Business owner shares good fortune with Humane Society
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — Ever since Walnut came aboard Mark Bowman’s Slippery Rock home improvement business, things took off for him.
Bowman, the owner of Man with Tools LLC, got Walnut, a mini dachshund, about a year ago and takes her with him when he goes to clients’ homes, as well as posting her picture on the Facebook page for his business.
“I got her from a breeder when she was 8 weeks old,” he said. “I tell my clients, ‘I bring my dog with me. She is very well behaved.’”
“Wherever I go, she goes. She is like the face of my business,” said Bowman. “Everyone loves this little girl. And we do visit nursing homes from time to time, and she also comes to work with me every day. A lot of people recognize me because of her, and everyone always wants to meet her.”
“After I got her, my business exploded,” said Bowman. “Things have gone so well for me over the past year I knew I had to donate to somewhere,” he said. “It was a toss up between the humane society and the Ronald McDonald House.”
So after Bowman learned from Butler County Humane Society director Cari Ciancio that the animal shelter was in need of supplies, he turned to Facebook again.
“I wanted to collect for them because, after talking with the director there, she informed me they are in extreme desperate need of stuff,” said Bowman. “So I used my business Facebook page to let all the people know I was collecting for them. I have close to 300 followers on my business page.”
He said that for the past month and a half he has been collecting donations of just about everything the society needs: dog and cat food, kennels, pet toys and leashes, collars and harnesses made by his daughter, Claire.
It made up two carloads of goods. So Friday morning, Bowman and Walnut traveled from Slippery Rock to drop their donations off at the humane society at 1015 Evans City Road.
“I felt like I had to give back,” said Bowman. “It was a great year, and I wanted to donate.”
It’s greatly appreciated, said humane society staff member Alicia Terek. She noted that, when Bowman dropped off the supplies, the shelter was holding 40 dogs and nearly 100 cats, not counting the felines the society had placed with foster homes.
Terek said that since the humane society runs a no-kill shelter, the demand for dog and cat food is always great.
“We also need inflatable e-collars” for use on animals that have been spayed or neutered, she said. “They’re kind of like an alternative to cones.”
Terek said people can call the humane society at 724-789-1150 or visit the society’s Facebook page to learn how to donate to the society.
“We’d like to thank Mark for all the hard work he has done,” said Terek. “There is definitely going to be some happy dogs and cats.”
