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"Welcome to our memorial page for animals (and people) that are no longer with us, but are still alive in our hearts. We would like to express our appreciation for those Companion Animal Foundation has lost, or of those special companions for whom we have received a special donation in memory of." If you wish to make a contribution in memory of a loved one, or a loved one's loved one, please send in your donation to Companion Animal Foundation, c/o In Memoriam, 88 Sunny Brae Center, Arcata, CA 95521. Please include your name, contact information, the name of the loved one, anything you wish to express, and the name and address of the family member you would like an acknowledgement sent to. June 26, 1989~January 1, 2010 Taylor volunteered at Companion Animal Foundation during her time as a student at Humboldt State. We wanted to honor her memory and let others know about this amazing soul. I knew her as an avid shopper and donor of the thrift store, and an adopter. Since her volunteer kitty care day didn't fall on the days I worked at CAF, I didn't know of her as well as Marti and Kim did. As the Adoption Counselor, I do remember when she wanted to add a kitty into her life. She had applied for Ashes, a small grey tabby kitten. She called me up one day to check to see the status of her application and if Ashes was available because "Only Ashes, he is the perfect one for me," explained Taylor with compassion in her voice. Since she was a kitty care volunteer, she spent numerous hours with our kitties, and Ashes had that special something-that rare connection that sometimes only comes around once in a lifetime. I had the pleasure of telling Taylor he was all hers! Ashes became known as Blueberry and now resides with Taylor's mother and has other kitty friends. 
"Taylor was someone who loved our kitties, always smiled, had a wonderful spirit, and simply, a fabulous gal! Taylor you are in our hearts, memories, and in the eyes of Blueberry." -Cheri Esparza, CAF Staff Most Tuesday afternoons, Taylor would slip into our kitten room as quiet as a cat herself. I was probably busy ringing someone up, checking donations, or writing up a spay certificate and my attention would be focused on something else. She was always early which was unusual for a volunteer. Before I even started thinking about the end of the day when we would flip the sign on the door to tell people that they couldn’t visit the kittens anymore since our volunteer was here to straighten and clean the room: she’d be there. She would be in one of our chairs cuddling a kitten in her arms. She was a dark, slim and somewhat inner-directed young woman – she looked French as her last name “Duquette” would suggest. But even though, she seemed introverted, she almost always had a devoted friend in tow, male or female. They always seemed to be impressed with her volunteer job and eager to support her obvious love of the animals. Some days when I’d peek in through the big window, she would be coaxing a shy kitten out of a hidden spot in the cat tree or she’d be rocking another gregarious kitten in the chair and petting it. Sometimes, she’d come out to me with a very concerned expression on her face – she’d found something amiss with one of the cats. Most of the time, it was a problem already being medicated or watched. One time, it was a serious eye infection in a kitten that made it appear like its eyeball had sunken into its socket and Taylor was very afraid that it actually wasn’t there at all. She thought there had been a terrible catfight. We decided it merited a trip to the vet, so I asked her to bring it across the street to the clinic and have it looked at. It was just a bad infection: she was relieved but quite shaken by the experience. After socializing with the kittens, she would begin to thoroughly clean the room. And I mean from top to bottom with conscientious, thoughtful, and loving care. This she did in record time too. No messin’. Even if there was a friend in there with her, I don’t think she said two words to them while she was busy. She was a “gentle” whirlwind. She always made me smile because she was like one of those cartoon fairy godmother-types who starts spinning around and in a magical moment, everything is back in its rightful place and sparkling again. When she was satisfied that the kittens were all snug in their beds for the night and the room finished, she’d turn off the light, slip out the door and…shop. She loved the thrift store. The first place she’d head would be the womens' pants because she claimed that CAF was the only thrift store that she could ever find very cool very small size one jeans at. "I will miss…I do miss this girl. I am glad I met her. She made me happy to know that a young person would take an hour out of her hectic college schedule every week to care for homeless animals with absolutely no reimbursement and no fanfare and no ulterior motive. She was content to accept a simple 'thanks so much, Taylor' as she’d nod, wave her hand and stride purposefully out the door on her way back to her real life as a student." ~Marti Massey, CAF Staff As the volunteer coordinator for Companion Animal Foundation, I make most of my contact with volunteers over the phone. Sadly, I never got the chance to meet Taylor in person, but she was always so nice to work with during our conversations and more than willing to make our organization a priority in her busy schedule. "From what everyone at CAF had to say, Taylor was a wonderful and kind volunteer, who did a great job working in our kitten room and loved the animals. We are so shocked and saddened to hear of her passing and her caring and compassionate nature will be sorely missed by so many. My deepest condolences go out to Taylor's family and friends." ~Shannon Simpson, CAF Staff | |
Companion Animal Foundation