by Wendy Hunter

The purpose of life is a life of purpose. —Robert Byrne

Howdy there, strangers, how the heck are you? It’s been a minute since I’ve written because last month was wacky. It appears my Golden Girls roommate is seriously trying to keep me on my toes because she can’t seem to stay on hers. During a lovely Easter visit with some friends, my mom slipped and fell in the bathroom. Ugh, again? Just as Dot was finally recovering from her Thanksgiving spill, we were starting all over again. As it turns out, she fractured her hip and ended up having a partial hip replacement, and though it’s only been a little over a month, Mom is doing amazingly well. We recently bought her a swanky new upright walker, and she’s now racing around the neighborhood like Dale Earnhardt. My sister and the Cocoa dog can only try to keep up with her. Zoom!

In other scary news, I had a birthday recently, so I’m even MORE old and tired. Pretty soon I’ll just be hot and cranky as summer is looming around the corner. And if you’ve been reading my rantings long enough, you know how much I hate her. Years ago, as a youngster, I couldn’t wait for the heat to come. Pools, popsicles, and Hawaiian Punch were all that mattered. These days, it’s cold air conditioning, cocktails, and counting the hours until Sister Summer fizzles out fast. Now show me some golden fall leaves …STAT!

I want to show the underfunded, the underdogs, the ones that are completely unnoticed. —Kris Rotonda

Speaking of colorful things, if you combined the flexing muscles of The Rock, the speedy speech of Robin Williams, and the whirlwind energy of The Tasmanian Devil, you’d get Kris Rotonda. This dynamo, with a dentist’s dream smile and infectious spirit, is the founder and CEO of Jordan’s Way. Their mission is to “share meaningful animal welfare stories that inspire people to adopt.” This amazing organization is dedicated to a beloved shelter dog Kris shared his life with for eleven years. Sadly, Jordan passed away in 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Kris was appalled to learn she had been at the shelter for three years before he adopted her. In her honor, he travels to shelters across the country, raising money and showing people just how many animals there are without forever homes. So far, Jordan’s Way has raised $5.2 million for shelters nationwide, and the adoptions are at 80K and counting. Good job! Kris likes to focus on shelters who are underfunded and may not get as much attention as larger, well-known ones. Lucky for Animal Rescue of Fresno, Kris decided to bring his Jordan’s Way Tour straight to our doorstep, and we were more than happy to welcome him into our humble surroundings.

You can have the nine greatest individual ball players in the world, but if they don’t play together the club won’t be worth a dime. —Babe Ruth

To watch Kris at work is like trying to keep your eye on the ball during a Wimbledon match. This dynamo goes from zero to sixty as swift as a hummingbird on Red Bull. Juggling two cell phones, a GoPro, and chattering non-stop, he raced around ARF like a Greyhound after a rabbit. If you looked away, he was just a flash, a glint, a blur in the corner of your eye. Where’d he go?

Jordan’s Way fundraisers are not like any others you’ve seen. They are silly, crazy, messy, and more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. It’s also a three-hour tour that Kris posts as a Live Feed on Facebook. People can donate on the app, or directly to the shelter. Volunteers pair off into teams, and participate in wacky challenges like puppy love, ice water bucket dump, water balloon toss, egg smash, and the ever popular, pie-in-the-face. One of the local high school volunteers got a true taste of “puppy love” when peanut butter was smeared on his face and one lucky dog slurped it off. Delish! Afterward, teams were corralled into puppy kennels, and given twenty-five minutes to rustle up some cash. Using our cell phones, we sent the Facebook link to every single person we had ever met, pleading politely for donations. On Team 1, we managed to raise a good chunk of change and were feeling pretty smug about it. Until Team 2 brought in double that amount, which meant only one thing. That’s right folks, pies were gonna fly.

Give an American a newspaper and a pie and he will make himself comfortable anywhere. —Ambrose Bierce

I don’t know about you, but having a pie squished into my mug is something I’ve never experienced. Hmm, it must feel rather funky. Luckily, our pies were just mounds of Reddi-Whip on tin plates. As the challenge losers, we sucked up our pride and I tried not to snort a bunch of whipped cream up my schnoz. BAM! It was cold and delicious, and it went everywhere. It was in my hair, my ears, and on my clothes. And yes, it felt rather funky. Afterward, it was the slimy egg smash, where other volunteers get to slam an egg down on your cranium. Before I knew it, there was runny yolk dripping down my forehead…yuck!

My team finally got retribution after another mini-challenge win, and we scored a huge bowl of water balloons. We lined up across the opposing team, and waited impatiently for Kris to count it down … 3, 2, 1 … WHAM! Balloons went flying, crashing and exploding onto body parts, sending water and latex sloshing across the driveway. Ah, sweet revenge. During all this madness, Kris continued to encourage the public for help. “And we have a $10 donation from Lucy, thanks Lucy! Here’s $25 from Randy in Madera! Can we get another donation for ARF? We only have one hour left, just one hour left, c’mon people, these dogs need you!” The Energizer Bunny has nothing on this spitfire.

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it, because what the world needs is people who have come alive. —Howard Thurman

If you read about Kris Rotonda on the Jordan’s Way website, you’ll see that he was previously a realtor. I don’t know how many homes he sold, but if last weekend was any example, he could probably sell Meow Mix at the Westminster Dog Show. Confidence peeps, that’s what it takes. After deciding to focus his attention on animal welfare, Kris began competing in physical challenges to help raise funds for shelters. With a longstanding background in bodybuilding, one of these events included Kris flipping a 250-pound tractor-trailer tire for thirteen miles in order to help fund shelters. He even spent seventy-two hours in a kennel, living like a shelter dog, garnering more attention for his cause. I’m not sure if any Milk Bones or Pupperinos were involved, but with his spunk, he probably encouraged them. Bring it on!

The Jordan’s Way National Tour is an effort for Kris to visit all fifty states, raising as much money as possible, while enlightening people on the joys of pet adoption. In addition, Kris just completed a marathon 40 Shelters in 40 Days tour through California. Wow, how much caffeine did that take?

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. —Margaret Mead

At Animal Rescue of Fresno, we have some fabulous volunteers. For an event like Jordan’s Way, it takes a village for things to run smoothly. We hold quite a few yearly fundraisers, but I have to say this was one of the most enjoyable. Sometimes volunteering can be stressful, and it really takes its toll on you emotionally. To see our crew laughing and kidding around with each other was just a joy. We were lucky enough to have an early dinner provided for us because we certainly needed the energy. A big thanks to the chef next door. The ARF dogs were spoiled as well, with lots of yummy puppuccinos. Even though I didn’t get to cool off with the ice water challenge, I loved watching our adorable students soak each other silly. I’m crazy proud to call myself a volunteer and appreciate the opportunities it affords me. Especially getting to meet people like Kris Rotonda and share his vision for the future of animals in need.

Kris, everyone at ARF appreciates your kindness, and we thank you for choosing us as one of your California shelters. Best of luck in your endeavors. And now, pie for all!

Those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer. —Author unknown

Animal Rescue of Fresno
4545 E Dakota Ave.
Fresno, CA 93726
Website: arf-fresno.com

Check out more animal rescue stories in our Pet Perspective section and check back every month for another animal rescue adventure from ARF. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to a local animal rescue. We also have a pet Facebook group for KRL and we would love to have you join!

Wendy Hunter has been volunteering with ARF since 2014. She grew up in Fresno and has been an Office Assistant with Fresno County for 7 years. She has been writing all of her life, though never professionally, and currently writes personalized poetry for birthdays, weddings, pet remembrances, etc.