Mark Middleton’s
Background and Excerpts from Publications:
Mark
Middleton is the founder and owner of Professional Pet Sitting Plus.
Mark has received certification in pet-sitting from the National
Association of Professional Pet Sitters. Mark is a member of the
National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS), Pet Sitters
International (PSI), Professional United Pet Sitters (PUPPS), and the
Professional Pet Sitters Association of Wisconsin (PPAW). He is also
trained in pet first aid.
Mark has lived with pets virtually his whole life and currently lives
with two adopted cats. An avid pet lover, Mark started volunteering for
the Dane County Humane Society in 1998. He has helped with adoptions of
more than 1000 cats. In 2004, CUNA Mutual Insurance gave the Dane
County Humane Society a “Dollars for Doers” grant in honor of Mark’s
extensive volunteer work with the Humane Society. Mark also received
the Mounds Volunteer Award –“For Outstanding Service and Dedication
Toward Our Mission of Helping People Help Animals” in 2003 and 2004.
Mark
Middleton has been featured in several articles about his volunteer
activities on behalf of animals.
“Volunteer Spotlight: Volunteers for Just About Everything,”
Petpourri Magazine, Summer, 2004, p. 12.
Sally Green, Dane County Humane Society Satellite Center Coordinator:
“Mark is a kind, caring
and compassionate person,” said Green. “And it shows in the work he
does. Mark is one of the most dependable people I have ever met. Not
only does Mark help every animal he can, he is always there to help
others. The staff and volunteers find Mark to be such a kind, caring
and trustworthy volunteer, and they highly respect him as I do.”
Pam McCloud Smith, Executive
Director of the Dane County Humane Society:
"In recognizing Mark
Middleton’s efforts on behalf of the shelter, Pam McCloud Smith, DCHS
executive director, said “Mark is very knowledgeable, dependable, and is
always a positive inspiration for all of the staff and members of the
community he interacts with. His compassion and devotion towards
helping animals is honorable.”
“Congratulations On a Job Well Done,” Mounds Newsletter, 2004.
“Mark goes above and beyond when it comes to saving animals.”
Gretchen Wikan, “One Amazing Volunteer: Mark Middleton Goes Above and
Beyond the Call of Duty,” Petpourri Magazine, Summer, 2000, p.
10.
According to Becky
Betthauser, a fellow Mounds volunteer, “People remember Mark. He has
such a way about him. I can’t explain it. He just tends to do
everything he can to get cats adopted and make people feel comfortable.”
Mark
started by volunteering, but now he is employed as a caretaker at the
Dane County Humane Society Satellite Adoption Centers at Mounds in Sun
Prairie and Stoughton Road. He continues to volunteer at the adoption
center for cats and critters in Sun Prairie and the Critter Center at
Stoughton Road.
Mark
has traveled twice to Kanab, Utah, in order to volunteer at the Best
Friends Animal Sanctuary—which is considered the nation’s premier animal
rescue center. He worked with dogs, cats, and rabbits.