09/06/2026
Our first milestone also became the profound belief in signs from above. It was at this moment in time where we knew any obstacle in front of us, any negative experience or hitting rock bottom would be met with Divine Intervention. It was at this time in our journey we let GOD take the wheel and our Guardian angels surround us going forward.
Lorenzo passed an email to me from a man named Vito who wanted to discuss his life insurance policy with us.
I spoke with this gentleman, and he was questioning what we did and what our rescue/relocation model was about. He explained that his mother recently passed away and he wanted to put an animal rescue group in his policy as the beneficiary. He was very impressed when he learned we were all volunteers and wanted to move forward with adding Animal Aid to his plan.
We were on the eve of hitting a 10,000 milestone of rescued dogs.
Time healed the wounds between Meike -Carpathia Paws and myself.
Meike and I realized that working together as one voice was much more beneficial than working separately .
This was also the same time that as we grew bigger and bigger, obtaining the funding to continue was at an all time low.
I prayed long and hard and discovered the Padre Pio Shrine, nestled in the farmlands of Buena Vista, NJ.
On the last caravan home before hitting the 10,000 milestone we were at a crossroad. If we didn't find a miracle funding source we were not going to survive.
When I went to my mailbox there was a letter from an insurance company. It was wishing me comfort in the loss of Vito.
I started to shake. This random stranger who reached out to us several months prior and included us in his life insurance policy had passed away.
I immediately contacted Bill Sanderson, our team member and lawyer. He confirmed it was indeed legitimate and there were no strings attached with a life insurance policy.
Vito knew he was leaving this earth. He planned this.
This stranger who took a chance on us, saved our mission.
We paid everything off- Every van, the rig, the truck. We had a nest egg to pay all vet bills and keep our operation going for a couple years.
In memory of Vito , we dedicated the 10,000th rescued dog caravan to him.
"Vito's Voyage" turned into a huge event .
We planned on surprising our new rescue friends, the Allmons with a large donation. We also surprised Meike (Carpathia Paws) with a large donation. Funny thing is Meike is not one for surprises in front of mass crowds. LOL-OH WELL!!!
Vito's dear friend accompanied us on this caravan.
The 10,000th dog was named Vito.
This is where we knew Vito was smiling down from heaven.
His friend couldn't believe the 10,000 dog was missing an ear.
She then went on to tell us that Vito suffered from a rare cancer, and he was deaf in the same ear and missing his eardrum.
The signs that were right in front of all of us made us all believers.
From the 10,000th dog and on we were led by GOD's hand.
