Getting to Know Salisbury Freshman Elizabeth Sterner
Elizabeth Sterner contacted The Center for Animal Health & Welfare at the end of 2019. The SHS freshman and her family wanted to foster an older cat over the holiday break.
The Sterners selected Sparkie, a 12½ year old orange and white tabby cat who had lived in the shelter for five years. It didn’t take long for Sparkie to become a part of the family and the Sterner’s fostering turned into adoption.
“We just wanted to give her a home,” Elizabeth said. “She’s such a nice, sweet cat; she likes to purr and slap her tail up and down.”
Sparkie is the third cat the Sterner’s adopted from the same Easton pet adoption agency. She joined Ficus and Clover, who the Sterners took home as kittens last fall. The Sterners also have two german shepherds in siblings Lena and Bandit and a Russian Tortoise named Scout.
Elizabeth first connected with The Center for Animal Health & Welfare last summer when she was looking to complete her Girl Scout Silver Project. The project required a certain number of hours, it needed to make a difference in the community and it had to be permanent.
“It’s the highest award a cadet can earn,” said Elizabeth, who has been involved in Girl Scouts since kindergarten.
With the help of her father, Elizabeth extended the cage on the patio (called the “catio”) so the staff could use an already existing door and directly let cats onto the patio. They also created a cat door within that existing door and a PVC pipe tree with tiers for the cats to climb. So the cats now have two ways in and out, through the window (via the pipe tree) and the cat door.
The project also improved ventilation which helps keep germs down and animals healthier thanks to the constant air flow. The staff can keep the porch open when the weather allows and not have to worry about a cat slipping outside into a non-enclosed area.
“The fact that Elizabeth decided to choose an animal shelter, reached out and wanted to make a difference really touched the staff,” said Liz Bryant, the facility’s feline supervisor. “We run solely on donations and will take any help we can get. Elizabeth is very responsible and we would be glad to have her for any other projects.”
Elizabeth is the only daughter of David and Theresa Sterner and is the oldest of five children. Her brother William is in 8th grade at SMS. Gabriel, Aaron and Zachary attend HST.
Elizabeth enjoys baking, cooking and is a member of the SHS rifle team. She is also an avid reader (loves Ally Carter action mysteries) and is an excellent student (biology is her favorite subject).
Obviously, Elizabeth is an animal lover and has become a huge advocate of pet adoption from shelters.
“I didn’t have cats at the time when I started working on the service project,” Elizabeth said. “Then my brothers and I thought we should get a cat and we got two and then Sparkie. Just to give an animal a home, who needs one, felt really good.”
#yoursalisbury