Since becoming the official laundry partner of Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS), we’ve gotten to meet so many passionate animal advocates.  But these heroes exist in a variety of organizations – many affiliated with BFAS. To honor them for their efforts, Speed Queen donated several of these special foster moms and dads a TR7/DR7 set to help simplify laundry day and enable them to focus on providing the best possible care for their furry foster friends. Today, we’ll introduce you to Jade in Red Lion, Pa.

Jade Heisey was just 8 years old when she began what would become a life-long passion of helping animals. She started by volunteering at her local shelter with simple acts – reading to dogs, walking them, sitting and chatting with them to help with socialization. Jade knew she was making a difference.

From there, Jade’s impact progressed to helping control the area cat population, becoming active in trapping, neutering/fixing, and releasing.

“This is the only thing I feel I’m meant to do,” she said of her work with animals.

It was during these early years that Jade met a Great Dane slated for euthanasia. He seemed so calm in the kennel, but he had biting issues, which made adoption a difficult proposition. The experience helped shape her views of the challenges shelters face and motivate her to want to do more.

Putting her experience to good use

As a vet tech with 10 years of clinic experience, there’s no doubt Jade has continued to make a difference in the lives of so many animals. But it still wasn’t enough. She began fostering kittens…but not just any.

“I take whatever needs the most care,” she said. That means being one of the only tube feeders for her local rescue, Centerville Pet Rescue. Thus, she’s kept plenty busy as rescues aren’t equipped to handle such special needs.

Her soft spot for these special needs kittens is clearly rooted in that Great Dane she met years ago. Because of how much care they need, many of these kittens wouldn’t have a chance without Jade’s special care and love. She believes in her heart that every animal should have a chance at finding a good home…and that belief was tested years ago when Ruby walked into her life and solidified everything she felt.

Ruby

Jade was living in Utah when, back in Pennsylvania, Ruby was slated to be euthanized and a friend reached out to her – could she take on this Bengal cat, who was considered a lost cause due to behavioral issues?

Stars aligned for this cat, as it just so happened someone was headed to Utah and could transport. That was the easy part. The next year would be trying…and that’s putting it lightly.

“She tested limits every single day,” Jade said.

As anyone who has experienced animal training or behavior challenges knows, patience is key. But that doesn’t always come easy.

Thankfully, Jade didn’t give up…even when Ruby seemingly urinated everywhere but in the litter box. Veterinarians found nothing wrong with the cat. Behaviorists didn’t identify any issues. Still, Jade’s patience continued to win out. She tried an animal communicator. She learned that Ruby, at some point, had a traumatic litter box event. Her advice for Jade was to let the cat know it’s OK to use the litter box.

To truly understand what it feels like when the universe puts an animal and their human together, you must understand how five simple words changed two lives – “Ruby, go use the litterbox.”

Just like that, after a year of fighting for and not giving up on this cat, Jade’s connection with Ruby grew…simply seeking to understand brought two hearts closer. Looking back at all the factors that aligned to put these two together, Jade uses one word to put it all in perspective – “fate.”

“All of it lined up too well,” she said of the confluence of events that brought this tough case to her. “There’s no way this was a coincidence.’

A plethora of tools

Jade uses that experience, her vet tech background, and the learnings that come with each individual animal to guide her dealings with fosters (she estimates that she’s easily fostered more than 300 cats).

“I learned to work with them and not against them,” she said of needing to understand the unique needs of each animal.

This is the passion that drives Jade to never give up—and not just help her cat fosters but also share her knowledge with others to do the same. She strives to educate others that even special needs animals deserve the best care.

Her advice to those considering fostering is simple “just do it.” Jade directs them to speak with their local shelter or rescue organization and let them know what they are looking for. But what about that fear of letting go? How does one deal with the challenge of letting a foster leave their home?

“The feeling you get when they are adopted overpowers any feeling that you need to keep them,” she said.

To learn more about Centerville Pet Rescue, visit here or to follow Jade’s foster journey, click Here