Clinton Orr has been working in the financial field since 2003, fostering his career based on establishing strong relationships with his clients. Despite having a successful career in finance, Orr, along with his wife Jodi, found a new way to give back to others.
The couple shares multiple pets together in rural Manitoba, where they established their own charitable initiative: The Pet Life Animal Fund. The Pet Life Animal Fund provides funding to shelters that have pets that require veterinary care in order to be adopted. In many cases, this surgery can be life-saving or absolutely necessary in order for these animals to live happy, normal lives.
What inspired you to get involved in animal welfare?
Clinton Orr: My wife and I have been lifetime animal lovers, and years ago, we adopted a dog named Bubboa from a no-kill shelter. Bubba had a pretty rough start to life prior to his life with us. As a matter of fact, he was adopted and returned twice, so you can imagine things hadn’t always been easy for him. He ended up joining our family when he was five years old, and we had the most amazing 7 years with him. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2019. He had such an impact on our lives that he changed the course of things for us. Jodi became a certified dog trainer and both of us became involved in rescues. The truth is, there are other animals out there like Bubba that desperately need a good home. That was when Jodi volunteered with D’Arcy’s Arc for a few years, and truly shed the light on how little budget shelters had to work with. After donating to shelters for years, in 2020, in honour of our beloved Bubba, we decided to increase our efforts by creating the Pet Life Animal Fund. Our initiative provides the funding necessary for shelters to provide treatment to pets who need it.
How do you decide what rescues or shelters to work with?
Clinton Orr: Our main support goes to rescues and shelters in Manitoba. I wouldn’t say we discriminate in particular, we really just look for shelters and rescues in need and cover the vet bills for the animals who otherwise couldn’t be adopted. We also donate to animal charities looking to make a difference as well. What matters the most is the impact we’re able to make.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing animal shelters and animal welfare organizations today, and how is the Pet Life Animal Fund addressing those challenges?
Clinton Orr: Many of these shelters and organizations have shoestring budgets that barely cover the basic costs required to help the number of animals that require care. Vet bills in particular take a huge toll on them, and they have to rely on donations from charitable folks to try and get animals the medical aid they need. The Pet Life Animal Fund helps by easing the straight of a minuscule budget by providing funds to cover some of those essential costs.
What are your long-term goals for the Pet Life Animal fund?
Clinton Orr: Ideally, we want to get to a place where we can give back more and more. Our hope is that by getting our message out there, we can help hundreds of pets each year and aid them in their journey of finding a forever home. While we continue to cover the vet bills on behalf of these shelters, we also put a call out to the community to adopt these animals who need homes. It’s our hope that these efforts will land these furry friends in a place where they can live safe and happy lives.
Can you tell us about a recent success story?
Clinton Orr: We recently hosted a contest where we were going to donate $15,000 dollars to deserving animal charities. We received many submissions, but the top submission would have to be the New Start Standardbred. One of their horses, a 16-year-old horse named Ashur, had to have one of his eyes removed. We sent funds to cover the vet bills. Also, as the winner of our contest, we also gave them an additional $5,000 to help out with all of the horses they take care of. Additionally, we sent $1,000 to all of the other entrants, including Saving Grace Animal Society, Dog Tales Charitable Foundation, Edmonton Humane Society, Zoe’s Animal Rescue, Ca-R-Ma.Org Cat Rescue, My Grandmother’s Cat, and the Toronto Human Society.
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