Pat & The Elephant
Founded in 1975, the idea for this business, Pat and the Elephant, arose from an incident while Pat and her friend, Irene Dawson, were volunteering at the Garden Home, a local long-term care facility.
They were helping a lady who was a new addition to the facility. She and her husband had moved to PEI to retire. She was blind and in a wheelchair and he was her only family and care giver. Shortly after moving to PEI he passed away and, with no family support, she had moved into the Garden Home, lost and depressed. Recognizing that she needed a pick me up , Pat asked her if she longed for something. The answer was she would like to go out for an ice cream cone.
At this time in PEI, there was no wheelchair service; only the good graces of some taxi drivers who would take you out of your chair, manhandle you into their vehicle, pack up the chair and drive to a destination and back.
Pat and Irene secured a van and some wood for a make-shift ramp and, between the two of them, got this lady into the back of the van. Realizing that they had no way to secure the chair, Irene drove and Pat stood behind the chair holding her in place, until they got the lady there and back.
Pat realized, at that moment, that there was a need for this type of service and thus the idea started to unfold.
After much research, Pat was able to determine that there were vehicles that could transport people in a wheelchair, just not in PEI.
Following her research, Pat determined what type of vehicle she needed and set it up with the local Ford dealer. On the day she went get the van, the salesman asked what male was going to sign for it. Pat said she was signing for it. The salesman said they didn’t sell trucks to women and asked if she had a husband, brother or father to sign for it.
Pat’s response was “Not married, don’t have a man, don’t need a man, don’t want a man.”, and walked out.
She continued to look for a vehicle. She found a truck in Amherst, N.S. Before she went to N.S., she explained that she, and no one else, was buying the truck and then reiterated the story of what had happened in PEI. The dealer said “We will sell a vehicle to a dog as long as they have the money.” So the deal was done and Pat brought her new van home.
Pat and Irene secured a van and some wood for a make-shift ramp and, between the two of them, got this lady into the back of the van. Realizing that they had no way to secure the chair, Irene drove and Pat stood behind the chair holding her in place, until they got the lady there and back.
Pat realized, at that moment, that there was a need for this type of service and thus the idea started to unfold.
After much research, Pat was able to determine that there were vehicles that could transport people in a wheelchair, just not in PEI.
Following her research, Pat determined what type of vehicle she needed and set it up with the local Ford dealer. On the day she went get the van, the salesman asked what male was going to sign for it. Pat said she was signing for it. The salesman said they didn’t sell trucks to women and asked if she had a husband, brother or father to sign for it.
Pat’s response was “Not married, don’t have a man, don’t need a man, don’t want a man.”, and walked out.
She continued to look for a vehicle. She found a truck in Amherst, N.S. Before she went to N.S., she explained that she, and no one else, was buying the truck and then reiterated the story of what had happened in PEI. The dealer said “We will sell a vehicle to a dog as long as they have the money.” So the deal was done and Pat brought her new van home.
Pat lived with her mother. Her mother couldn’t see well, so Pat pulled the van as close as she could to the house for her to see it. Her mother looked at the van and said, ” It’s as big as an elephant!” She then said to Pat, “You are looking for a name. How about PAT and the ELEPHANT?” The name stuck.
The Ford dealership was sold to Myron MacKay. He visited Pat, and assured her that would be the last truck that she would have to buy out of province. He gave her a deal that was impossible to beat. He set up service agreements for her and, many times the service was done with no bill issued. They were doing their part to help Pat.
Pat had started out as a small business, with a lot of help and support, from local business and service groups. She soon found out that she would have a much better chance of surviving, if she were able to set the business up as a not-for-profit; giving her access to some provincial and federal government grants.
With the help of some friends, she was able to set up a board with a chairman, secretary, medical advisor and treasurer and six members at large.
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