It happened exactly 3 ½ years ago today. The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank opened its doors for the first time on November 8, 2009.

On that Sunday morning Pam Bartel was first in line. She and her husband had lost their home to foreclosure after her husband lost his job. And they desperately needed help keeping their animal family fed. Because their pets were family too.

Loading bags of Canidae dog food and Felidae cat food into the trunk of her car, she said she was looking forward to getting home and feeding Fuzzy the dog and Spaghetti the cat. Knowing that they wouldn’t go hungry made her eyes well up. “That makes me want to cry.”

The Pongo Fund remains a small volunteer driven team. A team comprised of diligent and dedicated individuals that together have provided nearly 5,000,000 nutritious meals for tens of thousands of starving family pets throughout Oregon and SW Washington.

A team determined to reduce shelter populations and end needless euthanasia. A team determined to give a chance to animals that might not otherwise have a chance. A team determined to give hope to families that have little else to be hopeful for.

Because sometimes, a simple bowl of kibble can be the force that both keeps a family together and saves the lives of the animals they love.

As Albert Pine said: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

Wishing you Peace Love and Kibble. Thank you from all of us at The Pongo Fund.

The names and faces have been changed for privacy.

What does it mean to Pongo? It means that when you have lost your job and the first paycheck from your new job is still 30 days away, and the food you feed your 90 lb. rescued greyhound is a high-quality special diet due to her extreme allergies, and the $70 cost per bag is $70 more than you have right now, and you have already borrowed from everyone you know, pawned everything you have and they won’t let you give any more blood this week, then you Pongo.

Because this 90 lb. lapdog named Elsa is the most important thing in the world to you.  And you will stop at nothing to make sure she is happy and healthy and never knows hunger. These are the times you Pongo.

More than 350 hungry animals received nutritious food from The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank yesterday. And every single one of them has a story. This was the story for Jen and Elsa. A story that Jen said did not begin well on Sunday when she sat in despair, unsure of what she was going to do. She had heard good things about The Pongo Fund but worried that what she heard was too good to be true.

And she said the last thing she wanted to do was tell her Elsa she was leaving to get her breakfast but come home empty handed. She felt afraid, she felt nervous and she felt defeated. But when she left, she said she was walking on air with a big bag of the very food she had dreamed of getting. And she could not get home fast enough to show Elsa the new bag.

This is what it means to Pongo.

32 trained Pongo volunteers rocked the house yesterday, coming together as we always do to celebrate the people and their pets. Yesterday was a Pongo Day. And we are still smiling about it today.

Peace. Love. Kibble. From all of us at The Pongo Fund.

This is Walter. And Walter is a 6,000 pound SUPERSTAR. Because he and his Mom Glynis hosted  Doin’ It For The Doggies Part 2 last week.  A rockin’ event that was beyond fun with more than 100 devoted pet lovers, fosters, rescuers and all around great people together in one room to Do It For The Doggies. And when all was said and done, Walter, Glynis and their cast of friends raised enough money to buy 6,000! lbs. of dog and cat food for The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank. Because hungry people have hungry pets. And during these tough times, it really could be anyone of us. On behalf of all of us at The Pongo Fund, we wish you Peace. Love. And Kibble. And we sincerely thank you.

Welcome to the world, sweet baby. The bay mare, Heart’s Desire, from the Howard 22 herd of rescued horses, has given birth to a thriving healthy buckskin filly. Born at 2:45 pm on Sunday, April 14, 2013, this buckskin filly is very tall and looks remarkably like her sire, known as Howard. This photo was taken at less than 15 minutes of age, before any attempt to stand. We are all very happy that mom and baby are doing so well. Congratulations to all of the aunties and uncles that have sent donations of love and money to help these majestic animals. Thanks to you this sweet girl was born into loving arms and will have the best chance at a long and healthy life.

“A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, big or small, young or old. He doesn’t care if you’re not smart, not popular, not a good joke-teller, not the best athlete, nor the best-looking person. To your dog, you are the greatest, the smartest, the nicest human being who was ever born. You are his friend and protector.”

Well said by Louis Sabin.

Peace. Love. Kibble. thepongofund.org

My name is Larry Chusid and today is my birthday. And my birthday gift to me is taking this moment to say thank you to you. To each and every one of you. Thank you for caring about the animals. Thank you for loving the animals. Thank you for being the voice for the animals. For they too deserve to be heard.

“Until one has loved an animal, part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France.

My birthday wish is to see the end of animal abuse. End it forever. Finished. Kaput. Done. To stop any and all animal suffering. To end the agony that these majestic friends far too frequently feel when people choose to do bad things. Please join me in helping make that happen.

And to find a way to educate those that bring harm so that they too can learn what they have done is wrong. And someday, so that they too can celebrate and enjoy the unconditional love of an animal friend.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi

For my birthday, this is my wish. Because the animals deserve better. Each and every one of them, wherever they are, they deserve better.  And we owe them that much and more.

Especially for those already gone at the hands of abuse, they deserved better. May they rest in peace. Running on rainbows. Sleeping in clouds. Knowing the smiles they brought. Knowing they were loved.

“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” ~ Mother Teresa.

Every wish that I wish for the animals I wish the same for the people as well. Because we share this fine earth together. Even for those that bring harm and may not seemingly deserve that wish, I still wish it. Because that wish brings hope.

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.” ~ Orison Swett Marden

And with that wish I wish that tomorrow will bring a better day for all. For all animals, for all creatures, for all people, for all beings, for all living things great and small. You get the point. That is my birthday wish.

On my birthday, I thank my friends at Canidae Pet Food Company. Most importantly, I thank Scott Whipple. Because without hesitation he stepped forward to help me realize my dream.  My dream of helping the animals. Of dramatically reducing shelter populations and ending needless euthanasia.Of dramatically reducing shelter populations and ending needless euthanasia. Of keeping families together during these toughest of times. I thank you.

“You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi

On my birthday, I thank my friend Howard Hedinger. He has done more for others than words can ever tell. But instead of celebrating his own accomplishments he celebrates the accomplishments of others. Standing proudly in the background with love in his heart. Asking for nothing in return other than doing all he can to make the world a better place. I thank you.

“Never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well being of a person or an animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

On my birthday, I thank Lesley, Stan, Colleen, Bill, Molly, Tom, Dolly, Scooby, Pickle, Buddy, Joe, Ellyn, Susan, Narissa, Sara, Patty, Stacey, Christi, Daniel, Trent, Jerry, Alan, Karen, Doug, Rita, Mark, Richard, Dane, Francine, Jennifer and thousands of others. You have given more than you have received. I thank you.

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” ~ Rumi

On my birthday, I thank every single person that makes Team Pongo purr. You are the core group of dedicated souls that have defied the odds and proven that impossible is possible. Getting up and showing up time and time and time again to make a difference for those less fortunate. There are far too many names to mention here, but please know that you are important and appreciated and loved. I thank you.

“Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali

And on my birthday, I thank Pongo for being who he was. The grand spirit of life that knew it was all about love, kindness and joy. And great food. He lived large and he lived long and against impossible odds he thrived. Outliving his years many times over. Always with zest and gusto and love. But the 19 years we had together were still not enough. And I miss him.

This message is far longer than I had hoped. Yet it does not even begin to come close to conveying the sincere gratitude that I have for each and every one of you. And just because your name is not noted here does not mean you are not held dearly. Because you most certainly are. Because we are all in this together.

“Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There is a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in.” ~ Leonard Cohen

For my next year and each one of the many thereafter my wish for myself is that I will ring more bells. That I will be more understanding. More compassionate. More patient. More forgiving. That I will have less gray hair and lower cholesterol.

And that I will always err on the side of kindness.

If nothing else I hope that I will bring the same kind of kindness that our animal friends bring. Because if I can do that, I will have done well.

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, I can do or any kindness that I can show… let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.”  ~ Stephen Grillet

~ Larry Chusid, Founder, The Pongo Fund. March 20, 2013.

This beautiful horse, part of the Howard 22, is now safe. That makes 12 so far with more to follow. Awesome!

It was just a few weeks ago that the story broke about 22 starving horses found along the road in Central Oregon. Victims of a summer drought and a harsh winter. The ground was frozen solid and they were literally starving to death one day at a time.

As many of you know The Pongo Fund is Oregon’s Pet Food Bank. We focus our efforts on dogs and cats. Saving them from starving, suffering and being euthanized in overcrowded shelters when their families cannot afford to keep them fed.

Our award-winning and volunteer driven program has provided more than 4 million nutritious meals to date, saving the lives of some 50,000 animals.

But on that day in January we decided we will help these horses too. Because we cannot just stand by and let these majestic animals starve.  Not without doing all we can to help them. Because that’s what The Pongo Fund does.

As Mother Teresa said: “If you cannot feed 100, then feed just one.” Or in this case, 22.

The Pongo Fund continues building a collaborative team to work on this effort. Longtime animal advocate extraordinaire Erin Bergstrom, philanthropist Howard Hedinger, the Grandycandy Fund, Salty’s Dog & Cat Shop, Kate, Kim and the awesome folks at Sound Equine Options, Wheeler County Judge Chris Perry, Wheeler County Sheriff Chris Humphreys and many more are all involved.

And the team continues to grow as trainers, vets, farriers, fosters and more join the effort. Because it really does take a village. But all of this takes money with expenses for things including hay, boarding, transportation, vaccinations and all sorts of medications. For example, many of these horses are covered in ticks and they all need nutritional supplements.

We are proud to report that thanks to your generosity we have already received some $20,000 in donations specifically to Save the Howard 22. These funds are in an account known as the Save the Howard 22 Fund.

This situation will take many months to resolve but we’re pleased to report that progress is being made. Please keep in mind that we are not a group of professionals trained in rounding up roaming horses. Just a group of dedicated individuals called together to do what no one else was doing. That is, stepping forward to save these lives. And so far that is exactly what we are doing.

We will continue to pass along updates as we have them. But for now, please know that these horses have better days ahead.

We would be honored to have your support. Please donate. Please share this post. Please care.

Thank you.

Saint Francis of Assisi is known as the patron saint of animals. And the new Pope has taken the name of Francis. He is Pope Francis I. A special name, particularly for those of us that love the animals. Let us celebrate and bless the animals too, for this Pope named Francis.