You might know Brenda Adams as a volunteer at Ark Valley Animal Hospital, or perhaps as a reserve police officer with the Park City Police Department. Or maybe as the wife of Wichita Police Officer Gunny Adams.
You might not know her as any of those titles but even if you know her only by reputation it could very well be as the Crazy Cat Lady who presently tends to 46 cats on the outskirts of Park City and has fostered and found homes for scores more felines over the years. She has created a true sanctuary for dozens of cats in need of an angelic intervention in their lives.
Brenda is a warm and personable lady with a dignified and welcoming personality. A visit to the acreage and out-buildings that accompany her home will likely leave you amazed that the facility exists. You would not be alone because Brenda herself would tell you that there was no plan for it.
From this writer’s perspective, she is a compassionate lady who doesn’t shy away from accepting responsibility for the welfare of an animal and was destined to become an angel to four-legged creatures. It could be said, and Brenda herself says, it “just happened.”
An outside observer would differ. It happened because Brenda put herself in a position to become a savior to not only the 46 cats who are currently residents, but to scores more whom she saved from the Wichita Animal Shelter and countless others who were dumped, abandoned or injured and brought to her attention, which in her case, meant their lives were saved.
All of her current 46 have names and respond to being called. There’s Ava, Alex, Mr. Big, Lily, Mitt and so on. None are the least bit reticent nor fearful of a stranger in their midst. They are clearly very content and more than just a few are anxious to show affection, even to an intruder in their lair. And by the way, Brenda and Gunny have eight rescue dogs, including one who is blind.
Many of these and others before them arrived from the Wichita Animal Shelter, courtesy of another angel who worked there and called them when an overlooked dog, especially one in his senior days, was bypassed by rescue organizations and was hours away from their demise, courtesy of a $180 fee to adopt a doomed animal.
(This writer experienced an identical situation very recently. I happened to be picking up a cat that had been neutered. A bystander and I split the cost of saving a senior small mixed breed that was on the euthanasia list at the Wichita Animal Shelter for the next day. Yep. $180.00.)
Valley Center Animal League members are busy this month soliciting sponsors and donors of merchandise for the league’s father-daughter dance. Many members search for bargains and purchase them to raffle off to the attendees. It is likely there will be TVs, tablets, maybe even a computer or two, as well as a variety of other goodies. Tickets are now on sale at Anne’s Attic and Paw Prints. Look for a more complete listing of items to be auctioned off in the coming weeks in this column.
Next week we will publish the caring relationship between volunteer Brenda and Dr. Julie Evans, DVM, who owns and operates the Ark Valley Animal Hospital.
Follow us on Facebook, connect to our website, keep those aluminum cans coming, get your father-daughter dance tickets, and cherish your animals. Thank you all for your support.
Ed Varner is a member of the Valley Center Animal League. Reach him at or 616-7487.