White Dog
and The White Dog Army
Wonderful World
Wednesday
White Dog
and the others are especially fond of wonderful world stories that are
grassroots, on hand (and paw) helping another. It is that touch, that intimate connection
that is the stuff that builds understanding, brings hope, brightens the day.
The Pongo Fund is Oregon’s only full-time charity fighting
animal hunger. Because hungry people have hungry pets. They work tirelessly to
reduce shelter populations and keep families together by providing emergency
pet food assistance to anyone in honest need. Protecting their beloved family
pets from the suffering, starvation, surrender, abandonment or worse, when a
lack of food, but not a lack of love, is their only enemy.
Begun during the deep recession of 2009, The Pongo Fund’s
award winning and volunteer driven group has provided 6,000,000 healthy meals
for more than 60,000 hungry pets belonging to over 25,000 families throughout
Oregon and Southwest Washington. People who love their pets just like you
do. People struggling to keep both themselves and their animals fed. The work
this group does is grassroots at its most effective as they work with food
pantries and shelters to provide food for pets so that families are not broken
up. Read more about them at http://www.thepongofund.org/
This is
their story of Tim and Ted. Hands and Paws reaching out to hands and paws in
need. Seeing the love and helping, not judging...
He approached the garbage can outside the store in a way that told me he
had done it many times before. Gently pulling the lid to the side and peeking
inside, seeking the treasure to redeem a nickel at a time.
But this
particular garbage can was messy. The lid was askew and there was garbage on
the ground outside the can. It wasn't pretty. I was stopped at a red light and
watched it happen. Lid off. Peek inside. Lid on again. I could quickly see by
the man’s actions that this can held no treasure.
Yet when he
was finished he didn't just walk away. Instead he bent down and picked up the
loose garbage and placed it inside the can. And then he made sure the lid was
on straight and secure when he was finished. And then he and his best friend
rolled off, having left this little piece of the world in better shape than
they found it.
But before I
saw any of that, what I saw was the dog. A sweet boy riding around in a
shopping cart. That’s what first caught my eye.
At the next
block I caught up with them, parked and said hello. His name was Tim; he’s the
one on his knees behind the cart. And inside the cart riding like royalty was
nine-month old Ted. They’d been together since Ted was a tiny 6 weeks old.
On the road
with a dream to get back home to Iowa. But not too fast. First they were going
to visit some old friends and make some new ones. And then they’d hit the road
for the highway home.
I asked if
Ted needed food and Tim said they would be honored. And when he opened his
Oregon Public Broadcasting logo satchel to put the food inside, what I saw was
a meticulously organized bag filled with Ted’s supplies. Food and more food.
Water bowl. Extra leash. Vet records. It would have made every organizing
expert proud.
And the best
part? The food they already had was our Pongo food. Food they’d received
earlier from one of the many other groups that we provide food to. We talked
for a few moments but what I really wanted to know was more about Ted and the
shopping cart. Because I wanted to make sure that he was ok.
And that’s
when Tim gave me a funny look. Like maybe I’d asked a question that I should
not have asked. Like maybe there was something hidden inside the cart that Ted
was sitting on to keep it hidden. But I was wrong.
Because at
that moment Tim reached down and pushed on and lifted and fluffed the assorted
goods that Ted was sitting on to show me how cushy and comfortable it was for
Ted. And at that same moment Ted turned his head backward and gave Tim a
smooch. But that wasn't all.
Because Tim
then went on to say that it was way too hot for him to let Ted walk on the
already scorching sidewalk. Kindly explaining to me that a dog’s paws are no
different than our own bare feet. Further explaining how easily a dog’s paws
can become burned and how painful that would be and how we need to remember if
it’s too hot for us then it’s surely too hot for them.
He then said
his own feet were hot and he was wearing shoes. And there was just no way he’d
let Ted burn his paws on these hot days. And upon hearing that I broke into the
biggest grin because it was just what I wanted to hear.
A man living
his life in a way that surely was not always easy. Yet making sure along the
way that his dog had it easier.
But Tim
wasn't a large man, and Ted weighed a good 65 pounds. Meaning that getting Ted
into that cart could not be easy. And I asked him about that; how he gets Ted
into and out of the cart? And he looked at me again with his easy smile, and
said “we do it together.”
Tim and Ted.
Ted and Tim. On the road together. Fueled with food from The Pongo Fund. And
this is why we Pongo. Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org
2 comments:
That is such a wonderful story. A little bit of love and caring sure goes a long way.
That is such a lovely story. He is down on his luck but putting his loving companion first. A wonderful man indeed.
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