When the economy took a tumble and natural disasters took their toll on families, a West suburban woman started thinking about ways to help people’s pets. More specifically, what could she do to help families and their pets stay together when times got a little tough?
“I work in the State’s Attorney’s office. I’ve learned from the elder victims’ advocate that for senior citizens especially sometimes the closest family member they had left is their cat or dog,” says Gerri Vaughn, founder of Bruno’s Pro Bone O Pet Food Pantry. “They may have family that is out of the area or they are local and not involved with this person or they may be all alone except for that pet. Because of that bond they want to take care of their beloved pet first.”
Keeping seniors and their pets together
She found out that it wasn’t uncommon for the elderly to use their own food to feed their dog or cat if there wasn’t enough money for pet food. Bruno’s Pro Bone O Pet Food Pantry was born. The organization is named after the Vaughn’s own rescue dog a boxer mix that had been abandoned by his family.
Since Vaughn had never run a business or non-profit before, she joined forces with those in her community that knew all about running a food bank or pantry – Hanover Park and Schaumburg Township offices. Individuals in need must first apply to these food pantries to see if they qualify. Fliers for the pantry are there and once the people qualify, they may apply to Vaughn for assistance.
Community support
She’s also had excellent partners when it comes to pet food donations. Several different Petco locations that had been collecting for Chicago food pantries have now decided to stay local and have set up drop-offs for donations and also help out. Naperville pet store Dog Patch Pet and Feed and Pet’s Etc also have made generous donations to help out the pantry.
“I applied through Del Monte for some pet food and they called and said they had some donations for me if I could come and pick them up,” says Vaughn. “They asked if I had a truck and when I responded that I have an SUV, they told me I’d need a much bigger truck. They donated 8,000 bags of cat food that had been damaged. They couldn’t sell them, but they could donate them to organizations like ours.”
She rented a truck and headed for Rochelle for that donation. She is now working with Purina on a similar pilot program for dog food. Individuals that want to donate may drop off food at one of the Petco drop off boxes - Bloomingdale, South Elgin, West Dundee, Wood Dale - or may also donate online to help pay for additional food. An $8 donation covers food for one pet for a month. You may also may sign up to support the organization through eScrip, which provides donations when you register your credit card and shop at certain stores or eat at certain restaurants using that card.
Helping the community
“A lot of the elderly do call back and tell me thanks – that they didn’t know how much longer they could have kept feeding their pet,” says Vaughn. “I’m learning from this experience but I don’t turn people way. The first six months of the program we maybe helped 140 animals and we’ve doubled that number this year. That works out to about 25 animals each week – dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, etc. – that are able to stay with their family and not end up in the shelter.”
Learn more online or donate online. They’ll also do some pick ups in DuPage and Kane counties within 10 mile drives around Bartlett, Schaumburg, Carol Stream, Hanover Park and West Chicago.
Do you volunteer or work for a shelter or rescue that has programs you'd like to promote? Do you work in a pet-releated business that has an interesting story to tell? If so, contact me at kathypetexam@gmail.com. Enjoy this article? Receive email alerts when new articles become available. Just click on the subscribe button above. You may also follow me on Twitter, Facebook or read my blog.
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