Vet tech reveals not-so-secret identity

By day, Salina Ibarra works as a certified vet tech at Banfield Pet Hospital at the PetSmart store in Orland Hills, a Chicago suburb.

But at night, Salina is a fearless foster parent for homeless pets.

She opens her home to foster pets through Half-Way 2 Home Animal Rescue, which places animals in temporary homes until they can find their permanent families. The group brings animals to the PetSmart store in Orland Hills twice a month and was the lead partner there during PetSmart Charities’ National Adoption Weekend in September.

Shorthair sidekick

Up until National Adoption Weekend, Salina was fostering three cats: Tango, Cash and Willy.

But that weekend Salina decided to make 2-year-old Willy a permanent part of her family. The one-eyed orange domestic shorthair had been turned in as a stray to a shelter in Ohio.

“Willy is so sweet,” she said. “There just was something about him. We made an instant connection!”

Willy makes five
Willy is her fifth cat, and he joins Twinkles, Dory, Squirt and Crush (who are brothers and sisters). She also has a dog, Kiara, who is a pit bull mix. All were rescue animals.

“It’s a privilege for me to take in these animals and for them to be part of my life,” she said.

We feel pretty privileged to know animal advocates like Salina are saving pets’ lives across the PetSmart Charities’ community.