10/06/2024
Whew folks, things are finally settling down enough in my life/brain for me to sit down and write this post. I am full of such sadness and such gratitude for this city and region that I love so much. I am heartbroken by the loss and destruction, and I am humbled and in awe of the way I have seen this community pull together this week and love and support each other. I wanted to take a moment to share a few thank you's from the past few days.
First, a thank you to my incredible staff, who came together immediately to support each other, all of our customers, me, this business and our community while they were still reeling from the trauma of the storm and its aftermath. I can't imagine a better group of humans to work alongside- even some of their partners came in to help us out. Together we ran the only open pet store in town for a chaotic few days- which also served as an internet cafe, meeting point, emotional support center, supply distribution center, and information help desk. Only one of these things was in the job description they signed up for, and they handled it all with grace, compassion and unbelievable teamwork.
Secondly, I would like to thank ERC Broadband, the local company that provides our internet access, for allowing us to have internet when no one else did. Not only did this allow us to open the Downtown store on Saturday morning and provide pet food to all of the hungry pets in Asheville, but more importantly, share internet access with the public. We were able to help so many people connect with their loved ones, find safe routes for evacuation, get necessary information about supplies and insurance and FEMA help. I watched people tell their terrified families they were okay, and I watched people find out horrible news. It was hard, and important, and I was so grateful that we could help out in this way.
And of course I want to thank all of you who have visited our stores since the storm hit! What is going to help Asheville and WNC rebuild is support of local businesses like ours. You have shown patience, kindness, and empathy to us when we really needed it this past week, and are helping us keep our entire staff employed through a natural disaster which is remarkable. We are so grateful for your support all the time, but especially now. Thank you.
And to those from afar who have reached out with words of kindness and with donations and offers of help- we see your love and we appreciate it. This area was devastated this week and it is going to take us a long time to get back to a new normal, and you can continue to help by keeping us in your hearts and prayers and visiting our city and spending money at local businesses when we are ready for you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. My heart is simultaneously broken and full. I am so lucky and grateful for you all.
With love, Jenna
