12 Ways of Giving, Day 2 -- Be Kind to your Four-legged Friends

Doug Durante snuggles with one of the sheltered cats at the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter. Photo by Leslie Ceder.

You’ve heard of Cesar, the Dog Whisperer. Well, here in the Berkshires of Massachusetts we’ve got a couple of cat whisperers: Winstanley Partners Account Executive Leslie Ceder and her husband Doug.

The couple has their hands in the care of kitties of all ages and sizes at the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter. The not-for-profit shelter is managed by The Friends of the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter Inc., located in Pittsfield, Mass., and serves as the city’s municipal shelter. Staff and its Board of Directors are dedicated to providing food, shelter and veterinary care to animals in need, and to finding loving homes for them as well. Sonsini Animal Shelter works to reunite stray animals in the area with their owners, too.

Doug, in particular, has been volunteering at the shelter for about three years. He goes there every Thursday morning to help with the cat feeding. He also cleans cages and simply spends time with lonely kitties. 

"These are easy enough tasks to do each week, but they make such a huge impact on the lives of animals," he said.