Pack Life began overnight in May of 2009, as something that had been developing without our knowledge for a long time. Chris and I have always been dog lovers, mostly inspired by our own two, Sherwood & Ace, and somehow always knew that we would end up working with dogs in one way or another. We were somewhat aware of the problems surrounding millions of unwanted and mistreated dogs, but never really realized just how bad it was. Once we began to get an understanding of how huge of a problem the nation is facing, and how many dogs are being mistreated and killed, we realized that we could not possibly live with ourselves without doing everything we could to help stop these actions.
In December of 2008, Chris bought me the Vicktory Dog wine collection for Christmas. Through this purchase, he learned of Best Friends Animal Society, in Kanab, UT. They are the largest no-kill shelter in the country, as well as the home for the Vicktory pit bulls that were rescued from NFL star Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring. We really liked the concept of a shelter where there are no dogs too damaged to help, and we began to research them some more. The more we learned about them, the more we liked. It just seemed like everything they did, it was done the right way. They share our belief that if a dog has behavioral problem, regardless of how severe, they are because of human induced behavior, and it is our duty, as the human race, to fix them, and give them that chance to live. We subscribed to their wonderful magazine through a small donation, and continued to learn more about their organization.
One day, on his lunch break; Chris got a phone call from Gabriel De Payer, one of the co-founders of Best Friends Animal Society. Gabriel was calling Chris to thank him for our donation, albeit small, he was still grateful that we took our time and money to thank and support them. When Chris called me to tell me about the phone call, I was floored. Best Friends is a world-renowned animal sanctuary that houses up to 2,000 animals at any given time, and has literally changed and developed the “no-kill” revolution in the United States. Countless lives have been saved because of them, and to think that one of their co-founders would actually call 2 kids in Auburn Maine to thank them was unbelievable to us. This confirmed our notion that this was a special organization, and we decided to invest in a little trip out there to volunteer.
If you have ever taken a trip across the country, you know that there is a lot of work and money involved. To make things a little more interesting, we thought that we could maybe save a few bucks by camping out in the desert instead of renting a hotel. We didn’t really think about all of the camping gear that we would somehow have to fit in our luggage! Once we realized how much work it was going to be, we realized that we really needed to make this trip special, not knowing when we would get the opportunity to do it again. We also decided that we could not possibly go to this place, as representatives from Maine, empty-handed. We started soliciting donations from our friends and family. Everyone thought it was a really great idea, and agreed to donate. We soon realized that we needed a little more structure if we were going to do this right. We decided to set a goal of $2500, in honor of Best Friends 25th anniversary this year. It was an extremely lofty goal considering our average donation was around $25. We realized that if we were going to reach our goal, we would have to ask everyone we knew for a donation. If we were going to ask everyone for a donation, we would need to be more than just a couple of kids asking for money. So we decided to create Pack Life, a not for profit organization that would basically do what we could to help dogs. The goal of $2500 became our first mission. We solicited businesses for product donations, and held a large raffle for anyone who donated, and ended up giving away about 25 prizes. Right before we left for our trip we had raised about $2000. We knew that after all of our hard work, we couldn’t possibly fall short of our goal. We, as Pack Life, decided to donate the remaining $500. This money came straight out of our pockets, and we were overjoyed and relieved that we met our goal, and completed our first mission. We presented the $2500 to Gabriel upon our arrival at Best Friends, and stayed to volunteer for a week.
Since returning from our trip in July, we have developed our organization quite a bit. This summer we set up the Pack Life table at various events. At these events we have raised another $500 plus dollars, which we have donated to Best Friends, and other local animal shelters/rescues. We also spend a lot of our time talking to people through these events about issues like dog retention, spay/neuter information, dog enrichment, etc. All of these ideas that we talk about, we hope in turn will help to reduce the number of dogs ending up in shelters, and the number of dogs being killed in shelters every year.
In October, we traveled back out West to attend the Best Friends ‘No More Homeless Pets Conference’ in Las Vegas. We were looking for ideas and inspiration, which is exactly what we got! During this trip, with the help of many people and organizations, we donated over $2000 worth of dog toys, treats, harnesses, and other items that were on the Dogtown wish list. We just wanted to help the dogs at Dogtown feel happy and at home during their stay.
Chris and I both still work full time, and that is how we are able to purchase supplies for our events. Every dollar we raise is donated directly to another non-profit organization that will put it to good use. We are a very small organization of 2 people who are just using their spare time to do what we can to help save dog’s lives. This opportunity has also allowed us to spend a lot of time with our own two dogs, as they accompany us to mostly all of our events. Although I’m not sure if we’ve ever actually saved a life, I know that our time is well spent. One day, Chris and I just sat down and thought to ourselves “there has got to be something we can do”; this is us doing it. We couldn’t go to bed at night anymore thinking about all of these dogs being killed, and NOT do anything about it. It just didn’t sit with us.
All of our incoming donations are donated to other organizations, because we are currently not registered as 501(c) 3. We donate to the organizations that we feel will be able to use the money best, and support the programs that we personally believe in. We also work non-stop educating anyone we possibly can about fixing their dogs, licensing their dogs, talking to kids about dog fighting, humane treatment, dog enrichment, and more. When we are given the opportunity to talk, we talk! We volunteer at our local shelter, and do whatever we can to help when asked for help by anyone. We are not always organized, and we don’t have any fancy structure, we’re just doing what we can.
We are working on a few events for the holiday season, all of which will be up on our website, packlife.org once finalized. I encourage you, as I always do, not to necessarily start up a non-profit organization, but take a couple hours a week to volunteer at your shelter, or write a check to an organization that you believe in. Think of any skills or assets that you have that you might be able to share. Whatever it is, the animals could use them, and will gladly accept them. Everyone can do something.
For anyone who has supported us in the past, we thank you. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the Pack Life nation! If you have any further questions, please leave them in the comments sections below, or email me at Cassandra@packlife.org You can also visit our website at www.packlife.org If you would like to learn more about Best Friends, you can visit their website at www.bestfriends.org
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