She needed help. So did her pets. A Lake Wylie woman won’t let the same happen again.

Sure, they always land on their feet. But even cats can use a little help sometimes.

Joanne Styslinger always knew she’d be there to lend it, just as soon as she landed on hers.

“I always try to remember when people help me,” said the retail manager at Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails in Lake Wylie, “and I will help them when I can.”

Styslinger moved to the area from New York in 2006. She’d worked with various grocers. In 2008, she lost her purchasing job with a seafood company. Eventually she’d need food stamps and other support. Eventually, she’d find it in the Clover Area Assistance Center.

“I had friends tell me, ‘this is where you go,’” she said.

It took until Bright Eyes opened in late 2013 before Styslinger gained financial footing. The almost two years receiving public assistance wasn’t easy on her. Nor on the 13 cats she brought with her when she moved South. Food rations for people at the assistance center aren’t luxurious. The same goes for pets.

“It’s really a painful experience,” Styslinger said, adding she never considered giving up her pets though she understands some people do. “When you take it on, it’s for life. It’s a life commitment.”

It’s a tale too common. Often the most difficult part of need it seeing it play out for dependents. For some it’s an ailing relative, or children. For some, it’s a pet.

Karen van Vierssen, director at CAAC, said many people don’t think of donating pet food, which leaves only so much the center can do when a client with pets arrives.

“You’re going through tough times and your pet is your comfort,” she said.

In a way, both director and business operator see what happened to Styslinger as a blessing.

“She needed us at a time when she needed help, and CAAC was there for her,” van Vierssen said. “Now she’s coming back to help us out.”

Bright Eyes recently made a 400-pound pet food donation to the center. It’s the largest of its type on record. The plan is for future, ongoing donations as needed.

“We’ve always collected pet food,” van Vierssen said. “We’ve had vets in the past who have donated. From one particular person, that’s a lot.”

Styslinger is doing it for the pets as much as the people. Pets can be the first ones discarded when financial trouble hits. She knows she was fortunate to get back on her feet, even if it took a while. Not everyone is.

“I couldn’t find work until my brother opened this store for me and my sister (who does grooming there),” Styslinger said. “One of my dreams was to open a pet supply store.”

She decided a good deed done to her wouldn’t go unanswered. For van Vierssen, it’s exactly the type of story her staff and countless community volunteers work toward every week. Just as not everyone thinks of pets in need, often people don’t consider how the assistance center and groups like it work with clients for a short time.

The aid isn’t perpetual. It’s designed to help people reach self-sufficiency.

“It’s bridging that gap between when you’re dependent and you need the help, and when you’re back on your own being self-sufficient,” van Vierssen said.

The center director believes the large donation may raise awareness both of pet needs and the success clients can achieve. Styslinger’s story is unique. But it isn’t alone.

“There are a lot of great stories,” van Vierssen said. “We have them all the time.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 2:57 PM with the headline "She needed help. So did her pets. A Lake Wylie woman won’t let the same happen again.."