Poverty's Pets

Last month, Poverty's Pets lost a dear friend. It is still surreal, still difficult to wrap our hearts around it.

Jennifer was killed in a motorcycle accident less than a mile from her home.

When her husband, Todd, notified us via text from Jennifer's phone, there was no doubt that the message was going to be a fun update from a road trip the family was taking with the dogs in tow, just a note saying hello, or an invitation to dinner. Instead, it was news that broke our hearts.

Jennifer and Todd adopted Tommie Girl from Poverty's Pets more than a decade ago. And it didn't stop there... they adopted another, and another, and another. Four dogs in total.

Jennifer and Todd were always so supportive of our little grassroots organization. It hurts knowing that Jennifer will not walk through the door again with her smile and her funny-as-sh*t conversations.

To Todd, and to their children, Jessica, Devon, Ava, and Jenna, and their two grandchildren, we are so sorry for your loss. May your wife, your mom, and your grandmother come to you in your dreams, riding her motorcycle and smiling widely.

We have called on this property numerous times over the years. It ebbs and flows with animal cruelty situations. In fact, over the last few months, we have been working with the family (yes, the house is occupied) because they had a litter of puppies roaming the property. We brought them puppy food and did our best to educate. A few times, children would be playing in the front yard while the puppies romped alongside them.

We also knew that time was of the essence to get the puppies out of there through the proper channels. They were always hungry, and they never seemed to have water.

Yesterday, we arrived in the morning with pools in tow. This visit was different from the previous ones. The puppies were tethered on the north side of the house. Pieces of wood being used for shade had fallen onto the ropes used to confine them. There was no water.

We propped the shade back and did the best we could to get some water into the pool, as there was no hose on the property. With every gallon we poured in, the puppies drank and drank.

The owner watched from inside the house as we worked to help his dogs.

Soon after, we called the Arizona Humane Society. This situation needed more than we could offer. Those puppies would not have survived once the sun reached them. Despite our continued visits and offers to help, this situation was beyond our ability to resolve.

Today we followed up with the Arizona Humane Society. We were told they had visited the property and have a follow-up visit scheduled. It is now up to them to help the animals on that property.