[COVER STORY]
Katie is a happy recipient of food from the Pongo Fund. Photo by David Childs Photography 30 AUGUST 2013 | OREGON JEWISH LIFE
Greg, who has two dogs and the best smile, picks up his dog food. Photos courtesy of Pongo Fund
Society of the United States and asked them to tell me about animal surrender. The number one reason people surrender a pet is because of the cost of care, and the number one cost is food.” So he started to look for ways to keep pets out of shelters, give people hope and keep families, including their four-legged members, together. While attending a pet food show in Seattle, he stopped by the Canidae booth. He started chatting with the man at the booth, who asked about his project and what he needed. Larry told “Scott” he needed a large donation of quality pet food to get started and then the ability to buy more at substantial discounts. Scott told him he thought he could do that. Larry was dubious until the Canidae rep he knew returned to the booth and told him he was talking to Scott Whipple, co-founder of Canidae Natural Pet Food Co. With the donation of $125,000 in pet food, Larry needed a warehouse. The city of Portland “had some empty space and decided to take a chance … because sometimes things just make sense.” From November 2009 to September 2012, the Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank used the city warehouse across from the Convention Center, right on the Max line, making it easy for those needing food to get to the warehouse the second and fourth Sunday of every month to pick up their food. Since October of last year, the Pongo Fund has rented warehouse space on Southeast 20th near Powell, just a couple miles from the site of Ankeny Hardware, his late father’s store. Larry says he learned a lot at that store, especially the importance of treating people well and the old-fashioned way of doing business where your word is as good as a contract. The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank has already provided nearly 5 million high-quality meals to pets of hungry families in 28 counties in Oregon and Southwest Washington. While Larry knows he can’t solve world hunger, he thinks he has a good chance of figuring out how to feed at least this region’s hungry dogs and cats. “This is my tikkun olam, this is my way of healing the world,” says Larry, with an almost ever-present smile on his face. He believes treating those who come to the Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank with dignity and respect is one of the reasons people keep coming back. Not only do clients return regularly, the volunteers who help them are equally devoted. Many of the 30-some regulars have volunteered two Sundays a month since the warehouse opened 45 months ago. Volunteers greet clients, help them fill out pet profiles if it is their first visit, talk to them about spay/neuter options and emergency vet care, calculate how much and what kind of food they need and distribute the food – while