top of page
  • Facebook Social Icon
  • Twitter Social Icon
  • LinkedIn Social Icon
  • YouTube Social  Icon

Pets For Life 

The Humane Society of the Calumet Area

My name is Laura Wozniak. I coordinate and manage a unique program called Pets For Life. Our program helps families in underserved areas of Gary, IN with veterinary services and other resources for their companion animals. Through my work in the program I have met many wonderful families. Here are a couple of highlights.

Our first family is Carl Lee Johnson and his 6 cats
When I met Carl it was right before our 2015 Spring Vaccination event. He had six cats. The older cats Momma, Mysterious and Twin had all been fixed over the years and he wanted these same services for his younger three.

I was able to schedule two cats for our spay/neuter packages.  Smokey and Tabby were scheduled for appointments.  Little T was a very young kitten and Carl decided to wait on his appointment until he got older.

 

When we got to Carl's house that morning, we found out that Mysterious had been killed by a loose dog the day before.  In the melee that had occurred, Tabby had run away and had not returned.  We commiserated with Carl over the loss of Mysterious and hoped that Tabby would return.  We were able to complete Smokey's appointment that day and continued to stay in touch with Carl. 

 

On my follow up call with Carl a week after Smokey's surgery, I found out that Tabby had returned.  YAY!!! :)

 

She was shook up but not injured as Carl had feared.  We rescheduled Tabby and successfully completed her surgery.  We continued to stay in touch and spoke about a date in mid-September when we would schedule Little T for his vet appointment.

In September we stopped by to see Carl, drop some food off for the cats and let him know that we still had Little T on the wait list, but would schedule ASAP. We were able to schedule Little T for early November. 

 

When I first met Carl in July his power was out. I thought it was temporary at the time, but as our relationship grew, I found out more about Carl's circumstances and his fixed monthly income. Carl has always kept up with his rent but has had difficulty with his power and gas bill. Carl's #1 priority is his cats. They are his only family. 

 

Only, in late October I find out how dire the circumstances were. Carl's neighbor Ms. Wallace that we had come to know through Carl, called me to find out if I could help adopt his cats to a caring family because Carl was probably going to be evicted for not paying his power and gas bill. The problem with his bill actually goes back to June of 2014. It had been weighing him down for over a year. The bill was for $2,700. 

 

In the beginning of every PFL community, an assessment is done and many resources are included in each assessment. Through our networking with many of the public and private agencies as well as the community of churches that I documented at the beginning of our program, I was able to assist Carl in restoring his power services just in time for Thanksgiving. He was not evicted and has since enrolled in energy assistance programs for the winter. Carl is in his home with his cats. Just where they all need to be. :)

 

Pictures from the day Mr. Johnson's power was restored with some of the cats in his home. 

Our second family story is the Herring Family

The Herring family is originally from New York City. Sally Herring and her two children Lance and Lakita moved to Gary three years ago this past August after a fire in their apartment building.  They had very little after the fire and needed to stay with Sally’s sister who resided in Gary in order to try to rebuild their lives.  They lost two cats in the fire but were able to rescue themselves and their two dogs at that time, Sassy and Scooby.  After their heartbreaking loss, they journeyed to stay with Sally’s sister for 4 months and then were able to secure a home nearby.

The Herring Family are animal lovers. A year passed and a lonely stray named Maddie came into the family’s life and pack.  Sally told me that they had precious little resources, but Maddie just belonged.

 

So, when I met the family in May the Herrings had three dogs.  We invited them to our Spring Vaccination Event, but they were unable to attend. We were able to successfully schedule and complete Scooby and Maddie for our spay/neuter packages and vaccinations for Sassy.

 

Sally and I stayed in touch and when I was close by and knew they needed some food for the dogs, I would stop in.  I came to learn more about the family and how Lance, an eighth grader, really wants to be a veterinarian when gets older.

 

I invited Lance and his mom to volunteer at our Fall Vaccination Event in October. Lance was beyond excited!  At our Fall Event, Lance was able to shadow Dr. Morris all day. They became fast friends and Dr. Morris wants Lance to intern with her when he is old enough. Our program has had such a lasting impact on Lance and the entire Herring Family.  Lance wears his PFL shirt to school so he can “represent”.  ;) Since the Fall Event, three new strays, (cats this time) have joined the Herring household. KC (Krazy Cat), Beauty and Cutie.  We have provided s/n packages for all and Sally says that her menagerie is complete for now.  :)

Click here for more information on the Pets for Life Program! 

bottom of page