Our team consists of many fosters and volunteers that give much of their spare time, blood, sweat and tears to ensuring these kitties that have nobody else, are not only cared for, but that they feel secure and loved. This team is extremely selfless, and we are so grateful for each and every one of them!

Meet one of our amazing A Place For Meow Rescue fosters — Jason Umlauf! Jason, 40, is originally from Buffalo, NY, and moved to Rapid City in the summer of 2022. He’s been serving in the US Air Force since 2002, and is an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician stationed at Ellsworth AFB. Jason began fostering for A Place For Meow just this past spring. He shared that his son & daughter were visiting from out of state and wanted to adopt a cat, which led him to one of our Sunday adoption events at Petco. “I wasn’t sure if I could commit to adopting, but I learned that foster families were urgently needed. So I decided to give it a try. Since June, I’ve fostered about 10 cats, 6 of them moving on to their furever homes. Having foster cats has been a wonderful experience…learning each of their personalities, playing with them, and providing them a safe environment brings a cascade of great feelings.” In his short time as a foster, he’s been labeled as our resident ‘feral cat whisperer’. When asked what advice he would share for someone thinking about fostering, he said “have patience. Let them get to know you. Many come off the street and don’t know what its like to be loved on. Give them time and space.” In his spare time, Jason is a student at Oklahoma State University, pursuing a Masters Degree in Forensic Science, specializing in Arson, Explosives, Firearms and Toolmarks Investigations. 

I became a foster after I lost my personal cat Loki in July of 2023. He went outside one night, and never came back. I put up posters, I went door to door trying to find my dear sweet Loki. He was three years old at the time and he was with me through a lot of downs in my life and during my pregnancy with my daughter. He was my ESA, a very beautiful white siamese cat with blue eyes. I was devastated when he never came home after months of searching, hoping, this also happened one month after the passing of my grandmother who I was super close with. I did not want to adopt another cat because that felt like I was "replacing" him and I did not want to do that. I did not know what to do and I was super sad. At the time, one of my friends was a foster through A Place for Meow and when she saw how upset I was, missing my cat. she told me about the rescue and how fostering works. As foster, I am now able to bring cats into my home, help them and care for them and help them find their forever home. This was one of the best decisions I've made in my life, not only am I now able to help these lonely cats, but I am also able to heal the spot in my heart that misses my dear Loki.

My journey started with A Place for Meow Rescue by accident with a friend in 2023 looking for help fostering kittens. Jeans, Chino and Khaki came into my life as fosters. As I took them to adoption events, I noticed APFMR needed help and watched Chino pick his future humans by melting quickly into his new momma’s arms. I enjoyed watching the foster kittens pick their humans, so I decided to become a regular kitty wrangler volunteer at Sunday Adoption events. I also realized Jeans and Khaki conned me into being their pawrent and forgot the foster rule that "the goal is goodbye" so I joined the foster failure club. As a cat lover who has been a human servant to cats my entire life, this rescue was the perfect fit for me.  All my cats have chosen me, and now I get to help other kittens and cats choose their humans as well.  There is nothing more rewarding than watching and helping these kitties in our care find their loving homes.