One year ago Margaret returned home to find her best mate, Boof foaming at the mouth, with eyes like cherries, vomiting and unable to move. Something was very wrong. Margaret held the 6yr old kelpie/staffy cross like a baby, crying. Boof had been poisoned from eating contaminated grass. Margaret was able to get him to a clinic in time to put him on a drip and, thankfully, he was nursed back to health.
I had only known Margaret a few minutes when she recalled this moment, but still, it was hard to imagine her shedding tears.
I met Margaret at Pantry 5000, a food pantry in Carrum and one of Pets Of The Homeless’ (POTH) Community Partners. Margaret comes here for staples for herself, and food for Boof.
Margaret’s warmth trickles through slowly. But I can feel it, somewhere behind a wall. Still, she’s incredibly open when explaining the circumstances that brought her to be a regular visitor to this food pantry.
Very early in our conversation, Margaret tells me that years of hardship had taught her to be “less delicate”. Perhaps these were the walls I felt. When we speak about Boof, however, the dam breaks.
Margaret met Boof 2 years ago. It wasn’t long after she suffered a back injury, keeping her from working her job in aged care service – just one more setback in her long struggles since arriving in Australia decades ago. When a friend suggested she take Boof into her home as a companion, her initial response was, “No way!”
“I couldn’t even look after myself,” Margaret justified, as she opened up about the severe depression that came with her ailment and inability to work, “How was I going to take care of a dog?” Still, she took Boof in, and, in her words, “He saved my life.”
As a newly single mum, Margaret arrived in Australia almost 3 decades ago after a difficult marriage breakdown. Seeking a better life for her and her son, Margaret left her graphic design job in the US, and landed in Melbourne, destined for a new chapter. The next 10 years were more difficult than she’d ever imagined. Work opportunities were impossible without a car or a phone, and her skill set was being overlooked by potential employers. Frustrating for the qualified and very experienced Landscape Designer.
Add to that, Margaret’s 6yr old son developed chronic asthma upon arriving in Australia. Along with school and medical bills, Margaret found it extremely difficult to make ends meet. Unable to keep up, Margaret and her son were forced into public housing.
An intelligent woman with an exceptional work ethic, being unemployed and as the sole provider for her son – emotionally, financially and physically – the desperation was compounding but she never gave up.
I owed it to my son and to myself, not to give up. It was absolutely not an option.
Margaret fights back tears as she recalls this time.
Today, Margaret is in a similar situation. With her adult son now financially independent, she thankfully only has herself to look after. But, still, with her injury, this is a struggle. A simple job like cleaning the fridge can now take a half a day. “It’s very frustrating, and painful to live like this.” Margaret explains, ashen-faced.
Margaret is a proud woman, an independent woman, this is obvious. Even when speaking of the shame she felt calling out a worker at the local Aldi checkout for over-charging her $2 recently.
“It was only $2, I mean, I felt embarrassed, but I need every cent I get.” When you’re living hand to mouth, you have to rise above the shame and just, “…get on with it as best you can.” Margaret explains humbly.
While being forced out of work, living on handouts, and having her mobility limited is punishing for such an active, strong woman, the hardest thing to cope with is the isolation.
I was very depressed, I felt helpless and very lonely. Boof gives me so much.
Throughout our conversation, several people come up and said hi to Boof and Margaret. Boof, rolling over each time, offering his tum for rubs. He is quite the star in this warm community. A community Margaret clearly so grateful to be a part of. 
When speaking about her mate, Margaret’s eyes light up, her face relaxes and the life comes flooding back into her cheeks. Extending a hand to feed Boof some bikkies, Margaret giggles about Boof’s dependence on her cuddles. The unconditional love and purpose she’s gained since having Boof makes itself present.
“He asks nothing of me but love,” she smiles. “He is better than a human.”
Margaret and Boof are just two of the hundreds of clients (2 and 4-legged) we help at POTH. At POTH we understand how difficult it can be to take care of pet-friends when it’s a daily struggle to take care of yourself. We understand the importance of these precious bonds and that’s why we work so hard to maintain these relationships. Our work help many Australians suffering financial difficulties to keep their pets safe, housed and healthy.
Together with the help from our Community Partners like Pantry 5000 we are able to distribute more than 2000 pet meals per quarter, just to the Carrum area only. We’d give a lot more if we could. Our annual Pet Food Drive and the work we are doing toward establishing our own Pet Food Bank will give hope to many more like Margaret and Boof.
If you’d like to show your support, go to our Pet Food Drive page and find out how you can help. It may be as easy as a small donation, but to people like Margaret (and Boof) it can mean the world.
Written by Mandy Delvecchio, Photos by Yvonne Hong
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