A Foster Spotlight on One of POPP’s Amazing Cat Fosters, Dan Hodges
Dan Hodges moved to Kennewick with his wife, Pernell, about five years ago. They first were introduced to POPP when they adopted their cat Olive at a POPP PetSmart adoption event in 2021. After that, Dan would still come on Saturdays to simply say ‘hi’ to the kitties there and chat with the cat adoption team. This was the beginning of Dan’s work with POPP, quickly becoming an adoption day volunteer.
After volunteering at adoption events for about two years, Dan and Pernell decided to start fostering cats. Now they’ve been fostering for more than three years.
Fostering Cats with POPP
The first cats they ever fostered were a group of little orange kittens. They named them after US athletes, inspired by the summer Olympics taking place at the time. Since then, dozens of cats have come through their home, and Dan remembers them all.
“I love getting updates from the people who adopt my cats. Whenever one of my fosters gets adopted, I always write down my number somewhere on their paperwork and encourage them to send me updates,” said Dan. “I love seeing where they’ve come. Especially the kittens, I love seeing them grown up.”
As a huge cat lover, Dan sees fostering as a chance to get to know all kinds of cats.
“I think fostering is a really fun opportunity to meet a lot of cats,” said Dan. “If you were ever thinking about getting a cat, but you’re not confident in just outright adopting them, fostering lets you get to know them. If you don’t end up adopting the cat, at least you’ve helped that cat find a loving home at the end of the day by fostering.”
Life Outside of Fostering with POPP
Dan and Pernell are cat lovers through and through. They have six cats of their own, whom they love very dearly, four of which came from POPP. Only one of those cats was a ‘foster fail,’ Flash.
“Flash adores the foster cats,” said Dan, quick to show photos of Flash playing with his foster kiddos. “He becomes their dad and is actually upset when he’s not allowed in the room with kittens.”
Dan and Pernell grew up in Central Oregon and left for Corvallis, OR to attend Oregon State University. Dan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and went on to earn a master’s degree in statistics. Pernell achieved a bachelor’s degree in public health. After college, they moved to the Tri-Cities for Dan’s career at PNNL. Today, Dan teaches math and statistics at WSU Tri-Cities, and Pernell works for the Benton Franklin Health District.
In their free time, Dan and Pernell also enjoy playing games; both board games and PC games. They love food and going out to restaurants.
Fostering Dogs and/or Cats with POPP
Are you interested in fostering with POPP? POPP will cover all of the expenses for the pet, including food and medical care. All you need to do is provide care and a loving home while the pet(s) await their adoptions.
You can apply to be a dog foster or a cat foster.
Please reach out if you have questions.