The Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter find a winning combination for pets, owners and the community
It’s a WIN- WIN -WIN or a trifecta of sorts…born out of necessity the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter’s Pet Food Bank impacts more than just cats and dogs.
Board member Joey Reiter tells us the reason behind the opening of the Pet Food Bank. “People love their pets. I think a lot of times people don’t understand that people who are going through hard times love their pets just as much as we love our pets”.
With a desire to help financially struggling or home bound pet owners, the Pet Food Bank opened it’s doors in January. Reiter adds, “we felt we were having too many animals surrendered to our shelter due to the fact people were going through some hard times and couldn’t afford to feed their pets”
Currently the bank supports two charitable programs…Mizell Senior Center “Meals on Wheels” and AIDS Assistance Program. Providing pet food for 137 dogs and 78 cats but those numbers are expected to rise as more people learn about the food bank and other organizations request help.
The Pet Food Bank survives on community donations of food or money. A 35 pound bag of dog food can provide ten days of food for a large dog or 5 weeks for a small dog. Right now the Pet Food Bank gives away a ton of food a month.
And this is where the Project finds it’s third win…schools and social clubs are embracing the food bank by holding pet food drives as their community outreach.
Amie Foye, Coordinator for the Friends Pet Project, believes the bank has received such a positive response from the community, “Because everyone loves animals and most people are able to put themselves at least psychologically in the situation of what if I had to give my pet up because I couldn’t afford to feed it. So people are willing to put forth a little bit so that people won’t have to”
The Pet Food Bank needs food to make its 3000 pound monthly goal…you can plan a food drive with your organization or make a donation of food or money to Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter… visit 45-75 mesquite or online at http://palmspringsanimalfriends.ning.com/ or call 760-416-5718.
