About the Board Members

Jennifer

Jennifer served on the board of directors as Secretary from 2009 to present.

Jennifer currently has three feline friends: Duke, Jack and Jake. Her very special boy Dylan lost his battle with acromegaly in April 2008.

Dylan

Dylan was a special “little man.” He was the most intriguing cat I have ever had the pleasure of being around. He had an air of arrogance about him and knew that he was special. I shared my life with Dylan for 10 years. In the summer of 2006, he started to not act like himself. I had just moved into a new home so I thought that he was having a tough time adjusting. After several trips to the vet, he was diagnosed with diabetes. The vet was a bit surprised at the diagnosis as he did not show some of the signs of diabetes (he had not lost weight, in fact he had gained weight). After months of veterinary visits and increases in the amount of insulin, he was still terribly unregulated. He was starting to lose weight rapidly. We were referred to an internal medicine specialist and there were still no answers. He developed horrible pancreatitis and severe corneal ulcerations and was hospitalized on numerous occasions. It was then that he saw a new specialist and we finally received a diagnosis. Dylan had acromegaly. Acromegaly is a condition where there is excessive secretion of growth hormone from a tumor in or near the pituitary gland. It often requires high doses of insulin. Dylan continued to have problems and was treated for hepatic lipidosis, corneal ulcerations, heart disease and pancreatitis. Dylan never lost the fight in him. He was an amazing cat with an unbelievable will to live. My little man died on April 4, 2008 of an apparent stroke. Dylan showed me that even when you are down you are not out. Dylan is the reason why I wanted to become involved in Feline Outreach. Cats are amazing creatures and ask for so little in life. If we can help them to get the veterinary attention that they need perhaps these special cats can teach us a thing or two.

Duke

Duke was Dylan’s best buddy. Duke is 12 years old and sometimes is known as Mr. Crankypants. He likes things his way or no way! He is a special boy as well. He took Dylan’s death hard. But, now that I have two new additions (Jack and Jake) he is truly enjoying his new role as top cat. When Dylan was diagnosed with diabetes, I switched them both to wet food. While Duke made sure to let me know on a regular basis that he was very unhappy with his new menu, he finally gave in. Since that time, his energy has increased, his coat is shiny and his dandruff has disappeared. The wet food has done wonders for Crankypants.

Jack and Jake

The newest additions to my household are Jake and Jack. They are one year old and are double trouble. The more trouble that they can find themselves in the happier they are.