Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes it does both. Three times in a row the man desperate for dog food does not arrive to pickup that food. Even when we tried to deliver it, he was not there. Three times we stood ready. We don’t know why he could not make it. Once. Twice. Three times.
But the silver lining was only a few steps away. Because even though the man who said he would be there for dog food did not arrive, a woman did. No connection from one to the other.
She walked miles to our door looking for help. We should not have been there but we were, waiting for the man who did not arrive. She came in the door so quietly we did not even hear her until she was standing right there.
Her story hurt. It hurt to tell, it hurt to hear. Newly homeless, a victim of domestic violence, the struggles surrounded her. But there she was. Making the long walk driven mostly by hope more than anything else.
But what if we had not been there to meet her? What then? She said she would have turned around and left and made the walk again another time.
But why Pongo? How did she know? What brought her to our door? She said it was years ago when she found us. She donated money to us one Christmas.
Back then she had a home and a husband and the problems were common so they did not stand out as unusual. But then they did. So they left. Just the two of them. Her and her dog. He did not make the walk with her that day; too far, too cold, too wet. So she said she walked for them both.
She said she remembered how good it felt to give to help others. And now here she was seeking help herself. She asked if that was ok. Yes, we told her, yes it was.
Everything she needed right then, we had. Including hope. And also including the ride back to where she was staying. Because she had already walked miles for the dog she loved. We thought it only fair that we make the journey back with her.
And this is why we Pongo.
Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org