FCC Member Helps to Feed and Care for Pets of the Homeless
Through his volunteer work at My Dog Eats First, church member Joseph Bianca found an opportunity to provide healing to an often overlooked aspect of being homeless - the care and provision of deeply loved pets.
My Dog Eats First is a ministry that provides pet food, supplies, basic vaccinations and spay/neuter services for the pets of the homeless and underserved within our community.
The support provided by My Dog Eats First is done in a judgment free environment for individuals and families that desire to keep their pets, and that are committed to the health and wellness of those pets. Through their work, My Dog Eats First is able to keep the homeless united with what in most cases is the only living thing that provides them with companionship, protection and unconditional love.
My Dog Eats first believes in the love and joy that companion animals bring to their underserved and homeless owners because everyone deserves someone that makes them look forward to tomorrow.
Beth Green, the owner of one of Louisville’s highest quality pet sitting companies,
Paws Pet Care, founded My Dog Eats First in 2014 after experiencing a life-changing
event in August of 2013 that shattered what she called her “comfortable suburban
bubble” of naivety about homelessness. While eating lunch on the outdoor patio of a
restaurant with her 17 year old son Jacob, they noticed a young shirtless, homeless
man who sat down on a park bench near them with his companion-dog that had a
home-made rope collar trailing behind him.
Although Beth noticed the strong bond and loving relationship between the young man and his dog, she admits her thoughts immediately shifted to the type of judgmental stereotypes many of us have regarding the homeless. Interestingly, while they both looked hungry, the young man was not begging for food and actually seemed pretty happy. Next, without even a word, her son took his lunch over to the man on the bench, sat down and offered it to him. As the man humbly accepted and thanked Jacob for the food he proceeded to tear it in half and give it to his dog before taking a single bite himself.
As Beth so eloquently states, “He fed his dog first.”
That day she discovered a truth that volunteers with My Dog Eats First experience first hand every time they give of their time, that the homeless and underserved will sacrifice their own food needs and their own health in order to first feed their dog or cat.
My Dog Eats First offers free veterinary care to the homeless in Louisville with
companion animals including vaccinations, flea treatment, spay/neuter and
licensing for spayed/neutered animals.
The wholeness ministry grant provided by First Christian Church will enable My
Dog Eats First to offer free spay/neuter services for up to 25 pet dogs/cats of the
homeless and underserved within our community.
The wholeness grant used to fund this ministry was made possible through your faithful financial support of our church and its ministries and help fund a variety of efforts to make our world a better place. You can find more examples of those efforts or apply for a grant to make the world a better place by clicking here.