There are…There REALLY are.

 There ARE people out there who care about ALL pets.

Here in Portland, there is a group that helps people with pet food – homeless pets are in great need, and I was told about them when I applied for Food Stamps in November.  Pongo has pet food give-aways on the 1st and 4th Sundays of the month.  Since, I thought, my position is not soo bad, and there are pets in greater need than mine, I filed that flyer away and all but forgot about it.

Totally forgot, really.

One of my readers, who lives here (ah, but I’ve never met her) in a note yesterday, urged me to contact Pongo and gave me a link.  I said the hell with pride and used that link to email them and ask for help with my cat’s very expensive insulin.

I wrote to them last night, late.  I checked my email just now and they have replied:

***

Thanks for your email, Kurt. Please tell me the name of your cat, and also
your telephone number.

We stand ready to help with cat food as needed. For the insulin we will turn
to one of our community partners and see if they can help us. I will be in
touch with you in the next few days and should have some very good news.

Since insulin is not our focus, please tell me if there is anything special
that we should know about what you use for your cat.

Thank you and hang in there…Pongo

***

(Let me wipe my eyes again.  Damn.  Not much of a man, eh?  Cry at little things like a cat savior offering to help my Blacky Cat)

I read and more or less copied the box of insulin to tell them about it.  There are probably two weeks worth of insulin left – I guess I’m quicker to plead for help for Blacky Cat than I am for myself – pride or something, for me, but my cat – I am totally responsible for him and his life, and that’s different.

***

The car has about a hundred miles of gas in it, and I have a gift card my cousin in SoCal sent me for Target – I think they sell cat food and supplies, and I will go there and buy Blacky some food and cat sand.  Food Stamps do not cover pet food, so while the gift card is "for me", my cat comes first for it’s use.  He is not my "kid", nor is he anything but what he is – my beloved pet, who is the only living thing who lives with me.  I don’t baby talk him (much) but he purrs for me anyway.

Thank you, brooksee for reminding me of Pongo.

He has gotten his shot and eaten, so it’s time for me to feed myself and go and get him some more can food.  Nothing with "gravy" or "sauce" – the older style of Friskies – "classic pate" is better for him.  He was originally prescibed Purina DM dry cat food, but that stuff is god-awful expensive, and once he stabilised on the inuslin, I went to feeding him a dry food that has more or less the same nutrition info on the bag and pate type can food.  In short, he’ll always have to get shots, but he has stabilised and is doing well, according to the vet on his last visit – keep doing what your doing, he said.

***

Onwards, a little more surely.

***

Yes, there are – Pongo’s reply:

Good morning Kurt,

Thanks for the additional info. I’m working on this and will be back in
touch as quickly as possible.

Thank you for loving Blackie as much as you do. Please give him some extra
pets from The Pongo Fund 🙂

***

damn.  something’s wrong with my eyes – they keep leaking or something

*****