The life of a German Shepherd who spent long days overlooked inside a shelter, is being celebrated by the man who adopted her and named her Jordan.
Kris Rotonda, a body-builder, has dedicated himself to giving a voice to the voiceless. After Jordan’s passing, Rotonda founded an animal rescue non-profit in her name, Jordan’s Way.
“No animal should have to spend their life in a shelter, and I’m passionate to highlight and support the many organizations across our country, who work relentlessly to ensure these pets find loving homes, despite their age, breed, or health issues,” Rotonda said. “Each stop on the Jordan’s Way tour offers the ability to bring awareness to the importance of the saying ‘adopt, don’t shop’ to an entirely new community.”
Rotonda and his team visited the Gallup McKinley County Humane Society Dec. 12 as their 44th state on their 50-state tour to draw attention to animals needing homes and help, and to raise funds.
Jordan’s Way fundraising coordinator Erica Barrett told the Sun that about 20 people came to the event and they raised about $6,992 in Gallup, so far; $6,300 on Facebook, $692 in private donations.
She also explained that when Jordan’s Way visits a shelter, the organization’s information gets pinned to the top of the shelter’s newsfeed and the fundraiser stays live for a week following the event. That means the shelter’s facebook page, (https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=gallup%20mckinley%20county%20humane%20society) or (https://bit.ly/3EV39cE) will accept contributions to the 501 © 3 through Dec. 19.
The goal of Jordan’s Way is to honor Jordan’s life by helping as many overlooked animals in shelters as possible. To that end, Rotonda has performed feats of physical strength, such as pulling a 250-pound tractor tire 13 miles in two states (Florida and New York), spending 72 hours in a dog cage at an animal shelter, creating a digital magazine (“Jordan’s Way Home Magazine”), and traveling through 50 states on a national animal rescue tour, which has so far raised more than $2.5 million.
Rotonda has appeared on the Hallmark Channel and the Dodo, a media/news company building a digital brand for people who care about animals and their wellbeing.
This fundraiser is being followed by one in Albuquerque with New Mexico Dog, before Jordan’s Way heads to Wyoming and Colorado in January. They will complete the tour in California in March.
The mission of Jordan’s Way is to share meaningful animal welfare stories that inspire people to rescue and provide a “fur-ever” home to a pet in need. Through the organization’s community outreach, fundraising efforts, and animal advocacy, Jordan’s Way creates a buzz around shelters that builds a compassionate community of pet parents willing to provide permanent homes to homeless animals.
On April 30, Rotonda is planning a big public relations stunt. He will try to beat a Guinness World Record by pulling a vehicle with his body in a harness for 24 hours straight in Florida to draw attention to Adopt-A-Shelter-Pet Month.
In 2022, Rotonda and Barrett plan to revisit all the shelters they visited this year.
For more information or to view the Jordan’s Way tour schedule, visit www.JordansWayTour.com.
To reach the Gallup McKinley County Humane Society’s facebook page, visit https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=gallup%20mckinley%20county%20humane%20society or https://bit.ly/3EV39cE
Beth Blakeman
Managing Editor
