It was a cold day. The day before her birthday. There was no celebration planned. No gifts. No fancy dinner. Actually, there was no dinner at all. Because she was broke and going hungry. Even worse was that her cat was going hungry too. And her beloved cat was 14 years-old and the only family that she had. 

She could be your Mother. Your Grandmother. Your Auntie. Your neighbor. And when she thought she had nowhere else to turn, she found The Pongo Fund.

Following is the email stream from the moment we received the first email right up until the last email. Exactly as it happened. Exactly as the story unfolded. There are a lot of words here. And as you read these words you will feel the meaning of the words. The heartbreak. The fear. The hunger. The love. The hope. The gratitude. All of it can be felt through the words.

But all of those words together still cannot truly convey the entire meaning of what it feels like to watch your 14 year-old cat going hungry. When you are going hungry too. The only family that you have. On the day before your birthday.

For all of you reading this I thank you. I thank you for giving your time to get better taste of why The Pongo Fund exists. For getting a better taste of the work we do and why we do it.

“Dear Pongo…Please help my kitty! I am down to my last can of cat food! I have no money to get food. No money at all. Please help my kitty not starve, she is all I have and I love her more than anything in this world. If you are within walking distance of me I can come get it or I will give you my address. Please help me with my baby! Thank you!”

And The Pongo Fund emailed back.

“Hi, thank you so much for getting back to me! I don’t currently have a phone. Email or regular mail is my only communication right now. I do receive food stamps and SSI for medical reasons. My kitty is Shady and she is 14 yrs old.”

And The Pongo Fund emailed back for more information.

“Hi, she will eat any kind of can and dry food. She is my only family and I just don’t want her to starve. She eats 2 cans a day and always has dry food. The only response I got on Craig’s list was a mean and nasty email telling me that I was a dumb ass for having a pet if I got food stamps and I had no right asking for help. It hurt me really bad knowing that people can be so cruel and mean. If I had money to buy food or even a bus ticket to go to a food bank to get her food I would. She is very loved and taken care of. She is the only family that I have. Thank you again for your help.”

And The Pongo Fund emailed back and told her we were on the way.

“Thank you so much. I’m at a loss for words because all I can say is thank you. Shady also says thank you. Tomorrow is my birthday and the only present I wanted was cat food for my baby, she is the only family I have and I love her more than anything in the world. Thank you again for your kindness. I will pay it forward and help someone out someday when I can.”

And The Pongo Fund arrived a little bit later. We brought food for Shady. And we brought hope for Kathy.

“Thank you so much for bringing my kitty food. Words cannot express how grateful I am for you kindness. Shady is the only family that I have and I love her more than anything in this world. All of you at Pongo gave me the best birthday present I could ever have asked for, taking care of my baby! I will do something nice for someone else someday and pay it forward and help them like you all have helped me and Shady. Thank you so much for everything. It proves that there are good caring people in this sometimes cruel world. Again, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and for saving my kitty from going hungry.  Take care! Best wishes, Kathy & Shady”

Being there for others both two-legged and four when they have nowhere else to turn.

And this is why we Pongo.

Wishing you always peace, love and kibble. From all of us at The Pongo Fund.

thepongofund.org