A retired woman in White Plains NY was so concerned about the number of people forced to abandon or surrender their pets that she decided something had to be done about it. She realized people were giving up their pets simply because they could not afford to keep them. And of course the biggest priority in affording them had to do with feeding them.
So she took action. The PetCo stores throughout Westchester County have allowed her to set up areas to secure donations of pet food from their customers or walk-ins. This will soon be expanded to include stores in Rockland and Putnam counties.
An American Legion Post in Valhalla donated space in their basement to let her set up a distribution area. The new facility will be known as the Hudson Valley Food Pantry and is scheduled to open in April.
This is not a situation that is unique to New York or to the east coast. As an active dog advocate right here in Henderson NV I am painfully aware of the number of owner surrendered dogs brought into the local shelters. It is hundreds per day. And in many cases it is due to the family's financial hardship.
So the question becomes 'How can we expand this effort? How can we make more food pantries for pets available throughout the country or even the world?'
There's an article on eHow.com entitled "How to Start a Food Bank for Dogs." Of course these same principles could be applied to starting a food bank for any type of pet of all types of pets.
I think we, the animal lovers of the world, need to see what we can do to help. Even individuals starting on a very small scale in their own neighborhoods may save the lives of many pets. And save the hearts and minds of their owners. After all, we know what may happen to these pets if they have to be surrendered.
If anyone is or becomes actively involved in helping to get food to the pets of families in need contact me at AllDogsWelcome@gmx.com and I will post any information that will be of assistance to you or your organization.
Together we can save more pets and bring some relief to their struggling owners.
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