Help us support the amazing Friends Of Pets Dog Jog
Note: Cowork by RSD will be supporting the Friends of Pets Dog Jog on Saturday, July 22nd, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at Service High. FOP is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that aids pets in need in Anchorage through rescue, advocacy, adoption, education and more.
To participate in the event or to sponsor our team, please see Marnie. The story below comes from Ed B., our content coordinator.
Friends of Pets is one of those organizations that makes a real difference in our community. I should know; they brought me Sable the Wonder Dog.
Ed and Sable at one of many Dog Jogs.
Back in 2000, I was listening to the radio at work when I heard a familiar voice: Michele Girault from Friends of Pets. I worked part-time for Hope Community Resources and Michele was their director and the president of FOP.
Michele was chatting with the deejay about a young Rottweiler who needed a home. I turned to my buddy and said, “I think I just got a dog.” I just knew.
I had said goodbye to my beloved rescue Rottie, Bogart, a couple of years earlier, and I was looking for the right rescue to share my life with. FOP knew placing a Rottweiler could be tricky, but they knew my experience with the breed and brought her to my house.
To make a long story short, we instantly bonded and she moved in, taking up more than her half of the couch and my bed. She was the happiest, healthiest dog I’d ever known, and no one who met her was ever scared of the “big, mean Rottweiler.” She had a way with people and disarmed even the biggest skeptics. As we were on our walkie one day, a young girl leaned out of a passing car window and said, “Your dog has the happiest face.” Sable just had that effect on people.
After many happy years and many happy adventures, we found out the limp that Sable had developed was caused by cancer, and we decided on surgery and chemotherapy. She took both like a champ. Sure, she would occasionally forget she was a tripod and lose her balance. But she’d just do a breakdance move and get back up like nothing ever happened.
A little while later, Michele reached out to me with a question: Would I like Sable to be the 2008 Dog Jog Mascot? A chance to share Sable’s story and give back to FOP at the same time? Sign us up! I can’t tell you how excited I was to see Sable on the back of the Muni buses!
There are so many great stories like ours that begin with FOP. The gang at Cowork by RSD is proud to support a local organization that knows people and pets belong together.
FOP advocates for pets in need through adoption and rescue. They partner with Anchorage Animal Care & Control to rescue animals that can’t be adopted directly to the public due to illness or injury. Their sanctuary program gives older animals support and they partner with Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis (AWAIC) to provide temporary homes for pets while their owners are at the AWAIC shelter.
The amazing work FOP does every day depends on our support, so please see Marnie to join our team or sponsor a walker.
I’ll never forget what Friends of Pets did for me, and maybe they can help you begin a story of your own. To learn about adoption or other programs, or to donate, please visit friendsofpets.org.
