Welcome, we are The Whisker Tails Club!
This is the beginning of a whole new chapter in life for us, as we are finally able to make the first major (it finally feels real!) step towards our goal! We are beyond excited to start this journey and cannot wait to share it every step of the way with you. So let's rewind a few months and give some background.
Back in March I worked in Maintenance and Operations at a production plant in central Texas. Once COVID hit we never stopped'; we just got busier and more short-staffed. Coming out of the "COVID-essential-workers" era I, like many, were drained and felt underappreciated by everyone including my employer. I am not calling myself a martyr by any means (no doctor or nurse here!), but I was exhausted with still no end in sight from the ramp up of production that we were still experiencing to this day.
Feeling discouraged about my career I was starting to get angry about my situation and realized I hated going to work. Every day I woke up and was miserable. I had no idea what I could do otherwise though and that just left me feeling hopeless. So I wanted to make a change.
In the coming months I was able to accept a transfer to another plant that is just about as close to being in Mexico as you can actually get without crossing the border. I was excited and thought maybe this was it for me, maybe I would be better off at a plant that wasn't running 24/7. A plant where I knew my direct boss wouldn't shut down every idea I had. A plant that I could continue to grow my skills in. So my dog, hedgehog, and I set off to a new adventure with promises of more work-life balance and advancement in my career....But boy, was I going to be wrong!
It didn't take long at my new location to realize nothing was different. I was just trading one devil for another, and after a month or so I immediately started looking for other employment. However, this was the big problem for me. What did I want to do? What was I passionate about? While browsing job postings online one day it hit me. I read a job posting where one of the benefits that was listed was to be able to take your dog to work daily! (This really played into one of my issues with my current work; not being able to spend more time with my dog due to the amount of hours I work.) This was it! My perspective completely shifted! Animals! This changed my whole outlook on what I always thought I wanted to do with my life. This is what I am actually passionate about. With my background being in Mechanical Engineering never had I once thought about wanting to work with animals everyday, but it just felt right.
Having made the decision that I wanted to work with animals brought about the next road block... Okay, so I know I want to work with animals... but what do I want (or really what skills do I have) to do with animals?
Something I noticed when moving down to this border town is that the culture surrounding pets is different here. People treat their dogs like cats and let them run loose around the town (which still is bizarre to me), and they just treat them differently. A lot treat them badly or decide they don't want them after all and leave them to fend for themselves (This has lead to some interesting adventures in itself for me since moving here, but those are stores for another day!). Creating a huge clog in the rescue and shelter situation in the immediate area. All of the rescues and shelters here are at capacity and having to turn away animals in need. This broke my heart, but this is what made me realize I need to do something to change this or at least something to help. This is how our mission statement was born. We will persevere to aid and be the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves by spreading happiness and joy through community engagement.
So here it is, step one in the plan. This little online store is the start of what I know will make a difference. A portion of all proceeds made by this online store will go directly to a shelter or rescue in need so we can start making an immediate difference. We will be spotlighting the rescues and shelters that receive the donations on our website so you can see what a difference it makes; so you can be a part of the change. The rest of the money made will be saved for the next step of the plan. Once we meet the financial goal and start work on the next step we will give more details of what is to come.
We are excited to have you on this journey with us to make a change and better the life of all animals. If you have suggestions on how to make the site better or just have questions please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
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Adventure Awaits!
-The Whisker Tails Club Team