Paws of Resilience: Sheltering Hope

Join us in this special episode of "Praline’s Backyard Foundation: Free Pet Boarding," showcasing the journey of resilience and the power of companionship. The foundation's dedication to supporting domestic violence survivors and their pets remains steadfast, offering a haven during times of transition.

Experience the touching and uplifting narrative as Praline’s Backyard Foundation extends its circle of compassion throughout the nation. Discover the heartfelt stories of survivors embarking on the path to a hopeful future, reassured that their pets are being nurtured and protected.

The episode beautifully captures the essence of resilience and the profound bond between survivors and their furry companions. It sheds light on the healing journey made possible through the support of Praline’s Backyard Foundation, emphasizing the importance of hope and love in times of adversity.

Join us for this heartwarming tale of survival, strength, and the promise of a brighter tomorrow for survivors and their cherished pets. "Praline’s Backyard Foundation" invites you to witness the unwavering commitment to compassion, highlighting the incredible impact that kindness and care can make in the lives of those in need.

Extended Description:
Ever wondered how a personal encounter can inspire you to make a difference in the world? Meet Orazie Cook, the executive director of Praline's Backyard Foundation, whose own experience in sparked the creation of an organization committed to removing one of the biggest barriers domestic violence survivors face: providing temporary housing for their pets. Tune in to this eye-opening discussion as Orazie takes us through the foundation's journey, from its inception to its ongoing mission, and how they're making an impact on numerous lives every day.

This episode casts light on the heart of Praline's Backyard Foundation's operation - a robust network of pet foster homes. Orazie opens up about the meticulous process of finding suitable fosters, the foundation's relentless efforts to support this network, and their dedication to ensuring pets are placed in environments that cater to their needs. From sharing insightful strategies the foundation uses to raise awareness to unraveling the surprising influence a small gesture can make, Orazie’s passion and commitment to his cause shine through.

We wrap up with a heartening conversation on the success stories of the foundation and the hurdles they've overcome. Orazie shares the uplifting story of a survivor named Cat and her two cats, a testament to the essential role the foundation plays. Hear about the foundation's growth, extending support from one survivor to many, and how you could lend a hand in their mission. Don't miss out on this inspiring discourse that celebrates empathy and action's power.

Chapters

• 0:10 Praline's Backyard Foundation
• 11:32 Supporting Single Parents and Domestic Violence Survivors
• 18:46 Supporting Domestic Violence Survivors With Pets
• 25:51 Supporting Pet Fosters for DV Survivors

Transcript

Cindy Witteman: 0:10

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Little Give. I'm really excited about today's episode. It's going to be about a nonprofit that I have never heard of before. Go ahead, introduce yourself, tell us where you're from and tell us what you're all about.

Orazie Cook: 0:23

Hi, my name is Orzik Cook. I'm the executive director of Praline's Backyard Foundation Praline's Backyard. We house pets and domestic violence survivors throughout the country via pet-boying facilities and pet fosters, eliminating one of the barriers domestic violence survivors encounter when leaving an abuser, and that is lack of housing for their pet.

Cindy Witteman: 0:42

Wow, that's something I haven't heard of before, and this is Domestic Violence Awareness Month of October, and I'm super excited that you're doing this. Tell us how you got started with this mission.

Orazie Cook: 0:52

Okay, well, first off, I have a dog walking business called Praline's Backyard Dog Services and in the midst of that business I would provide housing for pets and domestic violence survivors.

Orazie Cook: 1:01

And then I kept getting people to say why don't you get a nonprofit, why don't you do a 501c3 and help you be able to serve more people right?

Orazie Cook: 1:09

And so I decided to branch out and do a foundation and do a nonprofit, and hence Praline's Backyard Foundation was born and I continued to just raise awareness because I realized it's very limited knowledge about the barriers that survivors with pets encounter, and so it just kind of rolled over from there.

Orazie Cook: 1:26

But because I even got involved in it initially was because I had worked at a domestic violence shelter that did not provide accommodations for pets for years and I would so often see survivors go back to be with their abuser because they wanted to be with their pet not with their abuser but with their pet and it was just like, oh, there has to be a way to solve this problem, but I didn't have the resources or the space to know how to solve that problem then. Then I went on to the main society and I would see survivors relinquish ownership of their pet because they were going into a housing situation that did not accommodate pets, which is a responsible pet ownership thing to do, however, not if you don't want to do that, and so what the foundation does is trying to build a resource for survivors by providing housing for the pet until the survivor has adequate housing to get their pet back.

Cindy Witteman: 2:16

Wow. Okay. So you saw this need and a lot of people they might see a need like this and think, oh man, I hope somebody really helps with that someday. What is it about you and your personality that made you feel like, hey, I could do something about this?

Orazie Cook: 2:29

Well what this all started. I volunteered up until COVID right and then in the midst of COVID the domestic violence rate went up and I still have friends and colleagues in this space volunteering and I thought, and I saw the issue happen and I was like what can I do? Just being at home, I guess, brainstorming my life choices and how I could do something differently with my life or do something more impactful, I thought, let me create a foundation and hence it was born. And I just researched and I just really saw the need was just as present there as it was years ago when I volunteered at a shelter. And it's even more so because more people have pets today than they had 10 years ago. So definitely recognize the need and I said I can do this, I have the space, I had the resources to do that.

Orazie Cook: 3:13

It was a lot self-funded in the beginning but then, as I continue to raise awareness on social media, I got a lot of community support because people recognize it is a barrier. I got support from pet boarding facilities, pet foster networks across the country. It definitely has been a team effort that everyone I raise awareness about this issue too. Everyone resonates with it. They totally understand that you have a pet. They know someone who was a survivor. Are they themselves, or were a survivor at some point?

Cindy Witteman: 3:41

So tell us how it works. So say, for instance, a person reaches out and they say hey, I'm in this situation, I want to escape this bad relationship, but I have these two pets. What happens then?

Orazie Cook: 3:52

Okay, immediately they would go to our website where it says for survivors. On that website there's a drop down that says request housing for your pet. A survivor would go into that. They will put all the information about their pet and I encourage survivors to tell everything about your pet, Like if your cat doesn't get along with dogs, please let us know that so we can make sure to house that pet in a home in a foster home that does not have cats or does not have whatever dog that your pet does not associate well with, Because we want to make sure we can place your pet in a home that will meet its needs while you're away or while you're getting adjusted to your housing situation. So we did do that. We'll contact them immediately after they've repressed that assistance To get some more information about their pet. We'll send out a blast to our foster network to get a long-term foster for them, but immediately I will provide housing to that pet via a pet boarding facility in that survivors community, Because we recognize a lot of times a survivor will call me today just to become aware of the resources that are available to them when they do leave, and so once they know that, it's like okay, so I can start making plans to leave, because they're just making.

Orazie Cook: 4:59

What survivors needs is a safety net. Once they do, Survivors are courageous. What they're concerned about is, once they leave, what happens? What happens to my pet, what happens to my children? What happens to my housing situation? What are my resources when I do leave? And what we wanna do is make sure survivors know there's a resource to provide housing for their pet. So you have a lot of things to handle, but we wanna take care of that issue off of your plate.

Cindy Witteman: 5:21

So to make sure I understand correctly. What'll happen is, initially, if somebody reaches out or say someone's in a crisis situation, then right away you go find immediate care for their pet and then you transition them over to a foster family. Is that correct, Correct? So is the foster family long-term, short-term? Is there a time limit? What about that?

Orazie Cook: 5:41

The pet foster will provide housing for up to six months for that pet. And what I'm doing in the interim is I'm really staying connected with that survivor, seeing how they're recovering, how they're getting placement for permanent housing, really supporting them. And we can support them in a number of different ways. Like I've been introduced to a lot of different housing situations I was not familiar with. For instance, some housing situations that some apartments require you to get a fecal test of your pet before they allow your pet to be on property, because people don't pick up after the pet. It's their way of discouraging that happening. So you have to pay those fees and so we want to get a survivor into a permanent housing situation as soon as possible so we'll pay for that fee. Or if they're in a sense of like they need a people just need just the pet deposit, like the pet deposits are enormous. I'm just I'm really being educated on this whole health situation as well, but it's definitely we try to support the survivor, to give them permanent housing that accommodates their pet.

Cindy Witteman: 6:35

Wow, six months is quite a bit of time. That's incredible that you're able to find the support in that way. Six months is really a lot. That's great, though Are they able to go and visit their pet during that time if they're not able to secure housing prior to that?

Orazie Cook: 6:50

No, we do not do that for the safety of the survivor and for the anonymity of the survivor and for the foster Like the foster and the survivor never meet, because we want to make sure everyone is secure, because not every survivor and foster are the same. We want to make sure that the pet is taken care of and everyone's privacy is protected. So that's why we don't do that and just to show stability for that pet Cause. What happens if you introduce the survivor back to their pet and they leave again? It's just like re traumatizing the pet. We don't want to do that. When the pet gets back with the survivor, they're staying with the survivor.

Cindy Witteman: 7:23

Awesome, very interesting. So when you first started this whole project, is it exactly what you thought it would be, or has it evolved into something much greater than what you initially anticipated?

Orazie Cook: 7:33

Always much greater than I had initially anticipated, and just encountering different things from fosters going to the vet for the most basic things To me like being able to revise our agreement to say, do not go to the vet if they're not eating for a day or two, they're just adjusting. There's not a vet issue, that's a vet expenses we don't want to take on, or to a foster feeling or to a survivor not telling the whole story about their pet Like their pet doesn't like cats, and so I don't know that and I'll put the dog into a house with a cat and it's a whole situation. I have to re foster that pet somewhere else. And so it's like really educating our survivors. Tell us everything about your pet Is. There is no judgment, cause we all like different things, pets like different things, and the more we know about your pet, the better able we're able to place them in a good foster home for them for the longterm, until you're ready to be reunited with them.

Cindy Witteman: 8:27

So did this just start in your area and then expanded, or did you start off right away with it being nationwide?

Orazie Cook: 8:34

Initially it was just in Georgia. I really wanted to build a facility here, but then I thought I always have this idea. I worked in public health and I worked in global health in addition to a part of that, and I used to always see I would live, I would be in Ethiopia and we would bring contractors from the US to Ethiopia for a program or to build a building or to do a project. And I thought there is someone in Ethiopia that can do this project. We don't need to fly somebody in from the US to do this.

Orazie Cook: 9:02

And so I've always thought let's find partnership in the community in which the survivor lives. So because of that, I believe in partnering with local pet businesses and local pet fosters, because that minimizes a lot of strain on the different resources. For example, if we have a survivor in Texas, there are pet boarding facilities throughout Texas. Right, how can I partner with a pet boarding facility in Texas to provide housing for survivors pet? So once I realized that I don't need to have a building, I see working in partnership, I can serve more people in partnership than I can serve alone, just in the lonely state of Georgia. And so that's why I decided initially it was gonna be just Georgia, but now I thought, if I'm gonna do the work, why not make it national? And so that's what I decided to do, because I've gotten support from so many places. Even outside of the country, people have supported the foundation and given donations, so it's like many hands make light work.

Justin Clark: 9:57

Hi, my name is Justin Clark and I'm the president of the Board of Directors for Driving Single Parents, a 501c3 non-profit serving the citizens of San Antonio and Bear County, texas. I'm here today to tell you a little bit about the great work that our organization is doing for the citizens of San Antonio. What you're about to see is just a few photos and videos of the way that we're changing lives for single parents in and around San Antonio, texas. Our first giveaway took place in April of 2017, just one short month after the formation of our organization. John, a Bear County resident, was the victim of a horrible drunk driver incident. He and his daughter survived the crash and we were so proud to give our first car to this deserving family. Fast forward to 2020, a very difficult year for non-profits, we were able to secure four vehicles for single parents in need. Our organization, including our Board of Directors, list of Partners and portfolio of people we've been able to help in San Antonio, continues to grow, and it's all thanks to donors and local community organizations that have helped us along the way. This giveaway took place in 2021 and shows that we continue to help single parents even after the struggles brought about by COVID-19. Because of limited funds and the overwhelming need.

Justin Clark: 11:32

We at Driving Single Parents are incredibly selective with the people we help. Some are victims of domestic violence. Others had a spouse pass away tragically or otherwise fell on hard times. Many single parents show adversity in the face of challenge and aren't looking for a handout. We offer a hand up and help get them back in the driver seat. Many of the single parents we help go on to graduate college, get promotions, get married, mentor others and some have even been so touched by the gift we gave them that they have decided to join our Board of Directors to pay it forward and ensure the continued growth of our organization. If you would like to help our organization continue to grow and continue to help single parents in need in San Antonio, texas, and Bear County, texas, we would really appreciate your support. Please visit us online at wwwdrivingsingleparentsorg.

Andrew Froelich: 12:37

Thank you. Now it's time for… Little Give Kindness Clips. Hello everyone.

Cindy Witteman: 12:44

I wanted to chat with you about our Kindness Clip segment, so I need a little help from my audience. So what I'm looking for are short little videos of you talking about a time that someone was kind to you, or maybe there's a time that you were kind to someone else. Share those stories with us. You can email that to me at Cindy at littlegiftcom. You can also hashtag Little Give online or you can just find me on any social media platform and tag me under Cindy Whiteman. My name is spelled C-I-N-D-Y-W-I-T-T-E-M-A-N.

Cindy Witteman: 13:21

Thank you all so much for participating and spreading that kindness, and I can't wait to feature your clip on a future episode. Yes, and I think that's incredible because you know, like you said, you're able to partner with people all over the place and then have that pet in an area with a family, so like if you were to have your own facility, not only would the cost be a lot more expensive for your foundation, but then also the pets would be in kennels instead of with families. Yeah, exactly, so I love what you've done here. How was it whenever you first started contacting these you know pet facilities and people and trying to get sponsorships? Was it easy at first or was it a little bit of work to kind of get people on board with your message.

Orazie Cook: 13:59

Well, I think I would say it was in between, because once I tell people the story like I tell people that every day their survivors are struggling with staying with an abuser because of lack of housing for their pet and people are like they never thought of it, but they totally resonate with them and understand that and so it's like, oh.

Orazie Cook: 14:16

So then I go on and tell them how we can work in partnership. So when I contact a pet boarding facility and I speak to an owner and I'll say my name is Orizy, I went to Praline's Backyard Foundation. We do this when you work in partnership with us to house a survivor's pet in your community and can you do that for free Our discounted rate we'll just pay depending on what resources are available, because we recognize that not every survivor sorry, not every pet boarding facility has the resources to provide free housing for a survivor's pet. So we definitely want to pay them as well. But if they can give it to us at discounted rate or for free, that's awesome because that allows us to provide funds. It's another location that may not have that ability. So definitely partnership works really well.

Cindy Witteman: 15:04

Absolutely. And then it also can be a win for them, because you have the 501C3 designation, which means that they can use it as a tax write off, so can help both sides I'll say Scott's Pet Boarding Facility.

Orazie Cook: 15:15

You can able to say well, you know Scott's Pet Boarding Facility. We provide housing for pet and domestic violence survivors. That is a draw to someone who that touches and someone may use your business just because you support this cause and so it's also is a marketing advantage to a pet boarding facility that supports housing of pets and survivors. Because I say every day, pet boarding facilities are not full. Most of them are not full unless it's Christmas or Thanksgiving, and so if they have openings, why not provide that opening to a survivor's pet, because a survivor is struggling with leaving an abuser because they lack housing and you have housing. So how can we connect a need to an availability together?

Cindy Witteman: 15:52

Absolutely so. What is it that made you so passionate about helping domestic violence survivors? I know that you saw the need and you decided to go above and beyond to help it. But I'd fix it, hopefully. But what was it about you that really made you resonate with that particular cause?

Orazie Cook: 16:07

I had a lived experience, having lived in a home with domestic violence, and I recognize the impact of having a pet was on me and so, and I recognize that that separation was, was a lot, and so I know that I'm not different than anybody else. That goes through the head. The unfortunately having to live the experience of domestic violence and how they experience their pet and my pet even today is a source of comfort for me Having not be, not being in a situation today. However, I know that survivors every day are still dealing with that, that concern, that barrier for leaving an abuser, and I don't want anyone, anyone, in this country, if I have the power and the means and the resources to stay with an abuser because of lack of housing for their pet.

Cindy Witteman: 16:48

That's incredible and so true to you know, not just for the survivor themselves, but also the children, like you just mentioned. You know they become attached to their pet and it's part of the family. And then you know next thing, you know if you're having to make a choice between leaving a family member behind or just staying and dealing with it. You know it's a it could be a very difficult choice. So it's such a needed program and I can't believe I've never heard of anybody actually providing this before. So I'm so grateful that you went out and found found a way to meet the need. So tell us a little bit more about your journey and how this business has really grown into what it is today.

Orazie Cook: 17:26

Well, I really just, I have not been a social media person at all. I have like I dabbled in Facebook years ago when it first started right and I and then I began to share people the story and people suggested I get on social media and really share it, and so then I just started sharing it and it just like it's just, I was just spiraled or whatever. People continue to share and continue to share and my goal is always initially I was hesitant to get on social media just because of the negative, you know, kickback that can happen from social media, people's different perception and I did get some of that in the beginning people saying, well, there are other issues are more pressing issues than pets when it regards to domestic violence, and there are other issues I won't say they're more pressing, are more important. I just say that other issues that really are needs to be addressed in domestic violence. However, this is the issue that I am addressing and considering domestic violence and that is the barrier that survivors experience with pets.

Orazie Cook: 18:16

And so once I tell people the story, it just continually spirals and grew and grew and grew and my goal is always been to educate 10 million people about the barrier survivors experience and that 10 million represents the 10 million domestic violence survivors. So I'm sorry, I was in this country. That happened each year in this country. 10 million survivors and I want 10 million advocates, and one way that I can create 10 million advocates is to educate 10 million people on the barrier. Survivors experience.

Cindy Witteman: 18:45

Absolutely. I love what you said a minute ago about you know there's a lot of needs that are out there for domestic violence survivors, but there's also a lot of nonprofits that are also trying to address other needs as well, because if we all just tried to solve a huge problem right off the bat, that would be much more challenging and the likelihood of us being successful would be not as great as each of us working to survive a little part of it. So what has been your favorite part of having this nonprofit?

Orazie Cook: 19:13

The favorite part probably is probably the success stories and success stories I'm having a survivor be reunited with their pet after having been separated because of a pet foster situation.

Orazie Cook: 19:25

But them being confident through that entire process like I'll have fosters text me updates or email me updates about survivors pet.

Orazie Cook: 19:32

Then I'll send that information on to the survivor and they're so touched as, whatever they're going through and trying to find permanent housing and they're in a shelter, going through a recovery program, just a healing for themselves, they were just really confident to know that they've left the situation and their pet is being taken care of.

Orazie Cook: 19:48

So that really every time I get a text from a foster and from a survivor just thanking me, that's what keeps me motivated and know that this is a needed work.

Orazie Cook: 19:57

And every time I get a text I get DMs every week, if not every day, from a survivor who wished this was available to them five years ago or 10 years ago and cases where they left their pet or they even had to live in their car or they chose to live in their car with their pet because they could not find adequate housing. So just the appreciation and the thanks that people provide and just knowing that they were out of that situation. That is that's what keeps me going, because I know that I'm not going to be able to get out of that situation. I know that today there's a survivor somewhere in their house with an abuser wanting to leave, and they don't have the resources. They don't know about Praline's backyard yet, and so that's why I ask people to share our content, to follow and just spread the word about this barrier and help us to educate more people about it.

Cindy Witteman: 20:40

Absolutely, and that's why I wanted to have you on the show. So bad is because I think what you're doing is so incredible and I know that. Being a nonprofit founder myself, I know how difficult it is to really get the message out about your nonprofit, especially if you don't have those big funds to be doing a bunch of social media pushes or hire a PR team. So it's really important to spread your message and I'm so grateful that you were able to come on today and talk to us about all these things and share your story and your personal story and then share some of the stories of how you're helping other people. Can you tell us one of your survivor stories?

Orazie Cook: 21:16

Sure, I have. First of all, it all happens because we have fosters. I cannot tell anyone enough. Volunteering is the backbone of any nonprofit. So I'm so thankful for our pet fosters and I'm so thankful for just the foster network that we have created.

Orazie Cook: 21:31

So I'll say a particular survivor, I'll call her cat, and then she has two cats and she reached out to us and it was a continue. Like I mentioned earlier, a survivor may reach out to us today but may not be ready to leave for like a month or two from now, and so we had worked with cat for a very long time I'll say probably like three months really, until they were ready to leave. And so I kept reassuring her and I always tried to empower survivors to identify where they want their pet to go, if they don't have just really to identify the place, because I want them to be comfortable when they leave, where they're taking their pet too, and so I'll tell her the resources made them available. She made the decision as to where her pet would go Her cats would go better and then we were able to find a foster, because she had such a distance between when she was ready to leave and when she actually left. I had already found her, a foster for her, and so we were able to, soon as she was ready to leave, three months later we were able to place her pet immediately into a foster situation because we had that space and time. But that does not block us, like if you have a US survivor today you need to leave. We got you, we got a pet boy facility for you, but hence the foster ended up being someone who worked at a cat rescue and she was so fantastic with the two cats and she is because she's a great foster, because she knows she's rescues cats, because not everyone, because part of being a foster is educating on fosters on how to handle a pet that has been in a particular abuse situation, because they have fear, they have trauma, because pets have trauma as well.

Orazie Cook: 23:02

We don't know what these pets have gone through, but we know that we need to be gentle and patient with them, and this particular foster was very patient with these two cats and made a variety of combinations for them and the survivor was very, very helpful and so now matching the process of arranging that reunification and so and that survivor was continually comforted and I was just in pictures and she really liked it, and I'm just so thankful that we had this particular pet foster who worked at a cat rescue, and so just the beauty of that is just an awesome thing, and Cat was really appreciative of that, and so I'm just thankful to be able to do that particular. That's one particular story that I want to share.

Cindy Witteman: 23:40

Yes, well, thank you for sharing that.

Cindy Witteman: 23:42

That's such a great story and I love how intentional you are with your nonprofit, how you set up the resources to where, like, there's no pressure, we're not trying to make you leave the situation today.

Cindy Witteman: 23:52

We don't need you to tell us a specific date, but we've got you when you're ready. So I love that you're like that with that part of it. And then, whenever you actually put them into a place, you're intentional about making sure it's a place that's gonna be good for the pet. And then sending those update pictures and videos. I'm sure is a sense of comfort for that survivor who's going through a lot to be able to see, like, oh, at least I know my pet is okay. And then whenever you're dealing with the actual fostering of the pet and getting them with someone that's gonna do a good job with them, you're all very mindful of the fact that the pet has also experienced trauma and could be very shy or also going through their own you know particular set of challenges. So I just love how you put so much thought into this nonprofit and you're so intentional about every aspect. It just says so much about you and how much you really put your thought and passion into this nonprofit. It's so incredible. Thank you for doing all of this.

Orazie Cook: 24:47

Oh, thank you. Thank you, Thank you for highlighting it, Definitely within domestic violence awareness month in October, but just in general, I think that every day someone needs to be aware. We need to educate somebody every day in December, April, May. All of it because we wanna make sure that more people know they can raise awareness and we can really address the barriers of survivors with pets experience.

Cindy Witteman: 25:07

Absolutely. Why don't you tell the audience a little bit more about the fostering program? How would somebody sign up if they wanted to become a foster? And then how do you choose which person goes where?

Orazie Cook: 25:18

Okay, first of all, you can go to our website, praline's BackyardFoundationorg. On that page there's a coverage map and on that coverage map you click on that and then it says request to be a foster and on that foster form we ask you information about yourself, what pets you want to foster and what pets you have in your household that allows us to be able to place that pet in the appropriate house. So, for example, if you have a cat that doesn't get along with dogs, we know not to put a dog in your household. So that's what a pet foster would do. I will contact the pet foster. After that, we'll stay in contact and say thank you for volunteering to be a foster.

Orazie Cook: 25:57

If we have a need at that moment, I'll say that, and if not, we'll say we don't have a need right now in your community. However, when we do, we send out alerts to our community of foster, letting them know that we have a need in Maine. We have any fosters in Maine and what I'm so thankful for our fosters for is that they'll send out their network. If I have a foster in Maine, they get my newsletter. They'll send it out to their friends throughout Maine and they will we'll we, everybody, will find a foster because they have, they know, more people than I do. That's what I tell people. If you tell somebody else, it will spread, and so definitely many hands make light work. I'm one person, but I represent many hands of a lot more people.

Andrew Froelich: 26:38

Hi, my name is Andrew Fraley and I believe that sometimes we all need a little bit of help. If you're in the San Antonio community and we need some legal help, call me at 210-725-4658. Now it's time for Little Give Clip Quest.

Cindy Witteman: 26:58

All right, thank you so much for watching this week's clip quest. So what I want you to do is I want you to go back and watch episode 13. I want you to tell me why I named the episode Strides for Survivors. You can email me that answer at Cindy at littlegiftcom and if you get the answer correct, I will feature you on a future episode. So can you tell the audience where would be some of the spots that you actually need more fosters right now?

Orazie Cook: 27:21

as far as on the map goes, Okay sure we have California because it's so obviously it's so big in Texas because it's so wide. And we have Florida and we have New York. Those are our hotspots. That's why they were red on our map, because those are the greatest needs, I'm sorry, obviously because it's also a higher population of people. We know that domestic violence occurs in one in four households, so we know that that's the kind of how that works out in terms of population.

Cindy Witteman: 27:50

Wow, this is such a cool program. So really, just so the audience understands, and to make sure I understand what happens first is the first step if a survivor needs help is they're gonna go to your website. Once they get to your website, they're gonna be able to find all the information they need to be able to get into touch with you to let you know what they need, what their pet needs really, and then you can partner them with a family that will fit perfectly with that pet and then, once it comes to the point where they are ready to be reunited, they will let you know and then you will go ahead and partner up to get them ready to go back to their home.

Orazie Cook: 28:25

Correct and I should have said this earlier, I'm sorry. Every pet foster received what I call a go-back for their survivor's pet. We actually did a replica go-back at a race that we had in May to raise awareness and to raise funds for our work and that go-back has a leash, a collar, it has a water bottle excuse me it has a feeding bowl, it has a little dog toy, I mean and a thank you card to our fosters, just to encourage them that thank you so much for taking, depending on what, the pet, the items in the bag, depending on the pet, but just to thank them for fostering with us. And also we support our fosters.

Orazie Cook: 29:03

I need to say this as well when you become a foster with Praline's backyard foundation, we also support you in terms of that cost if that should happen, and for your approval, and also we support housing of that pet. So you need to go on a vacation. We don't want to prevent you from going on vacation, going on a weekend away somewhere. We'll provide housing for their pet while you're fostering, because we'd rather that pet stay with you than have to re-foster that pet. If you're just trying to go away for the weekend or for the week, we definitely want to support you in doing that, so we'll cover the cost of boarding while you're on vacation as a pet foster.

Cindy Witteman: 29:39

Wow, once again so impressed by all the intention there. Yeah, who would have thought? Of course, these foster families are gonna maybe need to go out of town or have a family emergency at a state. It's so neat that you have it all set up to where, like, okay, no problem, we've got that too. So intentional, I love that. Okay, well, I'm gonna ask you the two questions I ask all of my guests. One is can you give the audience an example of a little thing that they can do in their community? It might just be a little give on their end but might make a big impact on the other side.

Orazie Cook: 30:08

Definitely for all of our pet parents out there and you've boarded your pet, ask your pet boarding facility how are they supporting pets of domestic violence survivors? And they may say we do this, we do that. And they'll say well, tell them. Well, you know there's an organization called Praline's Backyard Foundation that provides housing for pets. Are you willing to partner with them? And here's their contact information. That little thing will do two things. One is to educate that pet boarding facility on the need for housing for survivors pets and it will provide an opportunity for them to make a broader impact in their community by providing housing for survivors pets. And if you don't have a pet, what you can do as well is to contact your local domestic violence shelter and ask them how do they support the housing of pets of survivors? And that'll be a conversation you can have and you can raise awareness about Praline's Backyard Foundation with them to say you can partner with them and they can support survivors with pets.

Cindy Witteman: 31:01

That's a perfect example of a little give, because it really is just a communication. Just by spreading the awareness and letting them know it At least bring that little thought into their head of wait a second. I hadn't thought of this before. This, you know, is a real need and maybe they'll be able to help. And if they can't help, maybe they know somebody who wants to be a foster or donate to your organization, or they want to partner with another veterinarian office or something they have that maybe could help in that way. So that's such a great little give. Can you give the audience an example of a time in your life where somebody did a little thing for you that might've just been a little thing on their end but really made an impact on you and your life?

Orazie Cook: 31:39

Definitely. My best friend, joseph, over 20 years ago, gave me a book, all the Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss. I had never read that book and it is a game changer. Somebody said that I give it out to every gift I give to anybody graduate from high school or college because it really shows all the places you will go, sometimes up and down, but you, just you cover, you're resilient and just. It's just a beautiful book and I encourage anybody to read it as a children's book. But it will be meaningful for you at 20 as it is for you at 90. It's just a beautiful book of resilience and just telling you how life goes all the places you'll go.

Cindy Witteman: 32:16

I love that book too. Tell us what it is about that book that really resonated with you when you read it.

Orazie Cook: 32:22

Oh, it's just like I mean just probably the last page of it, like I actually know the book by heart but I'm blank on it at this exact moment. But the last place is like be your name, mordechai Arlie Van Allen, van Allen. I say like the last page of the book. I'm going blank. But just like all the places you'll go, you, you, no matter who you are, you're going to go places and you will.

Orazie Cook: 32:44

And I would have never thought 20 years ago when I got this book. He gave me this book because I didn't get into a doctoral program and I was really disappointed. But later on, obviously I have a doctorate now that I got into another one. But I was so devastated at that point and he's at all the places you'll go, I would never have known that I would have at that point that I would have gotten two master's degrees, a doctorate, started a business, started a nonprofit I wouldn't have known that then and traveled the world. But my best friend saw something in me and just said and gave me this book. That was life-changing. And I'm just so, yeah, that was a little gift, but definitely I read it all the time.

Cindy Witteman: 33:23

Oh, that's a great little gift. I love that, and so, and it's true, if they had told you, hey, guess what, in five years or how many years it was, this is where you're going to be, you wouldn't have believed him anyways. So that's cool that you just got the book that tells you like, hey, you don't know where you're going to go yet, but you're definitely going to go somewhere. Yeah, definitely Incredible. Okay. Well, you've shared so much with us today, so much great information about this amazing nonprofit. Now I want you to tell the audience where they can get in touch with you, where they become fosters, where they can help you in your mission.

Orazie Cook: 33:54

Thank you. Go to Praline's BackyardFoundationorg. Definitely. Go through the page, learn about the work that we do, how your donations support us in buying dog food, supporting fosters, providing boarding facilities, providing vaccinations for our pets and survivors, and also, if you want to contact me to learn more or just to partner with us as a pet boarding facility, our pet foster, please email us at info at praline's backyardfoundationorg. Thank you so much.

Cindy Witteman: 34:24

Thank you so much for sharing all of that with us, and everything that we talked about today was such incredible resources that are available, that are so intentional by you, and it's so neat to me that you just had this idea and then you were able to really fulfill this need in so many ways, not just one. So thank you for all you do for the community and for the the whole United States of America, all you're doing for these pet owners and domestic violence survivors. We are just so grateful for you and your hard work. Thank you so much for watching this episode of Little Give.

Cindy Witteman: 34:54

If you would like to learn more about how I highlight ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help others, or maybe you'd like to be a guest, or maybe you know a nonprofit that you would like to see featured on a future episode of Little Give. You can find all the information on our website at littlegivecom. If you'd like to get involved with our kindness clip segment, please do send in those videos. Send them via email to Cindy at littlegivecom, or you can tag us on any social media under Cindy Whitman or hashtag Little Give. If you'd like to know more about our podcast, you can also find us on all major streaming platforms under Little Give podcast. Please do find our Facebook group under Little Give TV show and join it. We'd love to keep you up to date with future episodes. Thank you all so much for watching and I can't wait to highlight the next ordinary person doing extraordinary things to help others. See you next time. My name's Cindy, my name's Kimberly, my name is Caitlin and this is our beautiful mom.

Cindy Witteman: 35:56

We're from San Antonio, texas, and we wrote a book together and the title is is Manifesting Bullshit. My name is Cindy Whitman. I am the founder and CEO of Driving Single Parents. I'm also a best-selling author and the host of Little Give TV show. I have six kiddos and three gorgeous grandkids. My section in this book is all about creating a life beyond limits. I hope you enjoy it. Hi, my name is Caitlin Chavez. I am 25 years old and the mother of a beautiful baby girl. The title of my chapter is going to be how Manifesting Changed my Life. I hope you enjoy. My name is Kimberly Whitman and I'm a mom of two beautiful children, and the name of my chapter is Find Over Matter. I hope you enjoy you.