It started simply. Larry Juday (M’68) of Vancouver, Washington, had retired and pondered getting a dog. With several cats in the house, his wife, Susan Immer, suggested he “get his dog fix at the shelter.” This was in 2006, and hundreds of kittens plus their community have benefited as result of that conversation. Juday and Immer have become fabulous feline foster parents, leading efforts to help the Humane Society for Southwest Washington thrive and help animals find their forever homes.

The “dog fix” turned into regular shelter volunteering for both Juday and Immer. As the couple helped out at the shelter, their skills with cats were quickly noticed. The shelter staff asked them to take home a few kittens who needed special care, such as bottle feeding. Knowing kittens do much better in a home environment, Juday and Immer agreed. The couple have now fostered more than 215 cats.

“From the very start, I recorded every kitten’s name and ID number,” Juday recalls. He includes the day the kitten arrived and when it was adopted. The couple enjoy naming the kittens and have used mountain ranges, craft beverages, and famous department stores as inspiration. Next up, Juday says, are kittens named after Purdue notables, so Southwest Washington could soon have cats named John Purdue or Gene Keady.

Each animal has its own story, from the just-born orphan kittens who fit in the palm of Juday’s hand to the adult cat who was poisoned by marijuana and needed specific medical care. Both Juday and Immer are skilled in giving medicine and injections prescribed by the shelter’s veterinarian. This makes them ideal foster caregivers for felines with special needs.

As one might guess, there have been times the couple has become so attached to pets that there was no letting go. “I’m sure there are very few foster families who haven’t ‘failed’ and adopted a foster cat,” Immer says. Juday shares their own story of cat named Harvest who had been turned in at the shelter with respiratory issues. The cat regained his health under their care and started to help socialize the foster kittens, serving as a mentor for them. The cat was a neighborhood favorite who visited kids at the school bus morning and night. “He was the smartest cat!” Juday asserts. 

In addition to helping animals, Juday and Immer help coach other volunteers. Especially during the beginning days of the pandemic when people were seeking pets, it was advantageous that they had helped the shelter establish a screening and training program. Supporting current foster families meant the couple would meet people in their driveways to help with cat injections during times of social distancing.

Juday credits Purdue with helping him learn to think on his own and figure things out. “You were not spoon-fed at Purdue — you had to hit the ground running to get the job done, he says. “Those skills have helped me my whole life.”

Juday’s “get it done” skills helped the shelter become certified as part of the Service Enterprise certification program — a two-year process certifying the animal shelter in volunteer management and organizational performance. Only 11 percent of nonprofits nationwide have received this designation.

Juday also helped develop a process for cattery volunteers — people who help in the cat room where prospective families come to meet animals. “It is important to train the volunteers on procedures and ways to interact with the families to make the perfect match,” he says. “For example, steering an older person to a lap cat versus a rambunctious kitten has a higher outcome of success.”

All of this hard work has not gone unnoticed, as Juday and Immer were recently named National Foster Heroes by Petco Foundation. They are in an elite group of only 22 honorees selected from more than 400 nominations by humane societies throughout the United States.

In working with so many cats and kittens, Juday can debunk myths about felines. “There is a myth — or even a taboo — that cats don’t like their tummies rubbed like dogs do,” he says. “That is just not true! Many cats will roll over for a rub.”

Is Juday sad he never got that dog? It is safe to say the fostering path has provided great joy along with community service. “When we send a kitten to its forever home, we give the new family a transition basket,” he says. “Some of these families remain in contact and send us holiday pictures of the cat in a costume. It’s a joy to see cats thriving in their own homes.”