11/30/2024
The Hartford Courant had a wonderful article on AID A Pet
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
Aid A Pet, a Hartford, Ct Pet Pantry is on pause as it works with an Eagle Scout hopeful to expand due to growing demand
Lorie Reardon started AID a Pet more than 25 years ago, and the need for her work is more in demand than ever.
AID a Pet, a monthly food pet pantry, is intended for the neediest pet owners in Hartford. On Nov. 16, more than 125 pet owners lined up outside of Holy Trinity Church in Hartford two hours before doors opened at 10 a.m. and stayed open until the food was gone.
AID a Pet’s volunteers give out donated pet food, primarily for cats and dogs. The nonprofit also has veterinarian professionals on site to help set up pets getting spayed or neutered, and there is also a volunteer on site that clips animals’ nails.
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
“They come to the table and check in and we have data on everyone who walks in that door,” Reardon said. “We serve primarily Hartford, but we have people coming from West Hartford and Manchester and other communities and we aren’t going to say no. If they are willing to wait in line for two hours, they need the food.
“We ask if they need some basic care and do everything, we can help with a spay or neuter and we raise money for that. We don’t want to replicate the homeless pet population. It is just as high, if not more, as people.”
Holy Trinity Church is AID a Pet’s fourth location. It opens its doors the third Saturday of every month.
“We do this once a month because it takes a month to fill our pantry,” Reardon said. “Everything is done by word of mouth.”
Each person gets 25 pounds of food for each pet. They give out both canned and dry food based on donations.
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
“You can’t be picky. We have to take what we give you,” Reardon said.
For now, the pantry is on pause for projected renovations. An upgrade is expected in the coming months as Avon High School junior Logan Dunn has taken on an Eagle Scout rank requirement project that will allow AID a Pet to store its donations and supplies more efficiently at the church.
Logan, along with his parents Bob and Julie Dunn, and his sister Chloe, attended the pet food distribution on Nov. 16.
“I was there last week, and I saw firsthand how much they are helping people,” Logan said. “It’s going to feel great to help. I want them to be able to store more pet food to help more people.”
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
Humble beginnings
Reardon, a Glastonbury resident, is a community health dietitian by trade. It was in that field where she first realized that many people were putting their own lives at risk nutritionally to feed their animals.
“They jeopardize their well-being for their pets,” Reardon said. “They aren’t eating correctly, and they love their animals. This is their family member. When they aren’t able to provide the basic needs for their animals it affects their wellness and well-being.”
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
Reardon said that is how the pet pantry started, and it evolved from there.
“SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) doesn’t cover pet food,” she said. “Other mobile food share sites don’t usually give away pet food, so people are feeding their pets tuna and chicken. They feed their pets what they are able to because they don’t have the funds to buy pet food. That takes away what they eat.
“These people have nothing,” she added. “They are eating out of food pantries and have limited resources. AID a Pet is about the pet. That’s the difference between other programs. A lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck. Some aren’t getting paychecks at all. They need the help to make it better to care for their pets.”
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
Reardon had various locations throughout Hartford over the last two-plus decades. She has been at Holy Trinity Church since January 2021, as Father Charles Jacobs opened his doors to the organization.
“We have always worked on a shoestring budget,” Reardon said. “Now we are an official 501(c)(3) and have operated for many years out of the goodness of the hearts of our volunteers. Now that we are involved in a faith-based organization, a lot of parishioners have supported our doings.
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
“I’m determined and now combining with Father Jacobs has been great,” Reardon added. “He’s such a pet person and he allows two and four legged friends to come to church for all masses. It’s not uncommon to see a dog there.”
Reardon said this program is for those who are in the most need of the community.
“We have a lot of small dogs. People live in apartments or rent rooms and don’t have room for larger animals,” Reardon said. “They are in need of all kinds of help, but the best we can do is help their pets. I can direct them for food resources and help them through diet through medical needs. This program is for pets.”
Reardon said she knew after six months at Holy Trinity, AID a Pet was going to outgrow its 20-by-15-foot storage area at the church. At first, she was serving 50 pet owners, and now participation has ballooned to record highs.
“We can barely move in the pantry. Some days we will get pet carriers, cages and toys and we don’t have anywhere to store them because other nonprofits use the church space as well. With these improvements, we will be able to serve the public better.”
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
Avon High School junior Logan Dunn is spearheading renovation project, through Scouting America, to help renovate at AID a Pet at Holy Trinity Church in Hartford.
Upgrades on the way
Logan Dunn, 16, has been involved in Scouting America for 10 years. In order to graduate to Eagle Scout, he’s required to do a community service project that provides a lasting resource to a place in need, and he chose AID a Pet, which has outgrown its area of the church.
The Dunn family had initially heard about the nonprofit during a television segment. Middletown resident and AID a Pet volunteer Lea Tomaszewski spoke on the organization’s behalf.
Bob Dunn said his son’s duty is to be a project manager, which means he will plan and budget the project. He said the total cost estimate would be between $5,000-$8,000, and the plan would be finished in March.
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
The proposed new area will be a large storage space in another corner of the church’s basement that has 16-by-10-foot footprint. The space would have shelving on wheels so the location could be flexible and could be used in different locations if needed.
Bob Dunn is an attorney for a KBE Construction in Farmington, and they will be providing some of the supplies, but more money is needed for the pantry.
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
“The pantry is going to be a humungous project, and we are trying to make magic happen and we are reaching out to the public to help,” Reardon said.
“We are filling a niche that no one else is filling,” Tomaszewski said. “We don’t have any endowments. With the holiday season coming up we would love to have some benefactors. People don’t have to come to our pantry, they can just send us some dog food and ship it to us. People in Hartford seem to have more cats than dogs, so cat litter is also huge for us.
Reardon said it has taken years to build up the donations to give out each month. While the pantry is on pause, Reardon said the community can follow upcoming events on the group’s page. Reardon also set up a GoFundMe for those who want to
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
Logan will be presenting his plan on Dec. 18 to Avon Troop 274 and the adult leaders of the troop will review the project for approval. He said the goal is to have the project, still in the planning stages, completed by March.
“The first thing you notice when you meet them is their passion for their mission,” Bob Dunn said of AID a Pet. “They don’t want anything but to make the best for folks in need and it’s 100 percent volunteer. You know every single dollar is being donated to the people who need it, another reason why it’s appealing to Logan. And sometimes organizations like this are overlooked. He was really happy to come in and fill a need for them.”
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
More than just food
Tomaszewski said Aid a Pet continues to be more than just a place for people to get food for their animals.
“We are not a rescue, but we help people keep their pets by helping with vet care and supplies when we can,” Tomaszewski said.
According to Reardon, many times the problem is that the pets were never brought to a vet.
“They are found on the street or were evicted from a building,” she said. “The pet and its owner have a bond and the rest is history. In many cases, the pet has never been to a vet or had basic care. That’s what takes up most of our time and energy: Finding medical care for animals in dire need.”
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
Carla Gilrein has been residing in the Motel 6 in Windsor Locks, and her two dogs, Luna and Epic, have never left her side. Epic, an 8-year-old dog, was adopted as a rescue and developed a cancerous growth on his leg that prevented him from using all four of his paws. Gilrein said she reached out to several places to see if they would treat Epic, but she couldn’t afford the care. One of the veterinarians she visited mentioned to contact Aid a Pet so she would be able to feed her dogs.
“Carla came to us with a dog with cancer and she was trying her best but had no transportation and no home,” Tomaszewski said.
After learning her story, AID a Pet agreed to financially pay for Epic, an American Staffordshire Terrier, to be properly assessed at a veterinarian office.
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
“We went to the vet and the oncologist verified the dog needed an amputation and within two weeks the procedure was done. … We went to bat for her because she did everything she could for her pet,” Tomaszewski said.
Just recently, the dog’s leg was successfully amputated at Luke and Lily Lerner Spay/Neuter Clinic in Boston, and Gilrein reported the dog was recovering well.
“The dog has been going through this for eight months and I was told he would die within a month. I had lost my house and I and had no funds. We called everywhere. No one would take me,” Gilrein said. “AID a Pet worked their butts off, and the day after I spoke to them, I had an appointment. They are a small pantry, but they went forth with full force for me.”
“AID a Pet has incredible and personable people,” she added. “I thought I was at my wits end. My dogs are my children and not being able to help them took away my happiness. Not everyone can afford thousands of dollars to treat your dogs. Some of the vets told me I should euthanize him. This is my Christmas blessing.”
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
Tomaszewski, who Reardon refers to as the AID a Pet “bulldog,” was vital in advocating for Gilrein and Epic.
“AID a Pet may be small but we can move mountains,” Tomaszewski said. “The neediest of the needy come to us when there is nowhere else to go. We are on the front lines. Times are hard and they are harder for pets and our numbers are climbing.”
Tomaszewski said Gilrein reached out to AID a Pet because there was nowhere else left to turn.
“We are a food pantry, but this was an extreme hardship case,” Tomaszewski said. “We try to help those people with no roof over their heads and want to keep their pets. We are the little nonprofit that could. Lorie calls me the bulldog because she says I’m tenacious. We will fight for the pets until the bitter end, and helping Epic was a happy day for AID a Pet.”
Donations can be made on our "Go Fund Me" page
https://gofund.me/bcd450b4
