Where would people be without their pets? 

A question that weighs heavy on my mind – and heart – every time I meet someone like Robert. And a question that, frankly, I don’t want to know the answer to, even though I’ve heard it many times before.

Every person I meet through Pet Resource Center has a pet who is their rock, but they all have their own reason as to why. They might be out of a job, have no money, no family or are in a constant battle with their physical or mental health. In Robert’s case, it’s all of the above. 

“I was literally ready to sell my car to get her taken care of and checked out. A car is nothing, it’s just a material object. But her? She’s been my lifesaver.”

Robert

Twenty eighteen was when it all started to fall apart, he said. Robert used to be a truck driver and was injured on the job back in 2016. He’s been unable to work and is still waiting to settle his worker’s compensation six years later. He has liver and kidney disease, fights daily with depression and has since separated from his wife. By far the hardest part, though, is rarely getting to see his son.

A knot built up in my throat just having to even write that paragraph because the thought of having to go through all of that alone is … painful, which is why I am so glad Robert found Peaches.

Peaches is a 9-month-old pit bull who is as sweet as she is stunning. She was just 6 weeks old when Robert adopted her, but, unfortunately, he only had her for a short time before he returned her to the person he got her from.

“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to give her the life she wanted,” he said. 

But, in just two days, Peaches changed his life in a way that Robert never knew was possible. She gave him hope, and she gave him love. Two things he wished he had before to help get him through the toughest years of his life. He couldn’t let that go, so he went back to get her.

“Ever since then, she’s been right there beside me,” he said.

They go everywhere together. They sleep curled up in the same bed together. And they’ve never spent more than two or three hours apart. 

Until yesterday.

It had been a while since Robert had had a dog, and, being a truck driver, he honestly missed out on some of the basic parts of owning one. He knew he wanted to get Peaches spayed and vaccinated, so he called place after place trying to find a vet who would work with his financial situation. 

“I was literally ready to sell my car to get her taken care of and checked out,” he said. “A car is nothing, it’s just a material object. But her? She’s been my lifesaver.”

We’re here for families like Robert and Peaches’ to keep that from happening.

“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to give her the life she wanted.”

Robert

When he dropped Peaches off for surgery yesterday morning, I could tell he was nervous. This was the first time the two of them had ever spent this much time apart, so he waited a few blocks away from our clinic so that he could be here as soon as he got the text that she was ready to go home. And Peaches was just as excited to see her dad.

Seeing the reunion between a human and their pet take place at the end of the day is one of the most joyous parts of the job. But knowing what all Robert has gone through to get to this point makes it 10 times sweeter.

 As sweet as Peaches if you ask me.