear about PAWS NY? 

After I retired, I did some investigating to find a nonprofit to support. I had worked with an organization with the same name in Los Angeles during the worst of the AIDS crisis. Back then, they were focussed (at least in LA) with AIDS patients that had pets but needed help. I found PAWS NY, which does a similar thing with people that need support for their animals in NYC. Animals are one of the best means of support for people.

Why are you passionate about PAWS and our mission of helping people by helping pets? 

I have seen first-hand the way pets improve people’s lives. I think it is one way that I can help others that is immediate and fulfilling. I also have to thank my husband, as he did not sign up, but he was a huge part of my being able to foster PAWS pets for so long.

Do you have pets of your own? Or have you in the past? Tell us about them!

I have had terriers for the past 30 years. Our most recent boy, Trevor, died in April 2020 during the beginning of the COVID lockdown. It was a hard time without him.

What do you do as a PAWS NY volunteer? Which clients & pets do you help? What do you do with the pets during your shift? 

We fostered Tappy and Angelina for a little over a month. I also walk a different little dog in Hell’s Kitchen twice a week for a woman with mobility issues.

Scott's Husband Ed - A man in a patterned button down shirt and shorts sits on a couch with two dogs laying their heads in his lap: a small white dog and a bigger yellow lab.

Scott’s Husband with Tappy and Angelina

What is your favorite part about volunteering? Do you have any favorite memories?

I like volunteering because of the way it helps others. There is so much in the world I cannot affect, but this is one way I can help. My favorite unexpected memory from our time with Tappy and Angelina is hearing them both snore! My dogs used to dream, but never snored.

Where are you from? Where in the city do you live now?

I’m from Los Angeles, born and raised. I lived there for most of my life, but I have been in New York now for 16 years.

What do you do for work? What brought you / keeps you in NYC?

My husband got a transfer here (for a two-year gig, 16 years ago!). I transferred with Citibank until I semi-retired, but I still teach Project Management every now and then. I love everything about New York, except the weather. I’m a real LA person: I do not like seasons.

What do you like to do in your spare time (besides volunteer with PAWS NY)?

I reviewed off-Broadway shows for years up until COVID (over 200). I worked for a site in England. I also write, but just for fun.

Share 1-3 fun facts about yourself!

  1. I worked with a U.S. nonprofit in Bosnia Herzegovina for many years. It is called Project1948.ngo and we worked in Sarajevo to help young adults with the aftermath of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  
  2. I presented at the United Nations for Bosnia, in support of the UN’s goals for women. Note: Bosnia is not represented deeply at the UN and so Project 1948 often attended the United Nations in representation for Bosnia in the ECOSOC meetings (Economic and Social Council).
  3. I won $22,100 on Jeopardy in 2013!

Thanks so much to Scott (and his husband) for their support and dedication! If you’d like to volunteer for PAWS NY, sign up for an orientation now.

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