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. Being his port in a storm was enough.

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. Doing It Together. thepongofund.org

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

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