SASKATOON – What began as a simple act of kindness by a Saskatoon man has snowballed into a heart-warming campaign. It started back in November when SaskTel employee Kevin Baumgartner was grabbing a coffee in the city.
He noticed a man with his dog, Onyx, and the animal’s paws looked cold. Baumgartner bought boots for the canine and got to know the pet’s owner, Harlan Kinsilla.
Baumgartner learnt Kinsilla suffers from anxiety but three-year-old Onyx helps calm him. Kinsilla’s “normal” is an extremely low-level of poverty and lives day-to-day to just keep warm and fed.
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The Good Samaritan posted a photo of the three of them online and it went viral on social media.
“I’ve always done good deeds and stuff like that. This just happened to be put out there from saying thank you to my friends and people from all over the country and the world have been messaging and emailing saying ‘how can we help,’” said Baumgartner.
Baumgartner later visited Kinsilla and Onyx at the trailer they were living in and helped fix it up and delivered supplies from donors.
“This was extraordinary; I’ve never had help like this before. It’s a pleasure meeting Kevin, he’s been a great help for me and Onyx,” said Kinsilla, Onyx’s owner.
Kinsilla hopes the New Year will be a new start and plans on finding a job.
Baumgartner says Onyx’s old boots wore out and were purchased for the dog by a woman who contacted him when she read his story on Facebook.
A “GoFundMe” page for Kinsilla’s future and Onyx’s veterinary bills has been set up by Baumgartner. He says others can “pay it forward” if they wish.
As of Tuesday afternoon, over $10,600 has been raised on the crowdfunding website.
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