Good Company

It's official! The paint is dry, the kennels are in place, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony is complete. The Sojourner Center Pet Companion Shelter opened for business in mid-May.

We are truly blessed to be part of this wonderful partnership with Sojourner Center. We've cared for pets of families fleeing domestic violence at our shetler since 2008; now pets can stay together with their families at Sojourner Center.

The Healing Power Of Pets

The healing power of pets can be shared by not only the family who owns the pets, but by families who don't have pets but would love to snuggle up with a dog or cat to help healing. Those of us who are pet lovers know how powerful the gentle support of pets can be.

Dr. Maria Garay, CEO of Sojourner Center, welcomed everyone and shared why the Pet Companion Shelter is so important to her. She thanked PetSmart Charities for their donation of $50,000 which made this shelter possible. Other donations came from Red Rover, the AKC Humane Fund, and an anonymous donor.

Jodi Polanski, founder and CEO of Lost Our Home Pet Rescue, spoke about the journey for the last year and a half, from when she and Dr. Garay met and first envisioned a safe place where families and pets could be together, to the present culmination of those dreams.

A Safe Place

Lost Our Home Pet Rescue has provided temporary pet care to families for many years, but this is the first opportunity for families to truly be together. This project has been a lot of hard work, but it is so rewarding to see the final product - a beautiful, welcoming place for pets to be safe while everyone heals from domestic violence.

How great to have Mayor Stanton at the ribbon-cutting. He talked about the impact of this ground-breaking center, and how Sojourner has been helping families for nearly 40 years break the bonds of domestic violence and begin new lives.

Mayor Stanton Meets Clark

Mayor Stanton also got to meet our first resident at the shelter: Clark the Cat. Clark is seen here with Mayor Stanton and his "brother," Robert. Robert said Clark is like a brother to him, and he'd rather sleep in the car than be separated from him ever again.

Clark lived at Lost Our Home for two months while awaiting this shelter's opening. We are so happy we could get them closer together so Clark can hang out with Robert whenever possible.

Then it was ribbon-cutting time! The young man in the front is Robert, whom we mentioned above. Also in the picture are Dr. Maria Garay, Sojourner CEO; Jodi Polanski, Lost Our Home Pet Rescue Founder/CEO; Deborah Edwards, Lost Our Home Pet Rescue Board President; Michael Goodwin, CIO PetSmart Charities; and Dave Ryan, Sojourner Board President.

Petey Is Inspiration

And of course Petey was there! Petey asked for our help to choose which bow tie he would wear, and our Facebook Family overwhelming chose the paisley. Who better than Petey to personify overcoming personal struggles? He has never experienced abuse, but going through an amputation and keeping his fun-loving spirit throughout has been an inspiration to us all.

We are sure he will continue to inspire those at Sojourner as they start their very important journeys of healing from domestic violence and moving forward to a safe and secure future.

We've included some additional pictures for you to enjoy. Thanks, as always, for all of your support.

Jodi Polanski, Founder and CEO

Lost Our Home Pet Rescue