Giving Back

By Krista Thom
Contributing Writer

As many pet owners and non-pet owners alike know, animals have a way of touching our hearts and bringing out the best in us. Many people can remember animals that have had a special place in our hearts. Unfortunately, not all of these stories have a happy ending. For Wendy Cowan, there were two animals whose sad stories convinced her that someone had to stick up for pets when their owners couldn’t.

When Cowan was working for a dog kennel, she met a dog named Jazzy. The first time they met, Jazzy wouldn’t stop barking and growling long enough to be let out of her kennel. Cowan has a soft spot for all animals, and decided to work on getting Jazzy to trust her. For days, she waited patiently outside Jazzy’s kennel until the dog stopped barking, and started to trust her. A few weeks later, Cowan met Jazzy’s family when they came to take her for a walk. It turned out the couple was in the middle of a divorce and could no longer afford to take care of their dog. Cowan took the case into her own hands and found a new home for the dog, and visited often to make sure she was adjusting. One day the owner called to say that Jazzy wasn’t eating, and could Cowan please come over? By the time she got there, it was too late, and Jazzy died of poisoning shortly afterwards.

Mumbo was a present from Cowan’s sister to her son. He was a six-week-old kitten when he arrived at her farm. Since it was summer, they usually let the cat wander around outside, and like any barn cat, he would sometimes disappear for a while. But when he once stayed away for a few days, Cowan started to worry. When he finally appeared, Cowan realized he was in bad shape. His paw was almost completely severed, and it hung by a thin piece of skin. Frantic, Cowan rushed him to the vet, where she learned the whole leg would have to be amputated. Cowan couldn’t afford the $400 procedure, and knew Mumbo would have to be put down. The vet was reluctant to do even that much, since Cowan still owed money for other procedures. But after an argument, she agreed to euthanize Mumbo.

At that point, Cowan got an idea to start a charity to help pay for pets’ medical bills. She kicked the idea around in her head for a while until she opened Jazzy & Mumbo’s thrift store three years later. She named the store in honor of those two pets.

Jazzy & Mumbo’s operates in a way much like other charity thrift stores. When the store is open people can come in and drop off unwanted clothes and other items. Cowan sorts through the donations and resells them. The profits go toward paying vet bills.

Pet owners who need help can come to Jazzy & Mumbo’s and fill out a form that includes details about their pet and the expenses incurred. Cowan will then contact the vet and arrange payment with the office.

Getting the store open was quite a labor of love, considering Cowan has plenty of other things to do. She has three children and works full time as a janitor at NDSU. Her day usually starts at 3:30 a.m., when she wakes up in order to make it work by five. As soon as she gets off work at two, she heads over to the thrift store, where she works until the store closes at six. Even though she’s hardly flush with cash, Cowan doesn’t take any of the thrift store’s profits for herself. She prefers to put all the money towards helping animals.

One of her beneficiaries is Virginia Ackerman, 75, who lives alone with her Persian cat, Keekee. Ackerman is retired and depends on social security and disability payments for her income. She has a history of health problems and is currently struggling with diabetes. Although she tries to live frugally, she didn’t have enough money saved to cover treatment for Keekee when he developed a urinary tract infection. Ackerman was at her wit’s end and debating pawning her wedding ring when the vet told her about Jazzy & Mumbo’s. The thrift store ended up picking up the tab for both the vet visit and Keekee’s medicines. “There just aren’t enough thank you’s in the world for those people,” Ackerman said.

Unfortunately, Cowan doesn’t make nearly enough money to keep up with the requests. She’s learned to stretch her resources by only paying a percentage of most medical bills. But even when the pet owners are able to pick up part of the tab, there are times when Cowan has no choice but to turn them away. For her, that’s the hardest part of the job. “I’d love to help everyone who came in here, but sometimes there just isn’t enough to go around,” she said.

Things have gotten even tougher since Cowan decided to change locations in July. While moving to her current location just off 45th St. in Fargo seemed like a good long-term investment, it’s taking some time to get things up and running again. She lost many of her regular customers with the move, and she is still working on building up a new customer base. Rent at her new location is three times as expensive, making it harder to meet her basic expenses.

Finding good help is also a struggle. The store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but Cowan can only work a few hours a day. Her family members often step in to help, and another volunteer comes in to run things in the morning, but even so, it can be a challenge to make sure there’s someone holding down the fort. And there’s always plenty of work to be done. In addition to running the cash register, someone needs to accept donations, sort through the items, and keep the store organized.

Help may have come too late for Jazzy and Mumbo, but their stories inspired one woman to save many others in similar circumstances. Cowan believes that, “It’s not supposed to be a luxury to have a pet.” With her help, many people have managed to keep their pets around a little longer.
Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

IF YOU GO
WHAT: Jazzy and Mumbo’s Thrift Store
LOCATION: 4720 7th Ave. S, Fargo
HOURS: Mon. - Thurs. 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
CONTACT: 701-282-3931