Written by Matt Birkbeck
Mark Feder was busy on Wednesday.
The day after the catastrophic events that left most of Manhattan closed to all but
essential personnel, Feder was visiting the homes of local commuters left stranded in New York.
Feder mission: to take care of their pets.
Feder is the owner of Castle Sitters, a pet sitting firm with 450 clients. Of those.
roughly 250 are commuters who travel to New York and New Jersey daily. Many of those clients were stranded in New York on Tuesday. Unable to reach them by phone, and with no contact from his clients Feder took it upon himself to visit their homes and take care of their pets. “They can‘t get through on their cell phone, others we just haven’t heard from, so we went ahead and showed up at their homes on our own,” said Feder.
By Wednesday afternoon, Feder said, most of his clients were still trapped in New York, unable to return to the Poconos. So Feder returned to their homes to walk their dogs, or feed their cats, or to check in on that lizard.
Feder has a kind heart for commuters, and with good reason. He also serves as one of the publishers of the Community Express, a newspaper circulated monthly to Martz commuters. “There are many friends that we were concerned about that work in the Trade Center,” said Feder. By Wednesday evening his fears waned as either the client or family member checked in to say they were safe.
“Everyone is accounted for,” said Feder.
As for their pets, Feder said they’ll be in good hands.
– – Originally published in the Pocono Record. Photo by David Kidwell.