There’s always something more that can be done.
Granted, not every case we come across is as dire as others, but if we can help someone keep their pet by alleviating any burdens they might have 一 maybe that’s a bag of food to get them through until the next pay day or financial assistance so that their family member can get the care they need 一 this team of empaths is always prepared to jump in and help.
We care so much about the pets and people we help at Pet Resource Center of Kansas City that we have a hard time shutting off our brains (and hearts) from thinking about them outside of business hours. If we see a houseless person and their pet on our way to or from work 一 or anywhere for that matter 一 our volunteers and staff pull over to see if they could use any of the food or resources we keep stashed in our cars for that reason. Same goes for stray animals; we pick them up, bring them to the clinic to scan them for a chip, reunite them with their owner and move on with our days.
We do it because, if we were in that situation, we’d want someone to do the same for us and our pets.
The human-animal bond is a magical thing. Odds are your pet is sitting somewhere near you while you’re reading this, so, just by glancing over at them, you probably know what feeling I’m talking about. To picture a life without them is like not being able to breathe.
We need them. They need us. And, let’s face it, there isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for them.
“The one consistent thing I always see in our clients is their dedication to their pets. They inspire me to be a better pet parent,” says Kristin Roth, PRCKC director of community engagement.
And she’s right.
We hear this often from our clients, which is why it’s so hard for us to tune out our empathetic instincts and not wonder about where they’d be without their pets at any hour of any day. Personally, it doesn’t bother me, though. Being kind 一 being human 一 doesn’t have a time card, and you don’t clock in and out of compassion. My coworkers would say the same thing, and it brings happiness to our souls to know that we played a small part in helping someone keep their pets.
It’s funny because it wasn’t until now, as I’m sitting here thinking about all the relationships I’ve built over the past couple of years, that I realized how large the impact we have on our community really is. We can throw out numbers all day, but, really, it’s the bond that we create with pets and people that makes all the difference.
While I’d love to tell you about each and every family we’ve helped and how they are doing now, it would keep you here all day. And if it were coming from one of my coworkers who’ve been doing this work for six, eight, 10-plus years … maybe even months.
You’re in luck, though, because we’ll be doing a lot more good for the Kansas City area in the coming months (and years), so we’ve got plenty of time to share stories about how the work this team is doing isn’t just changing lives, but saving them.
We’ll be waiting for you and your pet if you ever need us.
