Week 77 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

“Stand Down”

Liana Moss, Community Outreach Specialist rolls our

284 pound pet food donation into PACC on Monday. 

Troops in a state of readiness are told to stand down when there is “a temporary cessation of offensive actions; cease-fire; truce: a stand-down for the Christmas holidays. a work stoppage or layoff.” In other words, it’s a much needed break for food and rest in a safe place.

Many charitable groups such as PACC use the term stand down to provide special services to veterans, particularly the homeless.

On Wednesday, February 19^th, I got an email from Shari Mollencopf at PACC updating us on their Homeless Vet outreach program.

“Thank you so much for the donation. On March 11 through the 13th we will be handing out food to homeless vets so it differently will be put to good use.

The Stand Down for Vets will be at the Grand Luxe hotel on Grant if you would like to drop by and see us in action. The event is from 10 to 2 each day. 

Just a thought, we have a great deal of cat food but dog food is what we use the most of. If it's possible can you stop the cat food for a while and just do dog food.

Thank you.

Shari”

Although the work is quite serious at PACC they still

have time for fun and smiles. Liana is pretending to 

cross the shadow finish line to win the race to feed

the pets of the homeless vets. 

At Shari’s request we donated mostly dog food this week. We will continue to do so until told otherwise.

This week’s donation was 284.2 lbs. of pet food and $25.00 in checks. In addition, there were 2 Bully treat bags, 2 roll bags, 4 small diapers, 5 absorbent pads and 5 pill bottles. As an aside, notice the blooming African Daisies of the left. That’s a good thing, too.

See you Sunday,

Peter 

Week 76 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Welcoming Gift in Reverse

That massive thorny Mesquite tree on the corner of 13^th and Cherry always disturbed me when I’d walk by with my pups.

Its ugliness took up the whole sidewalk. Twice I reported the property to Code Enforcement over the last three years but nothing happened. Then the vacant duplex was put on the market. That was the first sign that something good may be on the horizon.

A few months later a “Sold” sign appeared on the bottom of the larger listing sign. Then new front doors with shiny numbers replaced the old doors. Those old doors were cut up and placed in the dumpster. Another good sign.

As I drove by the duplex on my rounds this past Sunday, I noticed a pickup truck parked in the driveway. When I backed up, I saw the real estate security lock opened indicating a principle was on sight. Chris was there to do repairs and he was the new owner, too. I welcomed him to the neighborhood and told him about the free cleanup services and how safe our Miles neighborhood is. He told me he loves Tucson and has two kids at the U of A and two in high school.  

Chris is also a developer/contractor and lives near the Arizona Inn so he will be around. As a welcoming gift, I offered to cut down that Mesquite tree and he approved. That was the best sign.

On my walk with my pups Monday morning I planned to study the Mesquite to determine the best approach to dismantle that thorny mess. A large truck was parked near the curb so we had to walk around to approach the tree.

It was gone.

Some kind of thorn eating machine grabbed that thing, held it up and the branches were cut by somebody. The ground on both sides of the sidewalk was pretty torn up, too. 

I thought, "What a great way to introduce yourself to a new neighborhood." Chris took the initiative and gave us a welcoming gift. Can’t wait to see what he does next to enhance that corner. In the meantime, if you see a metallic blue pickup in the driveway, stop by and introduce yourself to Chris. Show him we care about folks, especially when they care about our sidewalks.

This week’s donation was 278.6 lbs. of pet food and a $10.00 check. In addition, there were 2 Pooch Pads, 122 gal. Zip bags, 110 qt. Zip bags, 1 treat chew, 1 cat collar, 6 pill bottles and 2 rolls of plastic bags.

See you Sunday,

Peter 

Week 75 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

In the middle of our last cold snap a couple of day ago, Shari at PACC handed out 240 lbs. of dog food and 60 bags of treats. Her photos made me sad but so glad you are helping me feed hundreds of homeless pets in need. Helping Shari and Liana do this important work keeps me very motivated. Bet you feel the same.

A little pup was worried but curious about what was going on.

Then she smelled the food and she was all in.

On a lighter note…

When my Surface comes out of sleep mode, Microsoft displays a beautiful Spotlight photo that helps me focus immediately. Captivating images of bridges, mountains, meadows, really fun stuff to look at. But they outdid themselves with this photograph.

An American Pika in Colorado near Loveland Pass. Need I say more?

This week’s donation was 259.5 lbs. of pet food and $11.00 in cash and one check. In addition there were 3 pill bottles and 2 rolls of plastic bags.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 74 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

There Is a Reason Why You Are Seeing

So Many Homeless Folks on Our Streets

In late December, the federal government released figures showing that the U.S. homeless rate increased 2.7% over 2019 because of the housing crisis in California. Turns out that California’s homeless rate increased a whopping 16.4% in the same time period “even though voters approved a $4 billion affordable housing bond more than a year ago, and Los Angeles passed its own $1.2 billion housing bond in 2016.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hud-estimates-2-7-percent-rise-u-s-homelessness-due-n1106061

So what’s the problem if there is lots of money for affordable housing? Two words … neighborhood opposition. Oh, and very high housing costs in cities like San Francisco that incidentally passed their own $600 million bond for affordable housing.

Now you know why I am excited about the PACC Outreach Program for homeless companion pets. PACC realized homeless folks need their pets to stay connected and those pets need our food to stay healthy and happy.

Yes, we have to wait for affordable housing because humans have a real hard time being human. Fortunately, we have PACC leading the way to the next best solution.

Got a great email from Shari Mollencopf, who runs the PACC Outreach Program along with Liana Moss. She wrote:

“Thank you for all your hard work in getting donations for the outreach program. We will be bagging food and treats today to take to the homeless working the gem show. This is a huge demand this time of year and your support is truly a blessing…

…One thing that we always need are Ziploc bags,  both gallon and quart size.

Thank you again for all you do.

Shari.”

This week’s donation was 253.8 lbs. of pet food and $25.00 in cash and two checks. In the photo above notice the boxes of “tab locked” baggies Shari requested in her email. That should held them until next week.

We also donated 4 pill bottles and 1 roll of poop bags.

See you Sunday,

Peter