Our Manager of Admissions Lee Steube recently told me that his favorite program to administer at our center is the Pet Pantry, which provides temporary pet food assistance to local families struggling financially to care for their animal companions. He commented on how rewarding it was to extend a helping hand to pet guardians in need. And the best part, he said, was that he knew the assistance we offered was making it possible for these families to keep their pets. The Richmond SPCA, through generous donations of food to supply the pantry, has helped more than 90 families feed close to 300 pets since we launched the pantry in April 2009. Pictured are some of our friends from Holiday Barn Pet Resorts who just hosted a Pet Pantry food drive.
When you read the message below, which we received from a participant in our pet pantry, you will understand why Lee and the rest of us at the Richmond SPCA love this program so much.
I'm not sure who to send this email to, but I just wanted to let someone know at the Richmond SPCA how grateful my family is for the services you provide. My husband was laid off in October, and we spent the first two weeks of November in "crisis mode" by reducing our bills and contacting various agencies for help. I do have a full time job; however, my salary served as a means to pay our son's college tuition. It certainly is not enough for a family of 4 (plus 4 pets) to survive on. We contacted many agencies and companies for help, including our mortgage company, insurance company, our son's college, among others. What we found out is that we do not qualify for assistance.
Enter the Richmond SPCA:
I remember reading an article on the Richmond SPCA website about the food assistance given to members of the community who have fallen on hard times, and who have pets. I filled out the application, mailed it, and within three days of mailing the application, we received a telephone call from Lee to set up an appointment that very day to pick up food for our pets.
My husband arrived home with several bags of pet food: enough food for our two dogs and our two cats to last for close to a month.
Even though things are tough for our family right now, we feel so grateful to the Richmond SPCA for the help we have received. Feeding our pets has always been something we took for granted, not really thinking about how expensive it can be.
One day soon, when my husband hopefully finds another job, we will not forget the help we received from the Richmond SPCA.
Thank you.
While we appreciate these kind words of thanks, we equally want to thank this family and so many others for using this program and for loving their pets so deeply. When we fall on hard times, we need help from our friends, and we are committed to being a friend to pets and their guardians communitywide. If you need assistance through our pet pantry, please call (804) 521-1323 or visit www.richmondspca.org/petpantry.
We are especially grateful to Kat Simons of Lite 98 for organizing a pet food drive at Richmond-area PETCO stores. All donations at the Midlothian location from December 30 through January 22 will benefit our pet pantry. Stop by and contribute if you can! If you or someone you know would like to organize a pet pantry drive for the Richmond SPCA, please call 804-521-1308.
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