The Pongo Fund (2025)

20/01/2025

Her name was Clair. It was short for Clairvoyant.

No one knows for sure if she was or she wasn’t.

But she was.

That’s what her Mom said.

She showed up outside her door one day. Mom did everything she could to get her back to where she belonged. But nothing.

The shelter was full, and they asked her to keep Clair until she was found. Mom took her in for that first night, but it was going to only be that one. Then another. Then another. Each night to be the last because she knew Clair’s family would come rushing to get her when they learned where she was.

She even told Clair that. That this was only a temporary stop. That she would be going home soon. Not because she didn’t love her. She loved her immediately. And she knew that Clair’s family must be going crazy not knowing where she was.

Clair. All 10 pounds of her. A mix of all good things.

More days and nights, and Clair was still there.

And every night a prayer, that Clair’s family would find her. And every morning she told Clair that today would be the day, she would be going home soon.

The reason that Clair could not stay longer in this new place was that this woman could barely care for herself. Life had not been kind to her the past few years. A job loss, a husband loss, many things broken beyond repair, in all senses of the word.

Broken most of all, was her.

The food boxes were quickly separated into things Clair could eat and those she could not. She didn’t eat a lot but what she ate, they ate together.

They made Clair bakes and Clair scrambles and Clair meatloaf, Clair burgers and Clair casseroles and Clair pupcakes.

But good as it sounds, the woman was going hungry. Because the food stamps only went so far, and those food boxes were pretty much all she had.

That’s when she found The Pongo Fund.

And for the next few weeks, almost every meal that Clair enjoyed, had The Pongo Fund name on it.

Until the woman decided the next meal would be the last. Because things had taken another turn, and she could not continue the way it was.

Her next meal.

That’s the one that was going to be the last.

She had a lot of medications left over from her husband. They controlled his pain until they could not. But she still had them and some of them were very strong and she laid the bottles on the table to figure out what to take. The cocktail that would take her away, out of her own pain.

She had a plan, or she thought she had a plan. She would have her neighbor come check on her under some fictitious reason, the neighbor would find a note, telling her all the next steps. Most of all, telling her about Clair.

She left for a moment to do something and when she came back Clair was on the table and all of the bottles and medications had been knocked down.

Clair had never been on the table before.

Not only that, she had no idea how Clair got onto the table.

But like a bowling ball rolling over 10 pins, everything was scattered.

She looked at the mess and she looked at Clair. Nothing was said. As she began to put things back onto the table, one by one Clair knocked them back down.

And that’s how Clair got her name. Somehow, she knew what this woman intended to do. And Clair was not going to let it happen.

That was the Clairvoyant part.

The woman called the shelter the next day and adopted Clair. The Pongo Fund “loaned” her the money for Clair’s first vet visit. And it broke her heart when the exam showed Clair had lived a pretty hard life too. A lot of damage, without explanation. But there she was, still happy as a lark.

Back then, the loaning the money part was the only way this woman would let us help, if she could pay us back. We said ok. We had already been providing all of Clair’s food, but now it was going to be more. She asked if it was ok for her to keep using The Pongo Fund for food.

Of course it was.

The next day she found a new counselor to talk with. And a few days later she found out what she needed to do to complete her previously unfinished degree.

In social work.

Today the woman is a crisis counselor. She talks to people during their hardest days. One of her first questions for them, is to ask if they have any animals.

And sometimes, during a home visit, if the person did not have any animals, she would bring Clair along. And quicker than not, Clair always seemed to find a way to wiggle herself onto the lap of a total stranger. And once on that lap, Clair went to work.

As Clair’s Mom spoke with words, Clair spoke with belly rubs.

The day she found Clair was about 12 years ago.

Her Mom always told us, The Pongo Fund saved two lives that day.

Clair crossed The Rainbow Bridge in December.

For Clair.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org

20/01/2025

We missed most of the first sentence. It was a bad connection. And it was rushed and hushed.

We tried again, still only got a few details. She needed money to get her dog, sounded like he had been impounded. She said there was a list of requirements to get him back and she needed help. It was a few hundred dollars, so we assumed likely for vaccinations, license, boarding, maybe a neuter. He was 8.

Every now and then we just totally lost what she was saying. Entire groups of words did not come through, but asking her to repeat them made it even worse because she didn’t know where she left off. She spoke so fast. We knew there was a sense of urgency, we just didn’t know all that we needed to know.

It became more complicated when we learned she was in another state. Luckily we knew someone in that state. We could hopefully still help, but we’d need to talk to the shelter there and find out the rest of the story.

She said we were her last hope.

We told her we needed to get more information, but based on everything she said, we should be able to help.

We asked her for the name of the shelter and phone number. And we asked who we should talk with, things like that.

She said the caseworkers name was…

Caseworker?

A lot of shelters have begun using job titles to make them sound more community focused. Maybe caseworker was what this shelter used.

She gave us the number.

And the name.

It wasn’t a dog shelter.

And it wasn’t her dog.

It was her son.

And someone gave her our number without knowing what we do.

There was a lot more to the story. But we quickly knew this was way out of our lane. And that meant we had to gently explain that the last few minutes of conversation was between a Mom and a Pet Food Bank.

It didn’t sink in right away.

And then it did.

She cried but quickly stopped. She had more work to do.

Then she asked the question we weren’t prepared for.

Could we still help?

It was maybe $200-$300.

We had told her we could hopefully help her dog.

But how do we tell her now, that we can’t help her son?

We don’t.

We made the commitment. We have a friend who steps up fast for these moments. We knew she would. We wouldn't use donor dollars. We would use love dollars.

The woman said she had to go but she would call us back as soon as she had all the details.

We never heard back.

A couple days later we called the number and spoke to the caseworker.

We told her what happened.

She couldn’t share details, but she told us the most important thing.

Mother and son were reunited and they would be getting plenty of help going forward.

We’re not sure if our offer to help would have really made any difference. There might have been a lot more obstacles that went well beyond what we were told. It was a short conversation. There’s always more to the story.

But we said we would help.

And somehow, someway, it worked.

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop

Being a Helper.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org

14/01/2025

Two weeks ago today, on Tuesday 12/31/24, The Pongo Fund website went down.

A website going down is always frustrating. Having it go down on 12/31 is even more frustrating. Because a lot of folks do their year end donations on 12/31. And without our website, our primary donation link could not be accessed.

For a small volunteer driven group like The Pongo Fund, without a fundraising or marketing or PR team, that meant a lot of year end donations would not occur.

Thankfully and with much good grace we had a backup donation link that was available until midnight on 12/31, so I did the only thing I could do. I quickly posted on FB to let everyone know what happened. It was a hard post to share.

I apologize for that.

Thankfully that’s behind us, as the site came back several hours later. We still missed out on many of our 12/31 donations, but the good news is the site came back. We’re still here. We’re still helping.

But the point of this post now, my first of 2025, is to say thank you. Thank you to each one of you who rallied together with words of support for me and Pongo.

You felt my pain.

I didn’t intend for that to be the case. But there you were. Because many of you have been here with us for many years. You are part of The Pongo Fund no differently than I am part of The Pongo Fund.

Because everything we do, we do together.

You shared ideas and suggestions and love and kindness and reminders that this too will be ok. Some of you shared a few words, some of you shared more. But every word, was shared with love.

That meant everything to me.

And I thank you. Truly, I thank you!

Thank you also to those who donated via the backup donation link. What a difference you made. Because those last minute donations were matched, meaning every dollar was doubled. And as we rally forward into these first hard days of 2025, when conditions are most harsh for those we serve, having those donations come in was such a blessing.

And all the food that was scheduled to arrive this month, is still arriving. We will not let anyone lose a kibble. We will find a way to get every bill paid as fast as possible. We will not back down.

Because so many are counting on us.

And thanks to you, we’ll continue to Pongo On.

I often share words with you here, that are not always all of the words. The words that hurt, I tend to hold those back.

When more was needed than we could do.

When more was needed than anyone could do.

Those are the words I don’t always share. I know you understand. And these last two weeks, there’s been many of them.

Because 2025 has brought a rough start for many.

I also tend to not share the words that should be kept close. Because a lot of our moments just flat out cannot be shared. We help with Privacy. Quietly. Respectfully.

It's not perfect by any means.

But when we're able to do something good, there is no gloating or cheerleading. You rarely know of those moments. Because the next moment might not be so fortunate.

I wish we could bang the drum on those occasions, those good moments, but it’s just not the way we do it.

But thanks to some of you who reached out fast, I do want you to know that we redirected some of our food to Southern California. It arrived quickly by private delivery. And it made a big difference. Because sometimes, 900 miles is not that far.

Because we are all connected.

Thank you again to everyone who is always there to help us do what we do. You mean more than you might know. Especially on 12/31, when things fell apart.

Thank you for being there for me. I mean that. Thank you!

Being a Helper.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org

01/01/2025

THIS IS HORRIBLE NEWS. ---- I AM SORRY.

In a turn of extremely bad luck, our website failed at about 2pm today. That means after about 2pm no donations could be made on our website because the site could not be accessed.

If you donated earlier today and received the Paypal email that your donation was completed, then it went through before the site broke down at 2pm and all is good and we thank you.

But please know website repairs are needed and we don't know when that will be completed but it will be at least a couple weeks.

THANKFULLY, until midnight tonight, we have a backup donation link on our Give Guide page. It is a secure link and donations can be made here: https://giveguide.org/nonprofits/the-pongo-fund%20

Please note the Give Guide page will ask if you'd like to set up an information only account, which you can do, but it's not required.

The good news is that RIGHT NOW ALL DONATIONS TO THE PONGO FUND ARE STILL BEING MATCHED 100%. The broken website is going to hurt us badly as many people used our website to donate on 12/31, and we were working to raise money for our next 22 pallets of food in January.

The truth is, right now I'm sick to my stomach.

If you'd like to donate, please know that every dollar is being doubled until midnight.

CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR DONATION DOUBLE MATCHED https://giveguide.org/nonprofits/the-pongo-fund%20

With 22 pallets of dog and cat food waiting to be delivered in January, we’re doing our best to raise the money to pay for that food. Because we need it.

And that will just be January.

Every dollar you give will become two. That means twice as much food, twice as much vet care, twice as many animals will be helped.

Twice as many lives will be saved.

Checks can also be mailed to The Pongo Fund, PO Box 9000, Portland, OR 97207.

I apologize to everyone who has already called about this. I'm sorry you cannot use our website to donate. I'm truly ready to cry. All I can say is, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.

We are a really small group. This one is going to hurt bad.

--Larry

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.

The Pongo Fund / PO Box 9000 / Portland, OR 97207
A volunteer driven 501c3 non-profit public charity. Tax ID 27-0646992

Donations will be Doubled thru midnight 12/31/24 up to $50,000, thanks to some generous donors who enjoy being helpers. For example, $25 becomes $50, $100 becomes $200, $500 becomes $1,000, one gazillion becomes two gazillion...you get the idea.

CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR DONATION DOUBLE MATCHED https://giveguide.org/nonprofits/the-pongo-fund%20

28/12/2024

He called, said he’d be a few minutes late.

He didn’t say how many minutes late. Just late.

Then he said "Please Don’t Leave. I really need this food."

But it was the way he said it.

It was more like, “PLEASE. DON'T LEAVE. I really need this food.”

He didn't yell. He begged.

We were just wrapping up a Kibble Pack, so we packed some more while we waited.

And waited some more.

He got there late. He was tired, confused, needed to sit down.

He was dyslexic.

He confused the numbers, he went to the wrong address.

No big deal, just get back in the car and turn around.

He had no car. No bus. No scooter or bike or Lyft.

He had two legs and neither one was good.

But that’s what he had.

He had not been out of prison long but one of the first things to help him feel better were the people in his building with dogs. The people shunned him but not the dogs. It was the end of the month and he knew everyone in that building was hurting because checks were another week away.

When that happened the people stopped eating first, and then the dogs. He said it was not unusual for everyone to go a day or two without dinner.

He decided to help.

That might not sound like a big deal to many, but to the people struggling, it was a lifesaver. He knew The Pongo Fund because we had helped him a few times many years ago, and he remembered what we did.

The day he saw us he had walked miles. And he planned to walk miles back. With 30 # of dog food, a couple dozen cans too. No way. Just no way.

He said he could do it. We said he couldn’t.

He worried he was going to lose the food. That wasn't it at all. He was there. He was now one of us.

The bus was two blocks away. A box. Some tape. Some more tape.
And money for the bus.

That became the new plan.

He made it home a lot later than planned but with plenty of time to surprise the dogs with dinner.

None of them his. But each one of them, reminded him of the dogs he had growing up. And that’s why they settled him during these hard days as he tried to right his own ship. He said, those dogs, they were all he had.

Turns out, he had more than that. He just didn’t know it. He said we helped him find it.

And now every month, one of our Pongo Friends meets this man on the sidewalk in front of his building to drop off the food and supplies his neighbors need to keep their dogs fed the last few days of the month, before they can afford their next bags of food.

One of those days was his birthday. Our Volunteer asked him what he’d like for his birthday. The man didn’t miss a beat.

He wanted a Pongo tshirt.

And now he has one.

Being a Helper.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org

25/12/2024

She asked us to rehome her two cats ASAP. Both of them 12 years old, she’d had them 10 years. Said she needed to travel and do some things she hasn’t been able to do for the past ten years, as she could not travel and take care of her cats at the same time.

Hard as it was, it was time to let them go.

She didn’t want to go anywhere exotic. No summer in Paris or finding herself in Kathmandu. Not Belize or Cancun or even Vegas or Palm Desert. She just wanted to see her Mom again. Old friends and family too. Back to where she came from. That was her calling. And anything else she could do this next year or two. Giving up her cats wasn’t part of the plan. Neither was cancer. And one year, maybe two; that’s what her oncologist told her. If there were things she wanted to do, this was the time.

She adopted Penny and Lucy from The Pongo Fund a decade ago when a woman we knew had her world turned upside down. She lost her home, her marriage. Everything stopped all at once. She loved her cats so much that she asked us to find them a new Mom.

And we did.

Now, the wonderful woman who welcomed those kitty friends ten years ago needed us to return the favor so someone else could welcome them.

This woman, she didn’t want to let them go. But it was for their own good, not hers. Same thing the first woman said. Imagine loving someone that much, that you need to let them go. Penny and Lucy.

Pure love, these two.

She told us she’d like to meet the person we chose for the adoption. She just wanted them to know that Penny and Lucy were the best ever. She wanted them to go with all of their toys and beds and food and treats. And she wanted the new person to know that sometimes Lucy got an upset tummy and how Mom would put her on her lap and lay her on her back and rub it while she sang to her.

Maybe she’ll never get an upset tummy again, but if she does, at least Lucy’s new family would know what to do. Her only request was that they stay together. And if the new family couldn’t afford their care, she’ll leave them some money because she wants them to live forever.

She wanted to make sure we didn’t think poorly of her for what she was doing. She just knew that at some point soon, they were going to have a new family whether she liked it or not. If she could do it now and meet those people, she would feel better about it.

We knew how hard this was for her, because she was the one who was there ten years ago when Penny and Lucy had nowhere else to go. She said yes back then, and now, she was asking someone else to say yes.

Finding a new home for two cats is not easy. For two senior cats, even harder. But we had one card to play, and we played it then.

We called a woman who used to live in the Portland area but moved away several years ago. She used to have two cats but needed to give them up when her life turned upside down.

She bounced back in a new place a few states away. New job. New life. But always following The Pongo Fund on Facebook and cheering us on with love. We thought maybe she would welcome two senior cats.

Because ten years ago, she was the one who needed to let them go, Penny and Lucy.

Over the years she had told us, if there was ever a cat needing a safe place to go, to please let her know. Because she knew how it felt to have someone let you go. Someone let her go. She let her cats go. So that’s where we left it. To please keep her in mind, and she would be there.

None of us knew it would be for the same cats she was forced to let go ten years ago. The cats she loved so much that she gave them up for their own good. For what was best for them. Every now and then we gave her an update, to let her know how they were doing. She didn’t want too much information, that was too hard, she said. But just to know they were safe and happy and most of all, that they were loved. Yes, we told her, they were loved. She loved knowing that.

We called her. Told her we had a cat in need of a home. Two of them, actually. We shared a bit more information. She didn’t have a clue. All at once she stopped talking and started sobbing. That’s when she knew.

Sometimes life is like a rubber band. What goes around, comes around. For this woman who loved her cats so much that she let them go ten years ago. And now, she was there to welcome them home.

A few days later she was in Portland. These two special women hugged over their shared love for the same two cats. For both of them, the loves of their lives. One of them is back home now, with the cats she never thought she’d see again. And the other one, is telling her Mom she doesn’t have much time left.

Both of them, with love as their guide.

Sometimes life is like a rubber band.

For Penny & Lucy.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org

25/12/2024

Christmas Eve Emergency -- Cat Foster Update:

Just a few minutes ago I was finally able to reach the woman needing emergency foster for her cat so she could return to the hospital to save both her leg and her life.

Thank you to everyone who reached out to help per the previous FB post. The good news is that we found several wonderful people in Portland ready to foster. The problem was that we were unable to reach the woman, and we feared she had already returned to the hospital.

Like peeling an onion, each layer hits differently. Some of them make you cry. But not all of them.

That’s what happened here.

The woman is feeling better and is going to remain at home for now. If she does need to return to the hospital, she *thinks* she has someone to watch her cat. If something changes, she will contact The Pongo Fund again.

The fact that we followed through with such urgency, including trying to reach her so many times including just now at 5:30pm on Christmas Eve, gives her hope. She knows they are both loved.

Thank you to everyone for being there for them both.

Saving Two Lives.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org

24/12/2024

Groucho Marx said You Bet Your Life.

But what if it were you? Without Groucho.

Would you bet your life?
Would you bet your leg?
Would you bet your cat?

Would you bet your life and your leg and your cat?

That was the phone call we got.

She just spent 30 days in the hospital to save her life. The entire time, her cat was home alone. She was lucky to have some people check on him, but that was just for food and water.

She got so worried she left the hospital after 30 days. She wasn’t supposed to leave. She did anyway. She needed to check on her cat.

After just a couple days home her leg infection had returned even worse than before, when the ambulance rushed her to Emergency.

She can’t stay home. But she has no one else for her cat.

So she’s betting her life, and his too.

If she stays home, she will lose her leg.

Or worse.

If she goes to the hospital to save her life, her cat may lose his.

Welcome to The Pongo Fund. These are the calls we get. They suck.

But we focus on the help we can provide and not the suck.

Right now we’re trying to find an emergency foster for this senior cat. We’re hopeful we can get it done. (She is in Portland, OR -- I apologize for leaving that out of the original posting)

We think we have some kind hearted kitty people ready to step in.

Almost Christmas.

We know two of the things we’re wishing for.

Because if we can save one, we save both.

And right about now you’re wondering what’s going to happen.

I wonder too.

Because despite numerous calls, we can’t reach her.

No one answers. The voice mail is not set up.

We don’t know if she’s back in the hospital. We don’t know if the cat is once again alone.

All we do know is that we’re doing everything we can to help.

We’ll take all the good mojo you can share.

Saving Two Lives.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org

22/12/2024

She did the best for him for 18 years.
Even when she went without
her own dinner so he didn’t.

Life was good.
Even when
they were homeless.

Henry had not been feeling well and one thing led to another. And the part about another, well, that meant it was time to say goodbye.

She promised him he would never know pain. And pain was just around the corner. But the cost to euthanize was more than she had.

$55 more.

She whispered in the phone, not wanting Henry to hear her. She whispered, she said, because she didn’t want Henry to think he was a burden.

My next check is still two weeks away, she said.

It’s not his fault, she said.

True that.

Nothing was Henry’s fault. He was pretty much perfect. Even now, despite the disease he could not beat. Perfect. That was Henry.

Could we help, she asked?

She loved him so much, she said. She couldn't ever imagine loving more. She would whisper those words to him until his last breath. And most likely, she would continue whispering those words to him, for several breaths more.

The Pongo Fund is here, we said.

Because saying goodbye is important to us. Even though we hate it. Hello and Goodbye. Where did the years go? Gone in a blink. So fast. Too fast. Don't leave. Even though you must...

Henry is now with Scooby and Hank and Bella and Schultz and Ben and Billy and Kai and Monte and Psalm and Willow and Baby and Blue and Rose and Chloe and Rusty and Baby and Riley and Windy and Kramer and Peace and Ginger and so many more, in the company of Angels.

Good night, sweet friend.

For Henry.

And this is why we Pongo.
Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org

22/12/2024

Even when it’s right next to us,
we might not even know.
Just like today.
In two pictures.

The first pic, those are some of our Kibbler Elves, spending part of their Saturday packing the kibble. There was Shauna and Eddie and Jessica and Jason and Lisa E and Lisa K and Angela and Mary and Nadia and Christina and Xanthe and Stefan and Marty and that was just part of the 29 Pongo Volunteers who did the work that needed to be done this week.

The Kibblers Kibbled, Eddie kept the kibble totes filled, Christina and Lisa E quality checked each bag, yes, that’s a thing for us, we QC each bag, Stefan and Marty and Jason kept the kibble moving outside, loading up each car or truck as it arrived.

The second pic, that’s the part most of these wonderful people packing the kibble never get to see. For they are working so hard inside, that they never get to see the long line of cars outside. Cars driven by people who sometimes travel 3 hours round trip to pickup dog and cat food that is delivered back to their community. No one’s ever going to make a movie about this. That’s ok. Ryan Reynolds is already busy.

But if the kibblers and the kibble couriers ever got together, I think there would be a lot of high fives all around.

It was a really good day.
Especially because
Many Dogs and Cats Did Not Go Hungry.

Even the December Sun Shined On Us.

Thank you to each one of you who fuel this work forward with your kindness and compassion. Moments like these, this is what you make possible. Because everything we do, we do together.

It was a really good day.

Thank you for being there with us.

Being a Helper.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
Portland, Oregon

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