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A UMNS Feature
By Heather Hahn*

2:00 P.M. EST June 25, 2010 | LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (UMNS)

Katherine Furqueron pats her pooch, Dixie, in her home in Little Rock, Ark.
UMNS photos by Heather Hahn. View in Photo Gallery

Traveling down an isolated country road toward her mobile home, 75-year-old Katherine Furqueron can count on being eagerly greeted by a companion at the front door.

Dixie, a tall, floppy-eared pooch with big brown eyes, cannot wait to welcome Furqueron home, licking her hands and flopping down beside her on the rug next to the couch in the small, neatly decorated living room.

“She thinks I can’t do any wrong,” Furqueron said, patting Dixie on the head and rubbing the fur behind her ears. “She appreciates the things that you do for her.”

Still, she acknowledges that taking care of her faithful companion, along with herself and an ailing son, on what she receives from Social Security can be a challenge.

That is where Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church in Little Rock, she said, has been a godsend — and a dog blessing. Once a month, church volunteers distribute bags of dog and cat food along with groceries for low-income families.

Quapaw Quarter is one of a growing number of United Methodist churches across the country discovering that one way to help the poor is to help their four-legged friends. Pet ministries not only set tails wagging, but also serve pressing human needs for companionship.

And spirituality, said Joe Hirsch, chair of the Hearts & Paws pet ministry at Christ United Methodist Church in Bethel Park, Pa.

“If you want to see the love of Christ, just look at a pet,” Hirsch said. “The pet gives you unconditional love the same way Christ does. He doesn’t care what color you are or how rich or how poor.”

All God’s creatures

Denise Dorton, a member of Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, started the Little Rock ministry after watching images of people along the Gulf Coast frantically search for their pets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The news footage made her think about how much she loved her own two cats.

William Swartz pets his cat, Tiger, on his front porch.

“I thought about how awful it would be for my kitties to be without food for maybe days or weeks,” she said. “Somehow from that, God planted the idea that there are people here who love their animals, but have trouble providing even food for them.”

To get the project off the ground, she raised money though a pet photo contest among pet owners from church. Congregants voted on the winners by making cash donations.

Since the ministry began in March 2006, more than 450 households have signed up for pet food. Dorton estimates that she gives out about 75 bags of dog food, 35 bags of cat food and six to eight bags of puppy and kitten chow each month. She also distributes fliers about monthly free animal spay/neutering that a local pet rescue group offers for low-income pet owners.

People often line up to get their pet food before they even get in line to get their own food, Dorton said. Several of the clients are elderly.

Wonderful friends

William Swartz, 75, cares for his fuzzy terrier-mix Angel, and a tail-less American bobtail cat named Tiger in the small, clapboard house. He resides in a once gang-ridden neighborhood in central Little Rock.

However, with his pets, his home is always tranquil.

“For a lot of older people, a dog or cat is the only companion they have. They don’t want to go to a retirement home unless they can bring their pets.”
–William Swartz, 75

“I think they’re wonderful friends,” he said. “When I’m sitting in my easy chair watching TV, Angel wants to sit beside me and Tiger on my lap, and they’ll sniff each others’ noses.”

Swartz said he wishes more churches would offer pet food as part of their food pantries.

“For a lot of older people, a dog or cat is the only companion they have,” Swartz said. “They don’t want to go to a retirement home unless they can bring their pets.”

Ministry of caring

Christ United Methodist Church in Pennsylvania goes well beyond simply providing food. The ministry includes a monthly memorial prayer service for those who have lost their pets as well as emergency care when a pet owner needs to go to the hospital.

The church also plays host to an annual pet fair where people can adopt rescue animals and learn more about caring for animals. The church’s seventh annual Pet Care Fair will be on June 26.

The ministry has attracted many who are unchurched or spiritual seekers, Hirsch said.

“We are myth busters in some ways,” he said. “People think if we care this much about pets, how much more do you care about me.”

*Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service.

News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.