He has ears like landing strips and sings like Pavarotti, but he has some aches and pains and infections too. Adn that’s why we’re here. Nine-year-old Baaron is Dog #1 out of some of the 50 animals that The Pongo Fund Emergency Veterinary Response Team will provide care for at a place filled with love in downtown Portland. A building packed with people who know struggles on a first name basis. But they also have pets, lots of them senior pets. And while these wonderful people may be short on the dollars needed to enjoy all that life has to offer, their pets know no such challenges. All they know is that they are loved. But sometimes things like arthritis and yeasty ears and infected eyes and sore teeth and heart murmurs and tumors and masses and overgrown nails and fleas and allergies and all sorts of things that cause these animals to hurt and ache and itch need some extra help, the kind of help these wonderful people who are dignified war veterans and brave survivors of domestic violence and strong people who have kicked drug habits and so much more do not have the money to pay for. And that’s where The Pongo Fund comes in. Teaming up with Dr. Melissa and Dr. Robin, we arrive on scene with a mobile medical hospital and do everything we can to bring comfort to all, two and four-legged alike. And before we leave we even set up a pet food pantry in this building so these animals will never go hungry. These are long days filled with critical work, but they leave our hearts so full that we’ve already scheduled our next visit. As for Baaron, we got this sweet guy feeling better, and he even treated us to a song when we were done.