“When it comes to love, nothing is impawssible!”

When families are down on their luck, they often face a difficult decision: How can we feed our pets when we can barely afford to feed ourselves? Yet that’s when they need a pet’s love most! shelter volunteer Jennifer Quinn-yovino realized . . .

As she was cleaning out kennels, longtime Fresno, California, animal shelter volunteer Jennifer Quinn-yovino looked up to see a woman holding the leash of a gorgeous Lab, tears in her eyes.

“I just lost my home. I can’t afford to take care of him anymore,” she explained to the receptionist.

Seeing them, Jennifer felt like crying, too. If she ever had to say goodbye to her dogs, she would be devastated. And that poor pup isn’t going to understand why his mama had to abandon him!

You’re saving my pets me,” a client with cancer wept

Having grown up with pets her whole life—she even met her husband, Jim, at a fundraiser for animals!—jennifer knew the unconditional love that pets gave. And at a time like this, that woman needs the comfort of her pup more than ever, she sighed.

“It would take so little to keep them together, too,” Jim, also a shelter volunteer, agreed. “Isn’t there some agency that can help?”

But when Jennifer searched, she discovered that, sadly, there was none— at least none in California’s central San Joaquin Valley.

So Jennifer and Jim decided to create a pet food pantry. Buying all the pet food they could afford, they stacked it in their garage, then printed fliers about the Halo Café— because pets themselves can be angels!—and passed them out at Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army and missions where down-on-their-luck pet owners could visit and receive a helping hand.

That first afternoon, setting up in the parking lot of an empty strip mall, Jennifer greeted a man with a black Lab.

“This is Sable,” he said, introducing his furry companion. “She’s the only reason I’m alive. She woke me up during a fire and made sure I got out. I lost everything. Everything except for what I value most—this girl!” Smiling through tears, Jennifer gave the and man plenty of food for Sable. And as word of the Halo Café spread, other pet lovers began donating not only pet food and money for food but leashes, collars and toys, too!

Until cancer patient Rhonda Hutchins learned about Halo Café, she was only buying half of her medications so that she could afford to feed her pets.

“Having my babies at home with me while going through treatment makes a world of difference. I couldn’t give them up,” Rhonda told Jennifer. “Now you are saving them and saving me!”

For Sarah Brown, being between jobs was terrifying: She had no clue how she’d pay her bills, including feeding her bloodhound, Freckles.

That’s where Halo Café came in.

“Thank you!” Sarah beamed, signing up to become a volunteer at the pantry herself. “I know firsthand how these pet owners feel. I’m happy to pay it forward!”

Today, Jennifer and her volunteers not only distribute about 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of pet food each year, they also help pet owners—many of whom are senior citizens and veterans on fixed incomes—spay and neuter and vaccinate their pets.

“Jennifer is amazing,” says Janice Sanchez, a Halo Café client since a stroke left her disabled four years ago. “Because of the Halo Café, I got to keep my precious dogs!”

Still, Jennifer insists she is no different than the people she helps.

“I feel that no one should have to choose between feeding their pets and themselves. We all love our pets— and when it comes to love, nothing is impawssible,” she says. “To fill pets’ tummies and keep them with the families who love them . . . I’m the blessed one!”

— Bill Holton

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