My family had its fair share of pets when I was growing up. It always started with a puppy that never stayed long into their adult years. Either it chewed furniture, snapped at kids, and/or pooped everywhere but outside. I’d wake up in the morning, or come home from school, to find the cute, offending puppy gone without a trace, lock, stock and dog bowl! I cannot count the number of times I wondered what happened to those sweet little animals whose disappearance broke my heart. No closure here.
Fast-forward a few dozen decades. My husband and I bred two litters of Bichon Frisé, and sold them mostly to family members, but not all. Every time I saw the people I knew who had our Bichons, I’d think of the ones I didn’t know and wonder “what if …”
What if a website such as PetParentsPlace.com existed when I was breeding my Bichons? I would have had a network with resources available to help me reassure myself by locating the current whereabouts of those puppies I sent out into the world.
PetParentsPlace.com is a free platform that offers pet parents the opportunity to locate and connect with your pet’s previous parents, or the current owners of a pet you no longer have. This may be helpful when attempting to trace rescue animals who sometimes have more than one previous owner.
Connie Bekavac is the Founder and CEO of Pet Parents Place in Edgewater. She is the highly motivated, driving force behind this venture.
“All my life, I have loved and cared for animals,” Bekavac explains.
“I was always ready to rescue and save animals, and the wire metal basket on my bike was filled with towels, Band-Aids, collars, leashes — whatever I might need to tend to an animal in need.”
Growing up, Bekavac had a dog who was also her best friend. She has fond memories of Poopsie, up until her parents carted her off to the shelter after she birthed a litter of puppies — no explanation given.
“I was completely brokenhearted that my best friend was gone,” Bekavac shared.
“I cried myself to sleep every night for weeks. Most of all, I needed to know that Poopsie had been adopted and found a good home, as I knew that most of the animals taken to the shelter were killed.”
Bekavac became a young lady with a mission. She needed to know if her fur bestie was adopted into a good home and was alive and well. Every Saturday morning, she dutifully finished her chores around the house, packed herself a PBJ sandwich, and walked the neighborhood looking for the dog.
“I needed to know,” she stressed.
“All year long I searched but never found her. My heart was forever broken.”
Pet Parents Place, LLC was founded in 2013 as a free online platform to connect pet parents who have lost or given up their pets, with those who have adopted them. Every year approximately 6.5 million dogs and cats enter U.S. animal shelters but only 3.2 million find new homes. Add the pandemic and other health issues, natural disasters, and financial ruin to the mix and the numbers increase.
Bekavac, who rescues older dogs, often wondered if their previous owner ever wondered what had happened to them. And why had they become separated from their original family in the first place?
“I then went online” said Bekavac, “and Googled all kinds of searches having to do with connecting with the previous owners of pets to let them know their precious pet was alive and well and happy, to mend their broken hearts and give them peace of mind. But I found nothing.”
That’s when Bekavac decided she would be that resource and in April of 2012, with the support of her husband and two daughters, she began the lengthy process, starting with finding a company to design a website for her.
“All I knew for sure was that there were probably thousands of pet parents with broken hearts that needed to be mended,” she explained.
“Another need I saw for the website was for current owners of rescue animals to be able to find out about any medical or behavioral issues about the pet. The website is for dogs, cats, horses, and exotic birds across the nation.”
The first company that Bekavac contracted to build her website was in Annapolis. Thirty thousand dollars later, the website did not function as expected.
“They said they were done working on it, they wanted the balance of the money, or they would hold the website hostage on their server until I paid the balance,” she said, the frustration evident.
The second company, also a local vendor chosen for that reason, outsourced the work to a company outside of the United States. They claimed they could correct what was wrong and get it running right. That didn’t happen either and Bekavac was adamant about not paying for work not done. Eventually resolved in court, Bekavac didn’t have to pay.
If three times is the charm, then Pet Parents Place finally hit the jackpot! The third company lived up to expectations and saved the day. Several years and $70,000 later, Bekavac’s website now more than suits her needs. Her investments in Pet Parents Place all came out of her own pocket, such is her confidence in it.
PetParentsPlace.com currently services over 1,500 users, most of them a direct result of Bekavac’ s marketing strategy — she does her own advertising.
“I currently get the word out by being a sponsor at some animal charity events, paid advertising on social media, and articles in publication,” she explains.
“I realize and know of people who will not want to use the website to connect with the past or present owner of their pets. One rescue dog adopter said he had no interest in connecting as he knew the family had to give up the dog due to their financial situation.”
The coronavirus pandemic and resulting financial crisis has forced an uptick of pet owners no longer able to properly care for their pets. It only made Bekavac more determined to see her service operational and working. But for all her hard work and good intentions, what does she take away from this?
“I get my personal rewards by knowing that I’m going to be helping people,” she said.
“Most people that have adopted pets or had to give them up, love the purpose of my company. I have a sign on my car promoting my company and I am constantly getting thumbs-up from people.”
To use www.petparentsplace.com, set up a quick, nonintrusive account. No information from the database is sold to third party contractors. Pet Parents Place is a free service. Bekavac wanted it to be accessible by everyone regardless of financial status.
Learn more about Pet Parents Place via the website, and Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Tumblr.
Sharon Schultz is a retired freelance photojournalist and proud Bay-Boomer.
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