It was a really emotional night on CAT CHAT® — a breed rescuer got a surprise $1,000 donation of food (i.e., Dinner Party and treats) from HALO — which I had no idea about! On an impulse I had asked Mary to call into the show. She runs a German Wire-haired Pointer rescue in Olathe Kansas (www.GWPRescue.com) and we had become pen pals.  I wanted her to explain what breed rescuers do and what happens to breeding dogs in puppy mills — she had written me about the emaciated, past-starvation dogs that have come in from puppy mills and abuse situations and how she needs to restore their health with good nutrition. I had gotten in touch with the Vice President, Marketing Communications of HALO Purely for Pets (one of my website sponsors and the company that makes the kibble my dogs eat) and asked if there was any discount for rescues and shelters to get HALO. Lo and behold there is!! (all you have to do is call 800-426-4256 and they will give a 35% discount to shelters and rescues). So I invited him on the show so he and Mary could meet on the air. She and I were both amazed because after the three of us had been talking for a little while David from Halo suddenly said that HALO was going to donate $1,000 worth of Liv-a-Little freeze-dried salmon treats and Dinner Party to Mary’s rescue!  She wrote in afterward:

Tracie and David,

Oh my goodness I am still shaking!

I cannot find words to express my appreciation and what a tremendous gift you have given our organization. I told my group I was speechless, (which was hard for them to believe) I was so touched I could hardly speak. Tracie, it was such an honor to be on your show.  David is right that you were the passionate force caring for the animals that put us together! Such a true Blessing! And we are forever grateful to both of you!

Our dogs come from extreme circumstances, and as I said seven out of ten come into our care in horrific condition. We will be looking at the same type of situation with the puppy mill dogs we are expecting from South Dakota as we did with the puppy mill babies in Missouri three months ago. We are so excited to have this opportunity to give our puppies/dogs a good diet, and build up their suppressed immune systems.

I will get the food ordered tomorrow… we certainly cannot tell you how this will help us in the coming days. There are no words to express what we are going into. When we went to the puppy mill bust in Missouri in May, I hyperventilated at the sight and smell which made me physically ill. The mothers and babies were locked in a complete darkness in a grain silo where they kept them. Some were so thin their systems could not ingest or digest food. But having the HALO donation will be one less stress for us to deal with, and we will distribute the food between foster homes.

This means so much…

Thank you, Thank you!!!!

You are too kind — I am only a bridge connecting people — and privileged to be one. My gift is having been there to witness The Moment of connection.  Mary you and your group are the ones doing the real heavy lifting — we are just cheering from the sidelines. Day in and day out you climb into the trenches and take in dogs who have been taken to the brink of ruin and you reincarnate them, in a literal and spiritual sense.

How thrilling for me to be associated with a company that shares my admiration of your dedication and my desire to support you in any way possible. You have earned it, believe me, and it’s an honor to help you.

Hi Tracie,

I finally had a chance to meet Kenn in person today! He is as nice and wonderful in person as he is over the phone. I wish there were more people in the world as kind and giving as Kenn. Thanks again for making this happen… and a special thanks for the cool “Cat Chat” ball cap.

We took a couple of photos… so hopefully they will come out and Kenn will forward them to you. I was able to serve Kenn the best pizza in the world…. (Domino’s, of course!) and I introduced him to our Executive Vice President of Communications/Investor Relations and Corporate Contributions, Lynn L. Lynn is a cat lover too…and she loved the story.

To show our appreciation for all that you have done for me personally… and the nice comments you have made about Domino’s Pizza… we would like to send you and your staff some pizza. Would it be possible to get an address/location and a date that works out (for lunch or dinner)… so that we can send over a “Pizza Party”? Also, if there are any special toppings you would prefer… just let me know.

I’m also copying Kenn to find out how to get the information needed to make contributions to FMAR. I would like to make a personal donation, and Domino’s Pizza would like to make a corporate contribution to this non-profit organization.

Thanks again!

Dear Marie,

The best gift i can have is to know that I was somehow the river through which all this goodness flowed – there is nothing else I want.

As for a pizza party, you are too kind but I will have to respectfully decline for this reason:

1) I have celiac sprue disease and can eat no flour or grains of any kind, so sadly pizza is never allowed on my plate.

2) My “staff” consists of 3 quite rambunctious dogs who amuse and delight me as I work completely solo on my two radio shows and all the attendant emails, etc. I wish I had a staff and could sleep more than 5 hours a night! These clowns would love some pizza, but it’s not on their diet, either!

However, I do have a fantastic webmaster who is a father of three young kids in Swedesboro, New Jersey. A pizza party would be spectacular for them because his oldest boy Matthew just graduated from 8th grade and was not expected to live beyond 8 years of age because of an inoperable brain tumor that has dominated most of his young life. Matthew has been raising money for children’s brain tumor research ever since he was a little boy (through www.MatthewsMiles.org) and is a special kid. I would be so grateful if we could send a Domino’s Pizza party to him so he can have a graduation party – a celebration on so many levels.

Let me know how I can assist you in making that come true.
What a lovely lady you are!

Tracie
p.s. would be so happy to invite someone from Domino’s on my shows to thank them for their generosity to FMAR.