SOAP LAKE — The Rock Bottom Rocker Pet Pantry in Soap Lake got a large increase just recently from the Moses Lake-Grant County Humane Society.
It wasn’t the very first time the MLGCHS had actually assisted the recently established animal rescue, said Shawna Kluge, who began and runs Rock Bottom Rocker Pet Pantry, however it was definitely more than she anticipated.
“They’ve helped with several grants in the three years that we’ve been open,” Kluge said. “I think our first one was $500. Then we were awarded three $2,500 grants. And when she said they were having a board meeting and she was going to ask for help, that’s what I assumed this grant would be. But we were given $10,000.”
The money can be found in the form of credit at Pioneer Veterinary Clinic in Moses Lake, said Linda Schultz, secretary of the MLGCHS, who connected to Kluge at first.
“So in the past, our contributions have been $2,500,” Schultz said. “And (Kluge) normally carries a balance of about $1,800-$2,400. So when we give that to Pioneer Vet on her behalf, that will pay off her debt, and sometimes give her credit. Most recently, we were able to give her $5,000 which paid off her debt, because she had maxed that, and then we all decided to vote and gift an additional $5,000, which gave her a credit at the clinic of $5,000.”
The MLGCHS board really put Kluge on speaker phone throughout its July 18 conference, Kluge said, so she might hear members voting to authorize her grant.
“Honestly, at the time we received the grant I was super-stressed about veterinary care,” Kluge said. “We have a $5,000 credit limit at Pioneer Vet and I was sitting in the parking lot of the clinic when they had their board meeting, with an emergency that had actually put me over my limit. Although the vet clinic will still see me if I’m at or above my $5,000 limit, we must have cash at time of service, so I’m sure you can imagine what a relief this grant was.”
The MLGCHS hasn’t run a shelter of its own in several years, Schultz said, however it does direct grants to animal rescue companies to assist with their expenditures. Their contributions come out of a fund that has actually been fed for many years by individuals who have actually died and left money to the organization, she explained.
The Rock Bottom Rocker Pet Pantry has actually gone through a great deal of modifications considering that Kluge began an informal food bank for animals in a garage in Soap Lake in March 2020. The kitchen ended up being a main not-for-profit in November, and what was a location to discover pet food has actually developed into a full-blown animal rescue.
“We have just over 40 dogs, and I think we have just over two dozen cats and kittens,” Kluge said. “That’s ours, that we are responsible for. Then we have probably close to a dozen in foster care in homes throughout the county.”
The Rock Bottom Rocker Food Pantry long back outgrew its little space in the area and is now based upon a rural property in the Soap Lake location. The animals are housed in homemade kennels and in enclosed inside a residence on the property. The lodgings might look makeshift, she said, however they’re comfy and safe.
“At one point during the winter, we had the sheriff come for a welfare check,” she said. “Somebody had called and said they were concerned about the dogs being outside. So the sheriff came out and did his investigation. We have all of our kennels wrapped with hay tarps. All of the dog houses were insulated with hay bales around them. He was blown away. He’s like, ‘You’re still doing this pretty much by yourself, aren’t you?’ I said ‘For the most part. You know, I have some help, but it’s limited. And he’s like, ‘I’m blown away, you are doing amazing.’”
Kluge gets a great deal of animals whose owners have actually died, she said, and numerous that have actually been harmed or abused. Those animals can require a great deal of veterinary care, she said, towards which the Humane Society grant goes a long method.
“One (dog) roamed Lakeview all winter and was being shot at,” she said. “(People) thought that she had a bullet in her head. It didn’t end up being a bullet, it was a tumor. But we got her fixed, got the tumor removed.”
An animal like that requires that go far beyond the physical, Kluge said. The dog that had the growth is now getting some training and socializing, however she won’t get entirely much better till she has a permanently home.
“This is not a complete home environment,” Kluge said. “They adjust the best when they can be free, you know, be on the couch or be part of a family, not when they’re in a kennel. We have dog walkers that come and we walk too, but every day you’re split between quite a few. So this is not the ultimate life, this is a stepping stone for them. I want them to have their forever families.”
“The other thing people should understand too is these dogs are in kennels and people look at and go, ‘Oh, they’re in kennels, they don’t get attention,” included Tina Funk, who has actually offered with Rock Bottom Rocker Pet Pantry considering that November. “They get love when you go into the kennel. They get lots of love, lots of attention. I mean, we’d love to be able to spend an endless amount of time in the kennels.”
Kluge chooses that contributions be made straight, instead of sending out money, she said, due to the fact that the not-for-profit presently doesn’t have a treasurer and she doesn’t wish to run the risk of slipping up. People who wish to contribute for veterinary expenses can send their contributions straight to Pioneer Veterinary, and those who have contributions of food or products can call her and she’ll schedule it to be gotten.
“Without organizations like (Moses Lake-Grant County Humane Society), we wouldn’t be here; we wouldn’t be able to keep our doors open. We do get private donations, but it’s hard these days … A lot of people don’t have the time and the knowledge, they have the money. I have the time and the knowledge, but I don’t have the money. We hopefully mesh together and we make something that works.”
Joel Martin might be reached by means of email at [email protected].
