Pet Tenders Foundation History
2000 – The “Pet Friends’ Fund” was established by the opening of a private joint savings account for the purpose of saving funds to have on hand for the inevitable homeless waifs that would come our way. Friends and clients of the Pet Tender’s Boarding Kennel would make occasional contributions for “waif care,” and those would be deposited into the savings account.
2000-2003 – Funds were used to aide seven cats (Autumn, Squeaky, Babe, Gabriel, Gwenivere, Lancelot, and Domingo) and one dog (Greta).
January 2004 – The Organizational Meeting was held to formalize the Pet Tenders Foundation. A Mission Statement was formulated, By-Laws adopted, and the application process to obtain federal 501-C-3 Public Charity status began.
Much discussion took place regarding the outgrowth of the PTFoundation from private efforts, the relationship to the private Pet Tender’s Boarding Kennel (later Cattery), which would serve as the Foundation’s office, the limited resources and the more limited services that would be offered than other humane organizations with which the public is familiar. We would seek to serve needs as resources permit on a case by case basis, evaluating each situation on the basis of its consistence with the mission, IRS guidelines, and the precedent it would set for the future. Usually, cases would be those which could not be served by other humane organizations, and we would seek not to compete with the more public organizations for resources. Consistent with the “quiet” (non-competitive) approach to fundraising, the PTF enrolled in the Cash for Critters Ink Cartridge Recycling program. Pet Tender’s also joined www.petfinder.com to facilitate the on-line posting of adoptable pets.
November 2004 – Federal 501-C-3 Status was approved. We were “Official” and donations could be considered for tax deductibility. A bank account was opened by transferring the funds from the Pet Friends Fund, and that savings account was closed
2005 – The PTFoundation formally accepted the responsibility for six cats which had been previously rescued and privately supported: Tux and Satchel for potential adoption, and Fluffy, Squeaky, Gladyce, and Marge for potential lifetime care.
Fall 2005 – Katrina struck
2006 – The Petition was submitted to the President, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army with 2569 signatures, and the resource links remained on line and available to the public. Also, a Pet Tender’s eBay Store was established for the sale of donated items with net proceeds for the Foundation. The PTFoundation also enrolled with fundraisers www.goodsearch.com and www.igive.com
2007 – The PTFoundation Board initiated a web presence with www.pettendersfoundation.org , which incorporated the No Pets Left Behind resources, Foundation Newsletters, etc.
2008 – A Disaster Assistance Pet Care Micro-Loan program was drafted, designed to assist responsible pet guardians with pet care in times of unavoidable hardship such as natural disasters.
“Housefire Ginger” was accepted for rehabilitation and rehoming after her March house fire and abandonment by guardians. The eBay Store and Cartridge Recycling Programs were discontinued due to increased costs and poor returns, but the Foundation enrolled in a vehicle donation program through www.donationline.com
2008 – After 11 months of care, Housefire Ginger was adopted by a fireman! And 8 ½ years after her guardian had died, we lost Fluffy.
2009 – First letter of Intent for Lifetime Care received for Prissy. The foundation initiated a PTF Capital ONE Visa Card www.cardlabconnect.com/PetTendersFoundation as another fundraising instrument.
2010 – The Board entered into a 2 year agreement with the Pet Tender’s Boarding Cattery to employ the services of www.UltimatePetWebsites.com to assist with the development and maintenance of a joint “Pet Tenders” website.