Time to Give Back

At this time of year, you notice more and more charities in the news.  That is because the holidays is a time for not only receiving but for giving back too.  In the spirit of giving back, all of our blog posts for the month of December will be about local charities that need your time, support, money, etc.

I recently read about our first charity in this month’s issue of Main Line Today:

Soldier’s Best Friend

A Narberth pet store starts a nonprofit initiative for deployed soldiers and their dogs.

By Samantha Drake
Photo by Jared Castaldi

Buzz Miller, owner of Buzzy’s Bow Wow Meow, and friend.

Being deployed to a combat zone overseas is stressful enough without having to worry about who will take care of your pets.

When Buzz Miller heard that some soldiers in the area had to give up their dogs to a shelter because they had no one to take care of the animals while they were gone, he knew he had to do something. “They’re trying to help this country, and they’re losing their best friends,” he says.

Miller is the owner of Buzzy’s Bow Wow Meow, the socially conscious specialty pet store in Narberth. In the past two years, he’s facilitated the adoption of 400 animals through the store. And he and his wife, Judi, recently launched the nonprofit organization People/Animals Companions Together.

In one PACT initiative, Miller plans to recruit local foster families to care for deployed soldiers’ dogs, which may need to be fostered for a year to 18 months. He already has a handful of candidates standing by. Foster families will be encouraged to send photos and correspond with the owners about their dogs during that time. Miller hopes that, when the owners return from their tour of duty, the foster family may continue to visit the pets and maintain the relationship for as long as they wish.

While other groups around the country are already coordinating the fostering of deployed soldiers’ dogs, the idea of continuing the foster relationship with the pet is unique, says Miller. “There’s no major organization that I know of that’s doing this in a big way,” he says.

For more, visit buzzysbowwowmeow.com.

Check back on Wednesday for our next charitable organziation!!!