This Guy Volunteers And Naps With The Cats At His Local Shelter - And The World Is Now Obsessed With Him

Sep 24, 2018

One unlikely hero has taken the internet by storm. He's none other than Terry Lauerman, a volunteer at a local pet shelter in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Terry's surprising skyrocket into the world of online fame began on September 18, 2018.

That's when the Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary's Facebook page first posted the now-viral photos of Terry and the sanctuary kitties. These pictures have been so popular on social media that they've even made it to the front page of Reddit.

Elizabeth Feldhausen, who founded Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary, was pleasantly surprised by the popularity of the pictures.

She's hopeful that they'll help raise awareness of the important work this cage-free, nonprofit rescue shelter offers to cats that have disabilities that would make them likely candidates to be euthanized at other facilities.

Terry showed up at the shelter for the first time around six months ago. Lately, he's been coming more and more frequently.

In fact, he normally makes daily trips to the shelter. He offered to brush the cats. He has gotten so familiar with all the cats at the sanctuary that he knows their likes and dislikes.

There are normally between 20 and 30 cats at the shelter. Terry loves brushing them so much that he brushes them all on each visit!

One of the most endearing thing about this compassionate cat-loving volunteer is his propensity to fall asleep on the job. The pictures show Terry sound asleep on the shelter's couches with various cats curled up on his lap or at his side.

The kitties pictured with Terry on the Sanctuary' picture's Facebook page look like they're in cat heaven!

Though Feldhausen has tried to explain to Terry how famous the pictures have made him, he just laughed shyly and didn't seem to care too much about any personal notoriety.

He did say he hoped the 400,000 people who had viewed the pictures up to that point would want to donate to help the shelter.

They've found loving homes for over 300 special needs cats in the past two years. That's a work Terry's proud to be a part of supporting.

The number of views for the shelter Facebook post continues to climb. There have now been over 3,000,000 views of Terry Lauerman napping with the sanctuary cats.

Since Terry doesn't have a Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media account, he doesn't really quite seem to grasp the significance of what it means for a picture to go viral.

He doesn't have time for all of that new-fangled electronic activity. He's too busy petting, brushing, loving, and napping with his favorite felines!

What do you think about Terry Lauerman and his love for rescued special needs cats? Do you think he deserves the kind of internet fame he's received so far? Do you think the pictures will end up increasing donations to the Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary? Let us know your thoughts about this heartwarming story in the comments below! If you're as crazy about cats as Terry is, pass this story along to all your feline-loving friends and family members!