The Packs have always used their special adopted pets to reach out to others. Right now, the Edgerton, Mo. family hopes those in the community will find reason to give back this time.
Deborah Pack, her husband Ronnie and their 17-year-old daughter Jordain have become known for taking in animals without a home.
Right now, they have a 22-week-old English Bulldog in need of corrective surgery. With a cost of more than $2,000, the Packs are asking for donations to help provide the needed care for Stanley, born with sinus issues, a cleft palate and excess teeth.
Many bulldogs are born with defects, and most are euthanized as puppies.
“We always have given; we’ve never asked for anything in return,” Deborah Pack said. “This time, it was like, ‘We need help to get this puppy where he needs to be.’”
Veterinarians have recommended the corrective surgery to take place in March. In the first two weeks of collections, the Packs have already raised more than $900.
There are collection jars set up for Stanley at Goin’ Postal (1302 Platte Falls Rd., Platte City, Mo.) and Jeff’s True Value (2300 Kentucky Ave., Platte City, Mo.), which has also agreed to host a bulldog kissing booth from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31. Those interested can donate $1 to the cause with a kiss for Stanley optional.
Donations can also be made out to Stanley’s Fund at Citizens Bank.
If any excess funds are collected, Deborah Pack plans to use those funds to help other animals in need.
“It’s so amazing we’ve collected that much so far because people know the work we’ve done over the years with kids,” said Deborah Pack, who also gushed about the support already received in her hometown and throughout the area. “When they saw we needed help, it was like everybody has gave beyond giving.”
Deborah Pack has big goals for Stanley, a product of her continuing work with animals in need of special care. In 2003, she adopted an orphaned goat whose mother was killed in a hay baling accident. She later cared for a pair of ducklings — one of which she still has today — and eventually moved on to disadvantaged bulldogs.
Stanley and his brother Oliver, who was born deaf, are currently in her care, and she’s raised five total.
Four of those, including Oliver, have been born deaf, and she’s used them in community outreach to try and teach life lessons to children about those who are different. The Packs visit interested groups, and Deborah Pack has taken many of the animals with her to work at various childcare facilities where she has worked, including currently at Kid’s Zone in Liberty, Mo.
Oliver and the other deaf bulldogs have learned sign language and were generally accepted quickly. Stanley’s cleft palate — a cosmetic issue that will not be addressed with the physically necessary — surgery presents a different problem.
“A lot of people don’t accept that,” Deborah Pack said. “Some people just stare at him; other people won’t come up and touch him. They’ll touch (Oliver), but they won’t touch him.
“I thought, ‘Those are adults that act that way. How are these kids going to act?’ … They went past (the physical deformity).”
Deborah Pack is unsure of Stanley’s life expectancy because there are so few dogs with his condition that have been allowed to mature into adults.
With whatever time he has left, Stanley will have a chance to expand his service to the community. He and Oliver will soon be taking classes to become certified safety dogs, and Deborah Pack hopes to help him become a part of Children’s Mercy’s Pet Pals for Patients program.
Of course, that status might depend on whether Stanley can become a patient himself and receive the necessary surgery to repair his physical issues.