Since November, 2009, thousands of families have turned to The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank for assistance. Families so strapped that for the moment they cannot afford to purchase the food necessary to keep their pets alive.
To date we’ve provided these families with more than 500,000 meals for their starving pets; helping everyone have the chance for a good dinner.
This past Sunday some 148 families turned to us when they had no where else to turn. And their pets will live to see another day.
We’re a pet food bank, but what we really do is stand up for families in crisis. We wage a battle every day in the fight against hunger. Since people consistently give up their own food to feed their pets, we focus our help at the most fundamental level.
Quite simply, we give a chance to animals that otherwise wouldn’t have a chance, and give hope to families frequently without hope. Because anyone that has a pet has a family. And no family member should go hungry, be they with two legs or four.
Thankfully, we’re not in this alone.
Canidae All Natural Pet Foods and Dogswell Pet Food Company offer our community a level of generous support that simply cannot be articulated in words. Their commitments help keep our pet food bank stocked with premium quality food at a level that means we don’t run out. And while having well stocked cupboards is crucial, it takes more than food for a food based operation to be successful.
It takes respect and dignity and courtesy, and a focus on providing solace to everyone coming through our doors. We are a pet food bank, but we are also a lifeline for every family and every family pet going hungry.
When The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank first opened, we knew that we were needed. The news could not be ignored; times were tough everywhere. And in Oregon, the times were even tougher than most places. While economic conditions may be improving for some families, for many others conditions continue to erode. Giving up their own food to keep their pets alive; starving themselves so that their pets don’t. An altruistic choice that no one should ever have to make.
That’s where The Pongo Fund comes in. We feed the family by feeding their pets; allowing each to have good food for their dinner. But sometimes just having food available is not enough. Sometimes folks cannot get to the food, and they lose hope. Not knowing where to turn for help, they suffer in silence.
That’s what Paul was doing yesterday. He was suffering because he had no food, having taken the meager food box rations he received and fed them to his two dogs, Coco and Lazer. Now the food was gone, and none of them had eaten for three days. And more money for more food would not arrive until the 1st.
Thankfully he got in touch with his caseworker at the Oregon Department of Human Services. He told Chelle the situation, and that he didn’t know what to do. Luckily, Chelle knew what to do. She immediately made the call to The Pongo Fund, explaining that lives were in jeopardy. And The Pongo Fund took it from there.
Our Critical Response Team kicked into action, a team of individuals geared to resolve situations like this quickly because every moment counts. A call was made to Salty’s Dog Shop in Portland; the closest pet food store to where Paul, Coco and Lazer live. And within a matter of minutes, they had a big bag of Canidae ALS dog food mobilized and ready for Paul.
Please think about that for a moment… a HUGE organization like the Department of Human Services working with a small-but-mighty group like Pongo. How could that be? The answer is because we all care; working together to deliver a message of hope every day.
The message from Paul said it best. His words were carefully chosen, but more powerful than any professional speaker could have articulated. He said “My pups are my life. They eat before me. And tonight we will all eat. Tonight is a great night. How can I ever thank you.”
You already have, Paul; you already have.
Times continue to be tough and the community need is growing; but the options for where people can go for help are not. The Pongo Fund is the place that more and more will turn. We’re doing good things, as Paul, Lazer & Coco will attest.
Thanks to the generosity provided by Canidae All Natural Pet Foods, Dogswell Pet Food Company and great community partners like Salty’s Dog Shop, our doors will remain open and we will continue to battle hunger.
Giving a chance to animals that otherwise wouldn’t a chance, and hope to families frequently without hope. It’s the right thing to do.
Larry Chusid
Director
The Pongo Fund
PO Box 8244
Portland OR 97207
larry@thepongofund.org