OGDEN -- When Brenda Gordon was less than a year old, her dog saved her from drowning in a drainage ditch.
When she grew up, she decided she wanted to pay it forward and rescue animals for a living.
"My mother put me on the front porch while she was gardening. The next-door neighbor boy came over and dropped me in a drainage ditch," she said. "The dog came barking and barking because she knew I was in danger. I was almost drowning. It wasn't until I was in high school that I could get in more than four feet of water."
The dog ended up helping Gordon again when she fell out of her highchair.
"Animals are smart, and they sense danger," she said. "They will do anything for you, so I decided I would do everything I could to give as many animals a good chance at a quality life."
When she was just 9, Gordon bought her first horse. She and her brother split the cost of a second horse after finding out the owner planned to kill it and make horse jerky out of it.
"Of course we didn't want that to happen, so I decided I would buy the front half and my brother would buy the back half. That meant I would feed the horse and he would clean up after it," she said. "It was a good deal, in my opinion."
Gordon continued rescuing animals and has done so for years, but the cost is great, so she opened a thrift store called Pack 'n Pounce where people can donate and purchase items. All of the proceeds go toward the health needs of the animals, including dental work, surgery, spaying and neutering and medication.
"We have a lot of animals come to us with injuries and illnesses," Gordon said. "We have dogs with kennel cough and cats with runny eyes. I've rescued cats with legs and tails cut off. I've rescued dogs and cats about to be euthanized in shelters."
Once the animals are rescued, Gordon cleans them up, takes them to the vet and has them spayed and neutered. Other health needs also are addressed before getting the animals ready for adoption.
"It's a very expensive process," she said. "That's why I opened the thrift shop. People can donate their nicely used items and other people can come in and purchase them at a great deal. The money goes to a great cause and the animals end up finding a wonderful home."
Gordon even has vouchers for people who are willing to trap feral cats, have them spayed and neutered and then return them.
"If you trap them, spay and neuter them and return them, you're doing everyone a favor," she said. "They're not out there reproducing, for one thing, and for another thing they're helping to keep the rat and mouse population down."
The thrift store is at 333 2nd St., Ogden. People may donate or purchase gently used clothing, furniture, antique items and collectibles. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Gordon also adopts out her animals at local PetCo stores on the weekend but also accepts phone calls at 801-710-6440.
"We like to match the personality of the person to the personality of the animal," she said. "We've found some wonderful homes for these sweet animals. They all deserve a chance at life and a nice loving home."
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