I’m a Realtor specializing in helping families sell their loved one’s estate property. It was the beginning of the Covid pandemic when I received a call from Chuck Segal, a funeral director friend. A single man in his late seventies went for a walk in his townhouse community in Hudson, Florida. The gentleman collapsed on the sidewalk; the EMT came, and unfortunately, the man died. Chuck asked if I would call the sister in Illinois and see if I could help with any of my services. The first question I asked her was, “Are there any pets?”. Diane, the sister, said she wasn’t sure as she hadn’t been in Florida for five years.

I immediately went up to the townhouse, looked in the windows, and saw no evidence of pets. I knocked on the adjoining neighbor’s door and asked if he knew of any pets. The neighbor said there wasn’t a dog because he would have seen the gentleman walking the dog. But he couldn’t confirm there weren’t any other types of pets.

It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later that when the family was able to gain access to the home, that we discovered…happy ending, there were no pets. But there could have been, and that’s when I realized an entryway sticker and wallet cards with emergency instructions are vital. 

I created pet rescue kits on my own and distributed several thousand. It became apparent that pet owners nationwide needed this service, and Save My Fur Baby was born.

Rande Friedman