Bothell resident Cathy Olson has been named as the Save a Forgotten Equine’s December volunteer of the month.

According to a press release, she is being recognized for four years of consistent service that includes working barn shifts and performing night shifts, various clerical tasks, editing the weekly volunteer update and staffing the SAFE booth at public events.

SAFE is a nonprofit in Redmond that rescues and rehabilitates horses that have been starved, neglected or abused and provides its horses with needed veterinary care, hoof care and additional training to help ensure them a safe and productive future.

Olson started volunteering for SAFE in fall 2013 on an afternoon chores shift. When a change in career and job schedule prevented her from being able to commit to a regular weekly shift, she continued to fill in when she could and helped with special events. She missed being around horses, so she started a night check shift and then started helping the volunteer manager with clerical tasks, the release states.

In the release, she said she started volunteering with SAFE when she became an empty-nester with time on her hands.

“My riding instructor mentioned SAFE needed volunteers, so I attended a fall open house and met a beautiful horse named Phoenix right off the bat, who was the unofficial greeter at SAFE in Woodinville and that sealed the deal,” Olson said in the release.

According to the release, she is especially drawn to the companion horses because she sees so much potential and opportunities in loving a horse who is no longer able to carry a rider.

While she hasn’t ridden for several years, Olson considers volunteering with SAFE a great way to stay involved with horses.

“It can be sad to see the various circumstances of why horses come to SAFE,” she said in the release. “But it is uplifting to know we can make such a difference in their lives and help them find their happily ever-after forever home.”