Oct 30, 2009 12:24 pm US/Pacific
Food Banks Helping Feed Pets Of Those In Need
Pet Food Banks Fill Growing Need
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
For many, the love of an animal can help them get through tough economic times. But, feeding a pet can be costly. Just as there are food banks for people, there are food banks for pets.
Symera McCormick is a Meals On Wheels client. She also gets a second food delivery for her cat. Her daughter gave the pet as a gift after her husband passed away.
"I'd be lost without her," said McCormick. That's my companion."
The pet food donated to McCormick comes from PAWS, an organization that feeds 1000 pets a year in San Francisco. Executive Director John Lipp said the service prevents seniors from feeding their own meals to their pets.
"We knew seniors and their animals needed a lot of support, and we were the only game in town."
Jeannie Duckworth runs a pet grooming shop in Tracy. It's ground zero for the Central Valley's foreclosure crisis.
She said, "It's depressing. I had a lot of customers weekly and all of a sudden we don't see them anymore."
And 9 times out of 10 it's because they have lost their job. They are losing their house." Customers asked her to help find homes for the pets they could no longer afford to feed.
That's how she came up with the idea to start The Lucky Paws Foundation.
"And I said, 'well if we could provide food, would you keep your pets?' They said 'Yes.'" The pet food bank serves 150 pets weekly. Food is donated by people like Tracy Home Inspector Larry Hite.
Larry was inspecting a foreclosed home when he made a gruesome discovery. "It was a kitten and when I walked in I found it dead in the corner of the living room," he recalled. Since then Larry brings Jeannie $25 worth of food for every home inspection he does. And Lucky Paws also gives food to the Tracy Animal shelter, which reported a drop in relinquished pets since the food bank opened up.
Back at San Francisco's PAWS food bank, client Isabella Serrano picks up food for her dog Snap. Serrano works full time and brings in $1,400 a month. With out the free food, low-income and disabled Paws clients might face the choice between feeding themselves or their pet. Serrano said, "If I didn't have PAWS, it would be rough. It would be really rough."
Links to low-cost clinics and food for pets:
Also:
Pet food drive Thanksgiving weekend for "Animeals" - a project of the Contra Costa County Food Bank and Contra Costa County Humane Society. Location: Pet Food Express 1388 S. California Street, Walnut Creek, CA
94596
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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