Volunteer Of The Month: Mark And Wendy Preslan Provide For Pets Through Peyton’s Promise

After seeing people throw pizza at the runt of a litter of puppies at a party, Mark and Wendy Preslan’s daughter Sarah made the spur-of-the-moment decision to take the puppy home with her. When she discovered that she wasn’t allowed to keep a dog at her apartment, she called her parents for help, and they agreed to take him on the condition that she’d find another home for him. However, within an hour of meeting him, the Preslans knew they were going to keep Peyton.

“We said to (Sarah), ‘It was the best irresponsible decision you ever made,’” Wendy said.

Peyton, an akita pit bull mix named by the Preslans after Peyton Manning, lived with the couple for 15 happy years. After his death last year, Mark and Wendy decided to honor his memory by starting a nonprofit that provides support for dogs and their owners. Peyton’s Promise works toward the goal of helping pet owners be able to afford to keep their pets. The Preslans hope that their work will help keep dogs out of shelters and reduce owner surrenders.

“It’s an honor to be able to do this in (Peyton’s) memory,” Mark said. “I see dogs that need help; I just want to be able to help them. So, in many ways, dogs are much easier than humans. They love you.”

The Preslans haven’t seen much impact on shelters yet, as Peyton’s Promise just passed its first anniversary in July, but they’re hopeful for the nonprofit’s future. Though the organization is still establishing itself, each month, Peyton’s Promise visits pop-up pantries and gives pet food to community members in need of it. During vendor events, Mark and Wendy provide information about the nonprofit and collect donations.

“It’s very difficult financially for people sometimes to take care of all the needs, so we’re trying to help by supplementing with nutrition,” Wendy said.

The Maryland SPCA has been one resource for Peyton’s Promise to pick up food, but individual community members have reached out as well through social media. Mark and Wendy spend a lot of their time going through donations and sorting through what’s been delivered.

In addition to the pop-up pantries, Peyton’s Promise has helped in other instances where there’s a need for pet food. The Preslans have a bin on their porch where they coordinate people picking it up.

“We’re still so brand new that we’re trying to figure out how to do that without having it look like a pet store at our front stoop,” Wendy said.

Another goal the Preslans have for Peyton’s Promise is to start an emergency medical fund that would help local pet owners pay their pets’ bills when they get too costly. Though they don’t have the fund ready yet, Mark and Wendy have contacted Bayside Animal Hospital to offer for the staff to contact them if there’s any way Peyton’s Promise can help.

“Any opportunity I could give back and help the community, I was all for,” Wendy said.

Peyton’s loss was difficult on Mark and Wendy. The couple slept on the floor of their living room for a year to keep him company when he could no longer make it up the stairs. Though they miss him, they’ve enjoyed being able to spread their love for Peyton while helping the community.

“I was so afraid that after two months, three months, six months, that we’d stop talking about him, but we literally talk about him almost every day, and it just makes my heart so happy,” Wendy said.

As the Peyton’s Promise website is still under construction, more information can be found through the Peyton’s Promise Facebook page or @peytonspromisemd on Instagram. The nonprofit welcomes donations of pet food for pop-up pantries, as well as monetary donations for the emergency medical fund.