COLUMBUS (WCMH) — For families who fall on hard times it can be difficult to care for and keep a pet, and it comes with hard decisions.
One family who just moved to Columbus was able to find help and wants others to be able to do the same thing.
Sarah Lim and her family moved to Columbus so that her daughter could go to a special needs school. While the school has been great for their family, the job market has not.
Lim’s dog Kona, needed to see a veterinarian, and even buying her food was setting them back. Lim reached out to NBC4’s Hattie Hawks, who does a weekly adoption segment, about where she could find help, and Hattie told her about Save Ohio Pets.
“We moved here I guess on a song and a prayer,” said Lim. Her family picked up their life in Boston and moved to Columbus hoping her husband could find work.
“Thought it would be easy for him to find something in Columbus. Not so easy,” said Lim.
Lim’s daughter has special needs and when the opportunity to go to a tailored school in Worthington came up it was something they couldn’t pass up.
The move has proven to be more difficult than they thought. “My husband hadn’t worked in almost a year and we had lived off savings and all of those savings are gone.”
Her dog, Kona, had an ear infection, needed updated vaccinations, and scraping up the money for dog food was becoming more difficult. “Do you take the dog to the vet and spend a couple hundred dollars or do you pay rent so you don’t get evicted from where you live?” Lim was constantly cleaning Kona’s ears and hoping a job would come along for her husband. “I have never been in a position where I needed to ask for help from somebody, so we found ourselves not knowing what to do.”
Then she saw NBC4’s weekly adoption segment called Max’s Mission.
Hattie Hawks and her rescue dog Max are on a mission to find forever homes for animals in need and spread awareness about the homeless pet population in Central Ohio.
“You were on TV one morning and I thought you got to know somebody or an organization that I can contact to see if someone can help. You were like the angel that kind of answered me saying yes I know of a place I’ll put you in contact,” said Lim.
The group Hattie referred Lim to is called Save Ohio Pets. They provide free food, health care, spay/ neuter, and pet essentials for low income families in Franklin County who can show proof of public assistance.
“It was a lifeline for us.” She goes on to say, “They don’t look down on your because you can’t afford to take care of your dog.”
Now Kona is doing great and enjoying her time with Lim’s daughter and her human best friend Bella. “There is a connection that I can’t quite explain. They just get each other.”
One day, Lim hopes to return the kindness that she has found in Columbus. “When we can pay it forward I think it is the first thing we’ll do is give back to the people who gave to us when we needed it.”
To learn more about Save Ohio Pets and their low income clinics find them on Facebook at facebook.com/saveohiopets/
The next clinic is March 11th from 9 to 12 and you must call to schedule an appointment 855-243-SAVE (7283).
To send donations: PO box. Save Ohio Pets P.O. box 326 New Albany Ohio 43054, or check out their Amazon Wish list here: Save Ohio Pets Wishlist