WINNSBORO (Nov. 11, 2016) – When retiree Mark Tomsuden relocated to Winnsboro from chilly Vermont last January, he was itching to find meaningful volunteer work in the community. Driving around town, he noticed the Fairfield County Animal Adoption Center. As a longtime animal advocate and self-described jack of all trades, Tomsuden thought he might be a good fit for the Center.
“I just stopped in and asked if they needed volunteers. They said, ‘Sure!’ I signed up and showed up the next day,” Tomsuden said. “Somebody was already (volunteering with) the dogs, so I said ‘All right, I can go do the cats.’ They showed me what to do, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Tomsuden spends weekday mornings chasing meowing balls of fur and cleaning out cages. When The Voice visited Tomsuden at the Cat House, he was diligently cleaning litter boxes and trying to catch an elusive grey kitten who liked to hide under the cage platforms.
The Cat House currently houses about ten adult cats and fifteen kittens in need of good homes, Administrative Assistant for the Adoption Center Angie Glisson told The Voice. When asked if he has a favorite cat at the Center, Tomsuden laughed and said he likes them all, that he couldn’t pick just one.
“Unfortunately, we adopt more dogs than cats and kittens at the Center,” Glisson said.
Tomsuden’s job is more than housecleaning. He also does what he can to improve the cats’ and kittens’ desirability for adoption.
Tomsuden said he has always had a fondness for animals and previously worked as a dairy farmer and raised livestock. Growing up, he said, he had both cats and dogs running around his home. As a dairy farmer, he had as many farm cats as he had cows to milk.
“It gives me a feeling of being needed, of satisfaction that I’m doing something with myself,” Tomsuden said. “I think that’s my favorite part. I take pride in whatever work I do, so I like to keep [the Cat House] as spotless and healthy as I can,” he said as he scratched an all-white cat behind its ears.
The Center is very lucky to have someone like Tomsuden who comes in and is eager to get started, Glisson said. “I see him every day. He’s ready to help with whatever we need doing [in the Cat House].”