Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League is a no kill animal shelter in Palm Beach County Florida. However, Peggy Adams does not only rescue animals. With its low cost medical clinic and pet food bank, Peggy Adams saves human families as well.
On the surface my husband and I may seem like opposites. Among other things, when we met, he was a dog person and I was a cat person. He had Gretta, a Rottweiler puppy with the sunniest disposition imaginable. I had Ari, a handsome charmer who gave me so much more than I could ever give him.
My husband and I moved in together in 2001 with no appreciation of how good we had it. Money came easily then. I was a business owner. He had a high paying job. While I am sure our veterinarian bills were expensive we did not give it much thought. I could not even tell you how much it cost to neuter Ari.
When I got Ari back in 1993, there was actually a demand for the kittens at Peggy Adams. I would call each day to find out when the next batch of kittens was going to be available, and left work to pick one out. It was love at first site. Since I was not originally a dog person, it took a little longer with Gretta, but she truly became my best girlfriend. Ultimately, thanks to Gretta, you could not find a bigger dog lover than myself. My husband grew to love Ari but never really became a cat person.
My business went down hill fairly quickly after 9/11, and I held on too long hoping for a turnaround. At the same time my husband was laid off from his high paying job and spent a substantial amount of time out of work. The credit card balances went up and the credit ratings went down. My husband did find a new job at a substantial pay cut. I sold my car to try to meet expenses and took a minimum wage job within walking distance.
This was an awful time to realize that my beloved Ari was not doing well. At first we all thought he was just getting old, but then he took an abrupt and horrible downturn and I realized that he had not been using the litter box. He was suffering horribly and I rushed him to the Vet.
The Vet delivered what she thought was good news. Ari would be all right, as long as he had surgery to remove the stones blocking his urine stream. A few years earlier that would have been great news. He would have been in surgery before I could even blink. Now I had no idea how we could possibly pay for the surgery. I actually had to face the possibility that we would have to put him down because I was unable to provide for my own. I even tried to think of a way to give him away to someone who could pay for the surgery. I will never forget how that felt.
Ultimately, my husband was able to provide. Despite everything, he was approved for a Care Credit Card, and during a time where he could not treat himself to a movie, or even a meal at a fast food restaurant, he faithfully made those payments so that Ari could rejoin our family.
And rejoin our family he did. Ari actually had not been listless due to age, it was all due to his condition. He came back totally renewed and I treasure every moment of the remaining years that we had with him.
By the time Gretta became ill, our financial condition had improved somewhat. I felt wealthy because we could afford to provide her with chemotherapy. And, I know that in the eyes of most of the world we are wealthy. Gretta fought hard against the cancer and always kept her sunny disposition. Many times we would go to sleep knowing that we would have to take her to the vet the next day to let her go. Instead, in the morning we would be greeted by her beautiful smile, and she would jump up ready to go outside. I learned so much from Gretta, especially about dealing with adversity.
Sadly, we lost both Gretta and Ari within a day of each other. Gretta and Ari were not just wonderful pets, they made us better people. Their stories are the story of our family and our love.
The house was very lonely after we lost them, but eventually rescue dogs, Abigail and Madison, joined our family. Later, Natasha the cat joined us as well.
When it became time to have Natasha spayed, I found out that our Vet charges $500 for the procedure. Since my husband is now our sole source of income I felt terrible about spending that much money. The Vet's office actually recommends that their patients prevail themselves of the services at Peggy Adams when it comes to spaying. Peggy Adams charges $45 at most for a cat spay.
Of course, I realized that the cost of a spay at Peggy Adams was being subsidized by donations. While $500 may have been too much to pay, we were fortunate enough that we could afford to pay the actual costs. So, I let them know that we could make a cash donation and/or I could provide volunteer hours. The response was that donations are always needed and appreciated, but volunteer, work is even more valuable. So I got to know so much more about Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League and realized just how close to my heart their mission is.
The current numbers of stray and abandoned animals in Palm Beach County is staggering. Peggy Adams cannot possibly take in every abandoned animal and many still end up in high-kill shelters. An astounding number of animals in Palm Beach County are abandoned because their families can no longer afford to care for them. Peggy Adams has made it their mission to do everything they can to keep pets with their families. This includes community outreach, a food bank, and a low cost animal clinic.
The goal of Peggy Adams is that no one in this hard hit County will have to give up a pet, or even worse lose one to death or illness, simply because they could not afford food or vaccines. When I think about the painful moments when I contemplated giving Ari away, I think about how much worse it would have been if I would have had to take a pet away from a child. How would I have even explained why I had given their pet away? Above and beyond the loss of a pet, I would think the child would also worry about their own security within the family.
Peggy Adams also has special programs for the elderly, providing them with older pets at no cost, and trying to ensure that no one in Palm Beach County has to make a choice between buying food or medicine for themselves or providing for their pets. Pet companions give the elderly a reason to live. Peggy Adams truly saves lives.
On March 10, I will be participating in a Walk for the Animals to support this wonderful organization that has come to mean so much to me. I ask you to consider sponsoring me on this walk or making a general donation to the organization. You can do so at:
http://www.peggyadamswalkfortheanimals.kintera.org/...
With your help we can ensure that fewer families have to give up their animals due to poverty and foreclosure. After all, no pet is "poor" as long as their basic needs are met, and they have someone to love.
UPDATE: Thank you so much for the support and kind words.