Pet food bank opens

Adelle Ellis
Times Reporter

 

The downturn in the economy means many Albertans are struggling to make ends meet. Indeed, the number of food bank recipients and Christmas Hamper recipients in Strathmore and Wheatland County this past year is higher than numbers of other recent years.
For many, feeding a family doesn’t just mean ensuring there is food on the table; it also means making sure there is food for furry four-legged family members as well.
Recently, a pet food bank opened in the Strathmore and Drumheller area to ensure animals in need of food get fed, and that owners can give their pets the necessities of life.
“A group like this is overdue. I see too many sad things that I don’t want to see,” said Marie Jennings, owner and operator of the Alberta Lost Pet Locator and Rescue Society (ALPLRS). Along with her husband Kenny, Jennings opened ALPLRS six years ago.
“I see a lot of pets that aren’t neglected – it’s not neglect because people are doing what they can for their animals – but some people just need help or the animals suffer.”
ALPLRS is a fully licenced and county- and vet-approved rescue and sanctuary for surrendered pets. The animals are placed in foster care until they can find a forever home. Animals unfit for adoption enjoy the rest of their lives at the sanctuary on the Jennings acreage near Strathmore.
Last year, Jennings noticed more pets were being surrendered in poor, underweight and skinny conditions. She also noticed more people asking for cat and dog food on the “Strathmore AB Free Items” Facebook page. As an avid animal lover, she decided to do something about it.
So Jennings started stocking up on dog and cat food that was donated to her rescue. Once she had a fair supply of pet food, she approached a good friend of hers, who lives in Cold Lake, Alta. and has adopted several pets from ALPLRS, about her idea to start a pet food bank.
Just before Christmas 2016, the first ALPLRS – Pet Food Bank was opened in Cold Lake, serving 26 families from the area with food for their pets.
Since then Jennings has opened a total of 10 pet food banks across the province, and aims to open a minimum of 14 branches.
Jennings has many reliable connections through ALPLRS, many of whom have volunteered or accepted her request to set up a pet food bank in the areas where they live.
“These people are all like-minded and they are dependable. They want to help the animals,” said Jennings, who oversees the whole operation, but chooses two coordinators to run each area. The coordinators then choose approximately four volunteers to help pick up and drop off food.
Mostly, coordinators keep a supply of donated food and pet-related items in their house before handing it out to families in need. A few areas have storage facilities in the back of shops which are open once a week. In the end, Jennings would like to see a pet food bank facility opened in each area so families in need can get pet food when they need it, and there is a general drop off and pick up location.
Strathmore and Drumheller’s pet food bank officially opened in the beginning of February this year and, so far, has served about 15 families on average each week.
Usually, no paperwork is necessary to sign up for receiving food to feed pets. However, some background work is done by Jennings to make sure people aren’t abusing the system. Code tags are removed from all food and accessories before being handed out. In some instances, food and treats are also re-bagged so that they cannot be resold or advertised to sell.
Jennings said it can be hard for someone in need to ask for help, and she doesn’t want to further create problems for those people.
“How would you like it if you had to ask for help because you are broke? No one likes it. If someone is brave enough to reach out to get help then I am not going to start questioning and interrogating them,” said Jennings. “The way I look at it, I will give them the benefit of the doubt, and if they prove to me that they aren’t truthful and they don’t need the food, then the worst thing I’ve done is feed their [pets] good meals for a few weeks. In the end, I just want to see the animals taken care of.”
In most cases, families will receive enough food for two weeks’ time, usually at most two bags of food a week.
“It’s not much, but it’s something to help. It’s not just the food, I want to give them all the other necessities animals need,” said Jennings, who added they only hand out medium- to high-quality foods so pets are getting nutritious meals. “We want to make sure the [animals] are getting a really good quality, satisfying meal, not just something to keep them full, but something to really help the [animal].”
Currently, the pet food bank helps all species of animals except farm animals: dogs and cats, hamsters and bunnies, birds and turtles. If there are donations received for all those types of animals, they will have food and supplies available for them.
The pet food bank also accepts any donation that is pet related: hard and soft food, litter, treats, toys, leashes and collars, animal coats, feeding bowls and more. Gas cards are also appreciated as coordinators travel a lot for deliveries and it is all on their own time and dime. They are currently in great need of canned and dry cat food, and canned dog food.
Future plans include hopes of partnering with local vets to help families in need have access to lower cost spay and neuter fees, partnering with stores to have donation bins, setting up a fixed location for the pet food bank to be based in and then fine-tuning the system.
Currently both ALPLRS and the ALPLRS – Pet Food Bank are considered non-profit organizations. They have applied for charity status and are waiting for the request to be processed.
To learn more, visit “ALPL Pet Food Bank Strathmore / Drumheller Division” Facebook page, or email Jennings at albertalostpetlocator9@gmail.com. To donate, contact Jennings or drop off items at Prairie Paws Dog Grooming (located on the east side of Animal Care Centre of Strathmore).