Karen Thomas, found of Payton’s Promise Sanctuary in Marathon, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the organization.
What is the mission of Payton’s Promise?
Thomas explained, “I take the senior dogs out of basically high kill shelters. So right now, all of my dogs are from Miami, and I take the ones that are probably not going to make it out alive. They’re very difficult to adopt. The larger ones, they have special medical needs, like the more medical needs, those are the ones that I usually take and they can live out the rest of their life with me at the sanctuary. Often they are hospice. Sometimes they can be rehabilitated. They appear to be hospice. But when they get some proper care and nutrition, they have life in them, which is about pretty much all of the dogs I have now. They are welcome to stay here for the rest of their days. We do have a couple up for adoption, but that’s not usually the kind of dog that I bring in here.”
How did Payton’s Promise begin?
Thomas said, “As a first career, I was, still am, a nurse, a registered nurse for many years, for humans for about 30 years. I always volunteered with the dogs, because that truly was my passion, was taking care of dogs. I did my first volunteering at a local rescue when I was seven years old, and at that point, I knew that I wanted to just take care of dogs when I got older. So there were many, many dogs that I gravitated towards throughout my 20s and 30s and 40s, and I finally, I was volunteering at our FKSPCA, in Marathon, which I have done for over 20 years and in 2020 a dog was surrendered, and her name was Payton Rose, and she is a beautiful German Shepherd. She’s on our logo. She came in, she was senior, and she had multiple health issues, like very serious health issues, skin, organ issues, allergies, you name it. So I took care of her, like diligently when she first came in, gave her daily medicated baths. I do holistic care. So I do a lot of energy work and massage and using essential oils and all the things. She got to a point where she was okay, not great, but she was getting stable. Then COVID shut down the volunteers to come in and do what we normally do. So then I didn’t see her for a few months, and when I finally came back in, she kind of deteriorated again, and I get it, they were very, very busy, and couldn’t keep up with all of the things that I was doing. I was over the top with it, and I resumed care of her. She was very vocal. She was a German Shepherd, so she would bark. I’m an animal communicator, so I definitely know what they’re saying to me. At one point, she just looked at me and said, would you start that sanctuary already that you are always talking about? And I looked at her, and I said, Payton, I promise you, once I see you through your journey, I will start the sanctuary. That’s how the name came about, Payton’s Promise, and shortly after, she had deteriorated so much that the kindest thing to do would be to euthanize her. So the director, the amazing director of the shelter, allowed me to adopt her, and I gave her her best last day, which I love to do for dogs, we celebrate, give them a party, whatever, however they feel, what they’re up for. She still had a lot of energy. So I brought her to the house, I let her get in the pool, and I invited friends over, all of her favorite food. And when four o’clock rolled around, it was like as if she knew, because our appointment was at the end of the day, and she ran over to my truck and just waited there. She knew where she was going. It was incredibly heartbreaking, but also so freeing at the same time, because she got that love, that unconditional love and care, and we were ready to just let her spirit free so that she could help me from the other side, which I know she helps me every single day. So that’s how we came about the name.”
How many dogs have been helped?
Thomas said, “That was five years ago. I’ve had dogs in my care. I’ve had dogs that I sponsored, I’ve had dogs that I’ve personally helped. So I would say, probably, between 50 and 60. It’s definitely at least 10 a year if I don’t have them in my direct care.”
It can be an expensive undertaking.
Thomas said, “That’s a lot of the reason that people will surrender their senior dogs with special medical needs to the shelter, because they can no longer pay for their care. That’s a big reason why the dogs get surrendered. The dogs come in grief stricken because they’ve spent 10, 12, 15 years with the same person, and then they get surrendered at the end of their life, like the most beautiful state of grace. It’s really sad. So yes, on my end, I take over that care, and I’m grateful to have amazing vets here. They discount services where they can. They give me donated meds when they can, but at the end of the day, it’s up there. So Noel, the little girl that we’ve had for two years, she is completely blind. She doesn’t have her eyes anymore. Over the course of two years, we’re over $10,000 in medical care with her, because she wins the prize. She’s had breast cancer. She was spayed and then had to have two different mammary tumor removals, a total mastectomy, and then each eye had to be removed one at a time due to painful glaucoma. And on top of that, she’s insulin dependent diabetic, so she gets insulin twice a day, and the syringes and all the things.”
Being with dogs like that every day must be amazing.
Thomas insisted, “It’s so worth it. The joy and the love that they give back, it is so heartwarming and heart melting just to be in their presence and the gratitude that they show. It’s amazing. I love it so much. I love helping these dogs live their best lives and they live in the present moment. So even if the end of their life, when I get them is a couple days or a couple weeks, they are so grateful, and then I know in my heart that they have transitioned from this lifetime peacefully with surrounded by absolute love and care. They need so little. They ask for so little.”
How many dogs are in the sanctuary now?
Thomas said, “Under my care currently, I have nine dogs, and two are actually in foster and the one is in boarding and he is up for adoption. He has been patiently waiting. He is between eight and nine years old. His name is Jasper. He’s on our website. He came from a dog hoarding situation up in West Palm Beach, and he was seized with 15 other dogs that were living outside in a pen in deplorable conditions for God knows how long. So I got him out of the shelter from West Palm Beach in March, and he has been waiting for his forever home ever since. He’s learning so much what love and care and he’s done tremendous in boarding, like he’s opened up to the girls. He’s great with people. He doesn’t trust other dogs because he never could. He lived with 15 others. I’m sure they had a fight for resources. Some dogs, he can just ignore, other dogs, he never learned how to properly socialize. So that’s why we’re advertising him as an only dog, and he would honestly just love to be a couch potato. He loves people. He loves to get in the little kiddie pool. He loves his puzzles and chew toys. He’s super easy to walk on leash. Like, really easy. He’s been patiently waiting for four months, and we’re hoping to get him out of there very soon. He’s a good boy. He has those perpetual sad puppy eyes. He just wants love. He will come up and snuggle with you once he gets to know you and trust you. He’s very, very snuggly. He’s a little slow to warm up, but I can’t blame him. I don’t think he’s ever had a human that he’s connected with until now, so I’m super grateful that he’s getting such amazing care and they’re doing a great job with him. He can’t stay there forever, so he’s probably going to have to come out of there, I’m guessing, by the end of September. So I am putting it out there. We have two more months to try to place him, so I’m doing my best to spread the word.”
What happens to Jasper at the end of September?
Thomas said, “We are making plans. We have a little cottage that we built on the side of the sanctuary, and it’s in its own separate yard, and it is going to be used for new dogs when they come in for respiratory isolation. As a side note, a lot of the dogs that come out of Miami and West Palm they develop canine respiratory disease because it’s rampant in the shelters and they’re old, and their immune systems are compromised. So many of them get sick in the shelters. So when I bring a new dog in, that would put my entire pack at risk. So we build this little cottage for them to live and stay and have their own little, tiny house in their own yard for a few weeks to make sure that they’re healthy before we integrate into the main sanctuary house. So the plan is, if Jasper doesn’t get adopted, he is going to come back and stay in the cottage until he feels safe and get him oriented. He may or may not integrate into the pack, because, like I said, other dogs make him nervous, and that’s okay. It’s a fully livable, in fact, I would live in it if it had running water. It’s so cute. So that’s the plan. And we will continue to promote him, and get him out there. He deserves to be with his humans all the time. He deserves to be in a home with a family and just chilling on somebody’s couch. If you’re considering a new best friend, consider a senior. They’re past the puppy stage, and they’re just in that state of love and gratitude. And they know the deal. They know the routines and what’s going to happen and what a house is. They’re advanced little souls, and they’re just beautiful, beautiful souls.”
For more information, click here: https://paytonspromisesanctuary.org/