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June 2009

June ISSUE IS OUT NOW!

Show Off Your Pets — page 4 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Free Pet Food Available For
Pet Owners In Need — page 6 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Yuppy Puppy Salon & Spa Offer
Great Grooms With Loving Care — page 8 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Equine Fever: It's Catching At Vale, NC Auctions — page 10 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Breed of the Month: Manx Cat— page 12 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Humane Society Offers K9-9 Lives Summer Camp — page 14 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Interpreting Quirky Canine Behaviors — page 15 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Ask Andy — page 17 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Pet-Only Airling Takes Flight Next Month — page 19 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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The Doctor's Corner — page 20 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Calendar of Events — page 21 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Ask the Groomer — page 22 (pdf)Requires Adobe
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Free Pet Food Available For Pet Owners In Need

 

by Carolyn Steeves

 

Free Pet Food

As the economy has spiraled downward, pet owners facing layoffs, foreclosures and bankruptcies are finding they can no longer afford to keep their beloved family pets. Humane Societies, rescue groups and shelters are seeing a huge increase in pets being surrendered by their owners. In response, many of those groups are trying to help pet owners keep their animals by offering free pet food to people in need

Lake Norman / Mecklenburg County

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Animal Care & Control has noticed a significant increase in pets being surrendered by their owners during the past year, according to Melissa Knicely, spokesperson. The department’s database indicates that many people gave up their pets because they could not afford to care for them.

“We don’t want to take someone’s animal away from them if they truly want to take care of them,” Knicely said.

The department is working in conjunction with Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina to provide pet food for people who can’t afford it. The program had a “soft launch” in November of 2008 and officially launched on March 24.

“To date, we have collected over $13,000 in monetary donations,” Knicely said. “We already have 80,000 pounds of food collected and we have helped hundreds of people.”

Animal Care and Control receives food donations at the shelter and Second Harvest receives donations at its facility at 500-B Spratt Street in Charlotte. The program accepts all kinds of animal food – wet or dry dog, cat, kitten, puppy or anything else as well as cat liter. Dry food should be in 10 pound or smaller bags.

The shelter does not require proof of eligibility to receive food. Second Harvest allows the charities they give food to decide whether or not to require proof.

“It’s been one of the most positive and most rewarding things I’ve ever participated in,” Knicely said. “Everyone’s really proud of it and we hope we can continue it in the future.”

Friends for Life Lake Norman has food distribution programs called Puppy Pantry and Kitty Cupboard. The group gives donated food to needy rescues, shelters and low-income individuals. Any remaining food goes to the Loaves and Fishes program at the Ada Jenkins Center, according to Jan Scere,

Friends for Life Lake Norman is a foster care system and does not have a facility, therefore, it has limited space and does not stockpile food. There is no pick up. Instead, when the group gets a request, volunteers try to get the food to people in need.

People can donate food at the Petco in Huntersville. Friends for Life is there every weekend doing adoptions from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The group also typically has pet food collection at their events.. More information can be found by e-mailing the group at: lknanimalshelter@aol.com or by visiting them online at: www.friends4lifelkn.com.

Programs Provide Free Pet Food

Catawba County

The Humane Society of Catawba County has a free pet food pantry through which it provides food to pet owners in need. Since it began in January, the program has given away about 9,300 pounds of food.

“We have a constant flow of folks taking advantage of the program, we do have a few folks who are giving regular donations to it – individuals and businesses,” says George Page, community outreach manager.” We’re still looking for donations because there’s still a need out there.”

Page explained that due to the need, the Humane Society has had to cut back on how much food they give people. “We’re trying to give them as much as we can, but still handle everyone,” he said.

The program has some eligibility requirements. A person must either be on Medicaid, Social Security or Disability or they must provide proof that they are currently unemployed or of foreclosure or, they must be part of the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. “As long as they have current proof they can come back each month,” Page said.

The program is serving about 566 animals and 120 households in the Unifour area. Included in that number is 340 pounds of food that the shelter gave to the Meals on Wheels program.

Donations can be dropped off at the Humane Society of Catawba County shelter at 3224 20th Avenue S.E. in Hickory. The society accepts all kinds of food, but Page says it has found that the greatest need is for dog and cat food.

Pet owners can pick up the food on the last Saturday of the month and can call the shelter if there is an emergency.

“We’re hoping this reduces the number of animals that get turned over to animal control or relinquished to us so these people can keep their animals,” Page said.

Catawba County Animal Services does not currently offer a pet food program. Rachel Henson, animal care coordinator, explained that right now the shelter relies heavily on donations from local businesses and the public to get food for the animals in the shelter.

“If anybody was really hurting that badly, the county would try to help out,” Henson said. But, she explained, as of now, there is no program; they are simply trying to feed the animals in their shelter.

Caldwell County

Animal Control in Caldwell County started an unofficial pet food program in February.

“We’ve not advertised it extensively because we do have limited amounts available,” Chad Barr, director of Animal Control Services for Caldwell County, explained. “The food we do give away has been donated,” he added.

“Once we have food available, we’ll hold the food until someone has a need. There are times, unfortunately, when we have a need, but not the food.”

Like many shelters, Caldwell County has also noticed an increase in the number of people surrendering their animals because they could no longer afford to keep them.

“We thought, if we can help these individuals keep their pets by removing the financial obstacle of feeding their animals, then we want to do that,” Barr said.

The shelter does not have eligibility requirements to receive food. Barr said that pet owners should call in advance to make sure the shelter has the food and to schedule a time to pick up the food from the shelter.

People can donate food at the shelter and specify that they want the food to go toward this program. They accept all kinds of food, but have had the most requests for dog and puppy food.

Iredell County

The Humane Society of Iredell has been collecting pet food donations since April. People in need can call 704-871-2594 or e-mail: iredellhumane@yahoo.com.

If hard times have left your pet’s food bowl empty, before surrendering the pet or getting rid of it, try calling your local animal control or shelter and seeing if they offer a pet food program.

 

Read the June Issue of Pet o' Mine on-line:  (METRO)  or  (UNIFOUR)