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Sally, aka Hercules, found her way to Animals for Awareness through a
friend of her family's in 1998. She began as a freshman in high school
to fulfill a volunteering requirement. But AFA rubbed off on her and
she logged more than 1,000 hours of volunteer time with us just in
high school alone. Sal even won a prestigious award for her dedication
to our critters! Having Sal around is a prize in itself for AFA!
Sally has some main functions at AFA. Ask
her and she'll tell you, "heavy lifting, reaching the things in high
places; anything else I can get talked into doing, but mostly I enjoy
both assisting with and also doing educational programs. Sally also
says, "One of the things I like about volunteering, in general, is
the feeling that my work is appreciated. Unlike with other places, I
get to play with the critters. Volunteering for AFA has brought me
some of the best experiences I've ever had, whether it's a friendly
"coo" greeting from a lynx or teaching a group of people about the
animals." Sally's favorite animal, "KODIAK!! I LOVE Kody (Canadian
lynxes)!!! Oh, and Zeus the Burmese python, mostly because it's fun
to see people's reactions to her". Kody greets Sally with a big
friendly "COO" and a hard headbutt - a compliment coming from a
wildcat! Her hope for AFA is that someday we'll acquire a larger
piece
of land to "sprawl" out on.
So what about the downside to volunteering?
"Does anyone actually like to clean? Especially during 'mud season'."
Every volunteer will admit that "mud season" is by far the worst when
it comes to outside chores. Hey, we can't control Chicago weather!
Sally has two most memorable moments with AFA. Accompanying AFA to
the Midwest Furfest is one of them. The other is an unmentionable
that lingers on like a folk tale. She and Christy share a lot in
common here.
Sal grew up in Tinley Park, but now lives
in Chicago. She leads a very hectic life! Besides being a 3rd degree
black belt and also a certified judge in Taekwondo, Sal works as a
Pharmacy Technician. She also enjoys digital photography LOVES to
ski. We asked Sally what her future plans are. Here's her answer:
"Oh my, do you really want the answer? Well, I'm currently in
Pharmacy school at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and should
be graduating in May of 2008. So I'm gonna be a drug dealer, legally
speaking. After that I may or may not do a residency with the U.S.
Army and put in some time in service. Then I'll get my MBA in
Pharmacy Administration and work my way up the Walgreens corporate
ladder working on more of the business related side of pharmacy. And
along the way I plan on doing a heck of a lot of
traveling worldwide since I'll make enough money to do so!"
Sal is single too. At 6'3" this striking
beauty is looking for a good guy under the age of thirty and over
6' tall. The perfect guy must also like animals, especially snakes
:-) No wimps need apply. Between her folks' home and her apartment,
Sally has her own mini-zoo which includes: a mutt dog named Ripley,
2 insane Siamese cats, a very cool Columbian red-tail boa (from AFA)
named Morphius, and a very moody Argentine boa named Arwen. She also
adopted Sam, a red-wing macaw from AFA, but admits that Sam's love is
dependent upon the day of the week, as he loves Sal's parents. Sal
encourages anyone with questions about AFA or anything to e-mail her
at: LongTallSal3
AT sbcglobal.net.
What AFA says about Sally: SHE'S AN ANGEL!!
She'll do just about anything for us, which is awesome when we need
an emergency fill-in educator. All we have to do is ask! She's also
our "work horse" and lifts things that would normally take a couple
of people. Sally tends to keep things to herself and rarely
complains. All in all, we can't say enough good things about her!
She's part of our family and we hope she's around forever!
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