Animal Welfare United States Project #7079

The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank

by The Pongo Fund

Project Report | Apr 25, 2016
New York. Chicago. Seattle. Portland and More

By Larry Chusid | Director

New York. Chicago. Seattle. Portland and more. Two cats on the Lower East Side in New York going hungry. So was the woman who loved them. All of them seniors, two and four-legged alike. So she reached out to The Pongo Fund for cat food.

80+ years old and asking for help. Not for herself. For her kitties. From New York. Why? Because someone at the mission where she gets her meals told her about us. She had no idea where we were or what we did. All she knew is that someone told her we could help. We did.

The single Mom in Chicago has a dog. One dog and lot of kids. Some she birthed and some that came to her when a family member could no longer care for them. The month had been extra tough. The dog food was almost gone. Her caseworker said a little bit of help would make a big difference. She heard about us from someone she met who used to live in Portland. Could we help in Chicago? We did.

Several in and around Seattle needed help too. It’s only 168 miles away. Yes we did.

Closer to home, the woman who finally left her abusive husband was now safe at an Oregon shelter. With a hungry cat and little else. Could we help? Yes. A few more non-cat things too, because we knew they were needed without being said.

The man that stopped by our open door when we were not open. His face showed struggles. And his shoes did too. Toes sticking out. He didn’t need dog food. He just needed a place to sit down for a few minutes. He relaxed with a bottle of water and a banana.

Then he fell asleep in our chairs.

Luckily my shoes were his size. Just simple shoes with really good insoles for comfort. Not fancy by any means. But I had another pair in my car. Now we both had shoes. He didn't know a thing about The Pongo Fund. That was ok. He just knew he had found a port in a storm.

So many times we are blessed with the opportunity to help. All of us are. You help. We help. Together we help.

And then just yesterday there was the United States veteran a few hours outside of Portland, Oregon, in desperate need of food for his two dogs. He said “I am in a power wheel chair and we have no car to get to Portland...we are not going to make it…” Imagine that. Such honest words shared with a total stranger.

The fear was real. The words hit hard. Just a few hours later they had their food.

New York. Chicago. Seattle. Portland and more. Just a few of the many.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org

(Photo is stock image and does not depict anyone in this story -- Photo credit: Barbara Bates, Montgomery County Animal Shelter)

#pongo #thepongofund #rescue #petfood #helpers

Permalink

Nov 24, 2015
A Bowl Of Hope

By Larry Chusid | Director

When the stomach hurts so much that a bowl of hope is more important than a bowl of food. What then? When the hunger is greater than what a bag of kibble can fix. How do we help then? Because going to the store and buying a bag of hope just isn’t an easy thing to do.

Caring and nurturing and loving and doing every single thing possible and still it’s not enough. Because sometimes there just isn’t an easy answer. Not in this lifetime, anyway.

When she said she needed food, that sentence alone, was a good thing. Because The Pongo Fund has food. But the other words were less good. Because those words shared both a broken heart and a broken spirit.

And those words alone, singularly and together, told us this is a desperate situation that kibble alone may not fix. Another strong and fierce senior that has outlived her family and now she is all that’s left of a once full family tree.

And that’s what hurt so bad. Because this Mom who had outlived her own two-legged children was still Mom to her four-legged ones. And she was willing to do whatever she could to help them.

The food she requested was a Hail Mary. Because her cat had stopped eating a few days ago. And more food wasn’t necessarily the answer. Because this kitty friend had received the best veterinary care possible, and there may be something more involved.

But someone had said something to someone and then to someone else and then to her and there she was, hopeful that we had the magic bag of food that would be just the thing to get her cat eating again. Giving her hope that we had something that no one else had.

Yet of course she knew that was likely not going to be the case. But hope was still there. And so were we.

We offered everything we could. Even things we weren’t sure we could do. Because we knew we’d find a way.

And that’s the honor of being part of our Emergency Kibble Response Team. Because we’re still going to do what we can when we can. Just because we can’t buy a bag of hope doesn’t mean we can’t deliver it. Even if we have to make our own. Even if it may not be enough.

And that’s how we ended up in the doorway of a hurting yet proud octogenarian and presented her with a smorgasbord of cat food that numbered more than 20 different samples. Wet food and dry food and homemade food and baby food and more. Fresh blankets and bedding too. And fluffers and feathers and catnip thingys too. And a quaint old book filled with cat stories that we knew they could read together.

With a promise that we’d be back again and again and again to bring more of whatever is needed as long as it’s needed. Because that’s what we do when we deliver hope. We don’t stop.

Bringing hope. And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org

Permalink

Jul 13, 2015
Peanut

By Larry Chusid | Director

Peanut got hit by a car. And this little Dachshund quickly lost most use of his rear legs. His Mom is homeless and penniless, currently sleeping on the couches of whatever friends have room for her.

Despite her own hardship she managed to get Peanut to a vet to be stabilized. But additional care and xrays were needed and they cost money that she did not have. She said she tried all the usual places for help but with no success. Then she found The Pongo Fund. We are a Pet Food Bank, but we always strive to go above and beyond to provide whatever help we can. Because sometimes being a Pet Food Bank just isn’t enough.

Thankfully donors to our Emergency Veterinary Care Fund are here to make this help possible. And after learning more about Peanut, we knew we needed to help him too. Because he needs us, as does his Mom.

Further examination and xrays found nothing needing surgery. With medication and rest this little guy should be feeling better soon. Our physical therapist is standing by ready to lead Peanut through hydrotherapy to continue his recovery. We’re not sure how much this will cost, and we invite you to help if you can.

Every situation like this hurts. Even when we can help, they still hurt. This is the email we received. Read it and you’ll understand.

“Peanut is my life and is what keeps me going everyday, I love him beyond anything and am reaching out to anyone I can to see if they can help him get at least an X-ray to see what's going on with him. I was told about your foundation and that you may possibly be able to help in some way. I have been praying for him and praying that someone can help my baby, my son. Please, if at all possible, I am begging for help for Peanut. I don't know what I will do if God takes him, I just don't know what to do.”

For Peanut and the Mom who loves him.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. For Peanut. thepongofund.org

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.