The Pongo Fund (2026)

15/01/2026

Today is January 15, 2026.

I can’t believe we’re already halfway through January. I’m frankly not all that happy about it. But it’s true. As we get older, the time moves faster. But I do hope it slows down a bit.

The words that follow were supposed to be posted on January 1st. That’s my tradition. And I missed it. It’s not that I forgot. I just didn’t do it. Please accept my apology.

I will be sharing more posts during January and onward. But for now, here are my words that were meant to be shared on January 1st. The good news is, they are words that can be shared anytime.

Thank you for reading.

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"January 1, 2026.

I write these words every year and I am honored to write them. Although they may also appear other places, reposted by someone else, they are still my words. And only my words. They come from within, from me, to you. And they have been my words since the first time I wrote them, many years ago.

My name is Larry Chusid. I am the founder and executive director of The Pongo Fund, Oregon’s Pet Food Bank. Because hungry people have hungry pets. Pongo was my dog. I work for the day when no animal knows pain or hunger because their family cannot afford food or veterinary care. And I dedicate myself to this work to prevent the hunger, suffering, abandonment, surrender and loss of the animals I love.

Since our first day in 2009, The Pongo Fund has helped more than 240,000 hungry and hurting animals and provided more than 40 million meals throughout Oregon, Washington and beyond. Keeping each one of those animals safe at home and out of the shelters. Because it is the right thing to do.

We do it by providing two of the most critical needs in animal welfare, high quality pet food and lifesaving veterinary care, and we provide it free of charge, consistently and without fail, keeping tens of thousands of animals safe and healthy and out of the shelters.

We help the animals of proud seniors, brave Veterans, the victimized, the marginalized, the unemployed, the mentally ill, the disabled, the hungry, the hurting, the homeless, and good people facing the toughest of times. That’s what The Pongo Fund does.

Tens of thousands of animals are here today because we were there for them when they needed us most.

Because sometimes we all can use a little extra help.

The work I do is deeply important to me. And in order to love me as a friend or even like me as a person you must understand that animals are the best part of my life. And that my heart is broken time and time again for animals not treated with compassion and respect.

For those who do not know kind words and gentle hands.

For those who are abused, who suffer, who live in fear.

For those who recoil at the hand reaching out to pet them, for fear it will hurt them.

At my core I believe that every animal deserves good food, clean water, proper shelter, humane care and a safe and stable environment. Not just occasionally, but always.

And I believe that Gandhi was right when he said “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

Today is the first day of 2026. A new beginning. A new chapter. A new day filled with all of the things that we can do, that we should do, that we must do, to make life better for the animals. And I invite you to please join me in doing these things.

For animals everywhere, may each one of them live safely and well. Without fear. Without harm. Without suffering. I wish for them to know the same love and respect from us that we know from them. And every wish that I wish for the animals, I wish for you too.

On an even more personal note, and I mean this from my heart, I am so deeply grateful to you, to all of you, for getting up, for standing up, for fighting against abuse and neglect and cruelty. For fighting the fight that sometimes seems like a lonely one. But in time, it is a fight we will win.

My name is Larry Chusid and I am proud that the animals are my friends. They make my life better. And may they always enjoy Peace, Love and Kibble.

Wishing you a Happy New Year from all of us at The Pongo Fund.

--Larry Chusid, The Pongo Fund"

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
Portland, Oregon

01/01/2026

A few hours to go.

One last reminder that EVERY DOLLAR donated thru midnight tonight will be DOUBLE MATCHED thanks to some generous friends. That means twice as much food, twice as much care, twice as many lives will be saved.

Please click here to have your donation DOUBLE MATCHED https://www.thepongofund.org/contact/donation-page/

We've been quietly doing this work since 2009. We've helped many. We've provided 40 million meals for more than 244,000 hungry animals.

And a reminder that every single one of those meals, every dog or cat we've spayed or neutered, every lifesaving surgery we've been part of, every human food bank or domestic violence shelter or dozens of other groups that get food from The Pongo Fund, every part of every moment has been because of you.

Please always remember that. It’s more than just words. Because without you, there is no us.

I remember that first day. I think back to it often. I even remember before the first day. When it was just me and a car filled with food for both people and their pets.

40 million meals later, here we are.

2025 was hard. We expect 2026 to be harder.

The Pongo Fund continues to have no marketing or fundraising or professional management teams. It’s just our little group of mighty volunteers who make sure we stay the course.

Our entire fundraising is word-of-mouth. Like right now. These words. That’s it. Hard to believe, but that’s how it has been since Day One.

And these are my last word-of-mouth words for the year.

They are coming to you unedited but from the heart. If you can help pay for our next truckload of dog and cat food, then please know we would be grateful. But no matter what, just having you here reading these words, having you cheer us on, all of that means more than you know. And on behalf of the thousands we help, I thank you for caring as you do.

244,000 hungry and hurting animals are safe at home and out of the shelters because we were there for them when they needed us most. And we have more work to do...

Please click here to have your donation DOUBLE MATCHED https://www.thepongofund.org/contact/donation-page/

Checks can also be mailed to The Pongo Fund, PO Box 9000, Portland, OR 97207.

Thank you for being here with us.

With our gratitude for you always, and always for the animals.

--From all of us at The Pongo Fund

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund / PO Box 9000 / Portland, OR 97207
A volunteer driven 501c3 non-profit public charity. Tax ID 27-0646992

Donations will be Double Matched thru midnight 12/31/25 up to $50,000, thanks to some generous friends who enjoy being helpers. For example, $25 becomes $50, $100 becomes $200, $500 becomes $1,000, one gazillion becomes two gazillion...you get the idea.

Please click here to have your donation DOUBLE MATCHED https://www.thepongofund.org/contact/donation-page/

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” -- Gandhi

31/12/2025

She always knew her son would end up in jail. Mother’s Intuition.

It wasn’t what she wanted. But she thought it might be the only thing that would save him.

They talked occasionally. He was in and out of homelessness. Moving from the street to shelters to staying with friends. She offered everything she could, but it was never enough. Then one day the call came.

A friend of her son’s told her he had been arrested. He would be going to jail and likely for a while. The man and her son knew each other from the street and he asked if he could bring her son’s belongings to her until he was released.

She said with a call like that you don’t have time to think. She didn’t know what he would be bringing but she said yes.

A few days later the man and the Mom met in person. She lived in a small rent controlled apartment subsidized through a housing program. Her place was tiny. She had little money. But she thought she could find a place for the couple of large garbage bags filled with his things.

The man said he had one more thing to bring and would be back in a little while. That’s when she found out the last place her son had been living was just a few blocks from her own apartment. It hit her hard. Somehow they were still close, just blocks away.

She asked what else he would be bringing and he said Cookie. She didn’t know what he meant.

Cookie?

And that’s when she learned her son still had the same big heart he always had. Oftentimes poor judgment. But that big heart.

A couple years earlier her son had seen Cookie being treated poorly. He had watched this happen a few times but it got to the point that he said something and that led to him adopting Cookie from someone on the street. Cookie was 10 then.

Although her son had nothing in terms of money, he collected bottles and cans and anything else he could to take care of Cookie. He got her a checkup and up to date vaccinations and anything else she needed. The man told the Mom that her son took better care of Cookie than he took of himself.

A few hours later they arrived. This man who lived on the street stood in front of her, carrying this little dog named Cookie. He had Cookie in one arm, and a small kennel in the other. All of her things were inside that kennel. Her food bowl. Her toys. Her veterinary records. Several different coats and sweaters. She said Cookie likely had more clothes than her son had.

The man said everyone loved Cookie and Cookie loved everyone.

And then he left.

We learned this when she called The Pongo Fund to ask about dog food. Apparently Cookie’s veterinary paperwork talked about some possible food allergies. She knew that the food bank close to her apartment had dog food from The Pongo Fund, and she wanted to double check the ingredients.

She didn’t know how long her son would be in jail. But she wanted to make sure that while she took care of Cookie, that she did the best job.

On the first call with her son, the only thing they talked about was Cookie. He told her she was the best dog ever. She told him that Cookie slept on the pillow next to her head. And then they shared Cookie stories.

Cookie became the bond they had not had since he was a little boy.

Every month she got two bags of Pongo Fund dog food from the food bank down the street. Cookie was a little girl and those two bags kept her well fed. We made sure there were extra goodies too, some cans of food, some dental chews, treats, even one day a new matching leash, harness and collar that was just her little Cookie size.

Her son called and said he would be out of jail soon. He’d been gone a while. He told his Mom he would be continuing treatment to make sure he didn’t relapse.

They talked about Cookie. It was the conversation she feared.

Would he want her back? Even if he had no where to go, would he want Cookie with him? She knew that Cookie was his dog and that she was just Cookie’s Grandma. But still, in those few months they had become quite the team. And she thought Cookie had come to enjoy sleeping on a pillow in a warm bed, instead of a tent.

She worried about them both.

Her son. And Cookie.

It was another call when he finally brought up the subject. It wasn’t what he said, but it was the way he said it. Her son was never much for gratitude. She knew he felt it, but he didn’t always say it. He kind of left a lot of messes in his wake.

But out of the blue, he thanked her for being there for Cookie. He told her that Cookie and her were the two most important things in the world to him. She’d never heard him say something like that before. And then he asked her, if it would be ok for Cookie to continue staying with her.

She said she could not let him hear her crying. She said yes.

He is out of jail and doing well in treatment. He’s making it to all his meetings and check-ins and doing everything he needs to do to turn his life around. One day at a time.

He visits Cookie and on those days they have lunch and take walks. She said he’s doing really well. He told her that Cookie is the only thing that kept him going these last few years. And how lucky he was that she welcomed Cookie with so much love.

All of this got shared with us when the woman called and we talked about Cookie. We never met Cookie but we loved her completely. The woman said she was still using the Pongo Food from the food bank down the street. She could not afford dog food otherwise. Her money was that limited.

She told us she had just received $50 for something. She said she wanted to give that to The Pongo Fund. She just wanted to know how to get that to us.

For this woman, $50 was a huge amount of money. But she said she needed to give it to us, because without The Pongo Fund she would not have been able to keep Cookie fed all this time.

It was an awkward moment, knowing how much this woman could have used that $50 for her own life. And yet, she wanted to give it to us. I really waffled in that moment. And then she said…

Please us it for the next Cookie.

Small Miracles.

And this is why we Pongo.

***If you would like to help us help all the Cookies, please donate to our 2025 year end Kibble Campaign. Added bonus, all donations are being matched up to $50,000, so every dollar will become two.
The donation link is here: https://www.thepongofund.org/contact/donation-page/

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund / Portland, OR

27/12/2025

It's Lucky Saturday and you could win a $500 Gift Certificate today to the iconic Powell’s Books.

All it takes is a $10 or more donation to The Pongo Fund via our secure Give Guide donation link here https://giveguide.org/nonprofits/the-pongo-fund.

Two lucky Give Guide winners will be selected.

The Pongo Fund helps animals near and far with lifesaving supplies of food and veterinary care. That’s 40 million meals to date for more than 244,000 hungry and hurting animals. Please remember that everything we do is thanks to you.

We hope you win !!!

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org

27/12/2025

His name was Walter but they called him Windex.

That’s because he loved to smash his face on the windows and smear it back and forth. He was a mix of Boxer and Bulldog, so with that flat face he probably thought of himself as a squeegee.

After he was done with the windows he’d wheelbarrow himself across the carpet, cleaning the mess from his face. Because to do the job like Windex, you needed a clean face every time you were ready to make another mess. So his routine was to smear the windows, then wheelbarrow his face across the carpet, then do it again. It was a good plan.

His Dad told us about that when he asked if we could help him rehome Walter. He had just turned 15. His Dad said Walter found the happy in every moment, no matter what it was. And for him and his wife, they made sure to find the happy too.

But things had taken a turn, and they could no longer afford to provide the best care for Walter. He loved to eat, and it had come down to them being unable to afford dog food. He paused when he said it, like maybe he had miscalculated something and was wrong. So he said it again. He asked if that made sense, that someone could not afford dog food.

We reminded him that he was talking to a Pet Food Bank. And it happened a lot.

They were cutting expenses everywhere they could so they could continue to live without help. The culprit was a serious medical issue that required more care than they could afford, so it meant doing whatever they could to save money.

Rehoming Walter wasn’t part of the plan. But they feared if they could not afford dog food then what would happen if Walter got sick and they could not afford the vet bill. Their call to The Pongo Fund was not casual. They had been mulling this over for a few weeks, and they were both out of food and out of hope.

The man and his wife were both seniors, and their family was several states away. But they already knew that no one wanted to open their home to Walter. So could The Pongo Fund help Walter land on his feet? Apparently they remembered the Scooby stories, and they thought Walter and Scooby were kind of the same.

Happy old guys just looking for a good place to call home.

I knew what he meant.

Because in a nutshell, that was The Scoobs.

A totally Happy Guy.

We had a feeling that Walter would adapt to most any situation, but we didn’t like the idea that this sweet older guy would have his life turned update down because his family could not afford food. We hear those stories all the time, maybe you do too. Everything has gotten more expensive, including pet food.

But for The Pongo Fund, this is exactly what we want to not have happen. To have a family torn apart because they’re a few dollars short.

We imagine Walter spent today smearing his squeegee face across all the windows, and then wheelbarrowing himself across the carpet. We imagine that because Walter was home for Christmas.

It was a plan that had hope written all over it.

The people have enough food for Walter for the next few months. And if they need more, they know who to call.

Home for Christmas.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund / Portland, OR

26/12/2025

Pongo Christmas was this past Sunday. Everyone arriving for dog and cat food also got to shop our Pop Up Pongo Human Food Bank as well. It had been restocked and was packed to the brim with 61 different items just waiting to be enjoyed.

Once again, we say thank you to our Pongo Elves Michael and Christian for putting this food bank together. Thank you both for sharing the joy.

Adding to the joy was another one of our Pongo Elves, Angela, who for the umpteenth year in a row used her own money to purchase $25 gift cards to share with everyone coming for pet food. Each card was good for the local big box store for whatever someone might need. We suspect it was for the less exciting things like toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo and the like. Because those items are expensive and rarely available.

Thank you Angela, for sharing the joy.

And because it was Christmas, we gave out even more dog and cat food every chance we could. The bigger the bag, the better. Just like this big bag for Jake. It was his first time visiting The Pongo Fund and he and his Dad left filled with gratitude. Jake’s Dad said he didn’t know exactly what to expect, but he sure wasn’t prepared for the kindness he found.

As I carried a bag of food to someone’s car, she commented on the human food bank. I told her it was a November/December bonus and we enjoyed doing it. She said she loved the chance to get extra food, since she her cupboards were almost empty.

I don’t know if her cupboards were almost empty or not. But I do know that when you struggle to stay fed, everything is harder. Knowing that she now had 50 cans of different foods to help her get through the next couple of weeks meant the difference between going to bed hungry or full. And that was a wonderful difference to make.

And that was in addition to the big bag and many cans of cat food she also received for her three senior cats.

I know as my FB posts go, this one may not seem as interesting. But the truth is, there are always stories behind the stories. And these moments, no matter what they are, we love them.

Thank you to everyone who joins us in these moments. Because everything we do, we do together.

As George Eliot said, “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?”

Being a Helper.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund / Portland, OR

25/12/2025

He had not talked to his brother for a long time. So when the doctor called and said he’d had a heart attack, he was caught off guard. Not because of the heart attack. His brother had not enjoyed good health for many years.

The doctor said he should come to Portland as soon as he could to see his brother. He asked if time was short. The doctor said time is always short. But the doctor said there was one more thing. And that’s what caught him off guard the most.

His brother had a dog and there was no one to take care of him while he was hospitalized. His brother needed him to take care of his dog.

The man said he had many reasons to say no, but none of them mattered. He borrowed money for gas and got to Portland the next day.

He had not seen his brother’s dog in many years. He was old, about 15 or 16. He was a mix of lab and golden, about 60 pounds, and his best trick was sleeping. That’s what the man said.

There was a small square of paper on the refrigerator. It said The Pongo Fund Dog Food. It’s the label we put on our food. The man did not know that, he just saw it there and called the number. He didn’t know who we were or what we did, he just knew he needed more dog food and the note said dog food.

We didn’t know the man who had the heart attack or the dog who loved to sleep. They had gotten our food from one of the many human food banks we provide food to. More than 40 million meals so far. That’s a lot. Moments like that are why we put our name on our food.

Just in case.

We met the man near the hospital where his brother was. He looked like a kind man. I don't know why, he just did. He talked about his brother, they were a few years apart in age. They lived in different cities and what had once been an occasional call or Christmas card had become none of those. He said his brother liked his privacy.

Their relationship had become one of "in case of emergency."

We got the man this bag of dog food. A 27 # bag of Canidae All Life Stages which was a good fit for the dog he described. For the older dog friends who excel at napping.

We asked how his brother was, and he said he was hooked up to tubes and machines. He said he would make it, but it would be awhile. And then he talked about the dog he was caring for. His name was Charlie and he really seemed to love it when someone said his name.

He said if he had not been able to come to Portland, then Charlie would have ended up in the shelter. Because they were not the kind of people who could afford to pay for boarding.

Charlie was a happy older guy who preferred belly rubs to outside walks. He had only been in town a few days yet he talked about Charlie as if they were old friends. I told him that’s one of the things we love about our dogs. They are quick to treat us as old friends. And we’re lucky for that.

He looked at me and asked how a dog like Charlie would do in a shelter. He didn’t ask the question to be answered. He knew the answer. He just kind of whispered how thankful he was that he could be there to help.

He thanked me for bringing the food. He said I was giving him this big bag of food but he didn’t even know what The Pongo Fund was.

I told him we’re a group of Helpers.

He said the doctor told him he could bring Charlie to visit his brother when he was better. He said that both he and Charlie were looking forward to that.

He was crying as he said it.

Food for Charlie.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund / Portland, OR

20/12/2025

The People in the Parking Lot.

The tent families are hard. But for me, the car families are harder.

The blankets and pieces of cardboard that come out at dark, blocking the windows for whatever privacy they can provide. Dinner. Diaper changes. Bedtime story telling. The sort of moments normally lived without everyone watching.

But before dark, you see it all.

The one eyed pug snoozing while laying upside down on a blanket next to a cat cinnamon rolled tight while in between the two of them a little girl reading to herself from a book filled with pictures that do not include families in cars.

They were one of the six families with pets in the parking lot by the highway. They were safe there. That’s what mattered. We were only planning to meet one family, with a dog. That’s what the caseworker asked us about.

Could we bring dog food for that one dog.

But when we got there, the others were already lined up waiting. The caseworker apologized that there were more people needing help. We asked why she didn’t tell us. She said she feared if there were too many, we wouldn’t show up at all.

Luckily we try to prepare for the best, not the worst. And for us, preparing for the best means having more than we might need. Just in case.

We had dog food and cat food and litter and litter boxes and leashes and harnesses and collars and food bowls and more. And then we had diapers and bottled water and shelf stable foods and pudding cups because pudding cups. The list was long because there was no plan. It was just bring what we might need, because we’ve been in situations like this before.

No matter what we have, it’s never enough. But it’s a start.

The box of children’s books. We had those too. Because if there’s little kids, then there shall be books. And flashlights. And batteries. And someone had given us an old fashioned transistor radio. Not as old fashioned as I grew up with, but the kind that still made some static when you turned the k**b.

We had sleeping bags and blankets and little tuck in tight dog beds and tiny feet kid socks and hygiene kits and I’m going to stop there because the more I list the more I realize it will never be enough.

We were there for dog food. Everything else was the bonus.

When you arrive you see a small circle of folks waiting, even though they don’t know exactly what they are waiting for. That’s hard. Harder for them though, and that’s why we’re there. Because when we leave, we want their lives to feel a little bit lighter. Even if just for that moment. And if a Thomas the Tank Engine sleeping bag can help make that possible, then hooray, because that’s a good day.

In those moments we can never do enough for one another. At least that’s how it feels. But we have to call it good. The point is, even though it seemed like those families needed everything, they didn’t have a place to put everything. So you do what you can with what you have and you hope for the best because there are no closets or basements or under bed storage cubbies to stash extra things.

The caseworker who was there, she exuded a level of empathy that went beyond. Hard to describe in words. But there was something extra special about her. I told her that. I told her that the families were really lucky to have someone like her on their side. That wherever her gift to help came from, it was quite a gift.

I could tell she was not comfortable with compliments. She simply said that many years earlier, it was her and her Mom in one of those cars. And no one will ever know how much love there was, but she remembers it well.

And for each one of those she helps now, she wants to make sure they remember that love too.

“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” – George Eliot

For the People in the Parking Lot.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund / Portland, OR

18/12/2025

“Food is our common ground.” -- James Beard.

When good people do good things.

Say hello to the Michael and Christian People Food Pantry at The Pongo Fund. They are a father/daughter team.

Counting the additional 12 feet of tables, I think there were 61 different items. Including pie!

Just so you know, the photos don't do it justice.

Tuna. Chicken. All sorts of canned veggies. Five different soups. Four different potatoes. Three different muffin mixes. Cereal. Mac & Cheese. Even the fancy spices like lemon pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. All the different condiments. Peanut butter and lots of it. Salad dressings. Four different oatmeals. Even laundry soap because no one can afford laundry soap.

And pie. Five different kinds of pie.

Cherry. Blueberry. Apple. Pumpkin. Pecan.

Because pie!

That’s Michael in the photo. His daughter ran the other way when she saw the camera. The two of them spearheaded this entire effort. They paid for it too. All of it.

More than 1500 different items.

People arriving to The Pongo Fund received an official shopping list. Then one by one they shopped the pantry. Some folks went around the rack just once, others several times. And after the rack, then they shopped the 12 feet of folding tables. That’s where the pies were…

Why did Michael and Christian do this?

Because Hungry People Have Hungry Pets. It’s that simple.

We also knew that with Thanksgiving just a few days away, people could use all the help they could get. Plus, it was flat out just tons of fun.

We even had rolling shopping carts compliments of the local grocer. And lots of bags, doubled up for extra strength. Because when people went shopping, they really went shopping. Seeing all those bags stuffed with groceries was such a joy. For us, the more the merrier.

And the best part?

The Food Pantry will be back and ready for our next Pongo this coming Sunday, just in time for Christmas.

These are extra tough times for too many. And that’s why The Pongo Fund needs to be sure that the people are ok too. Because making sure they eat and stay healthy is the best way for them to be able to take the best care of their dogs and cats. And that’s our goal. So for now we will help feed them all, both two-legged and four.

Even better when we can include five different kinds of pie to help make life just a little more enjoyable.

Thank you Michael and Christian. You did a great job.

We look forward to seeing you again on Sunday.

Being a Helper.

And this is why we Pongo.

Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund / Portland, OR

The Pongo Fund

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