By GREG JORDAN
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — More than a ton of love was delivered Saturday to the region’s homeless dogs and cats when donations to the annual Prerogative–Bluefield Daily Telegraph Shelter Drive were distributed to animal shelters in the two Virginias.
Since 2007, Prerogative magazine and the Bluefield Daily Telegraph have accepted donations of dog and cat food, pet toys, treats, cleaning supplies, blankets and other items to benefit the facilities caring for homeless pets. For a week, the contributions were collected at the Daily Telegraph office. When Saturday morning arrived, the accumulated supplies were divided among the participating shelters and organizations.
Volunteers from the magazine and newspaper loaded the donations Friday into a trailer provided by Cole Harley-Davidson. Employees with the dealership brought the supplies Saturday to the Mercer County Animal Shelter where they and volunteers divided them into five stacks. People with the Mercer County Shelter took their share of the contributions inside their facility while members of other organizations arrived. The Tazewell County Animal Shelter, the McDowell County Humane Society, Pet Haven in Falls Mills,Va. and the Save-A-Pet Food Bank each received a share of the shelter drive’s donations.
Darlene Little of Second Chance for Cats, which sponsors the Save-A-Pet Food Bank, said the contributions will help people keep their pets fed when they can’t pay for dog or cat food. The pet food bank is housed at the Bluefield Union Mission. The mission doesn’t contribute funds to Save-A-Pet, but it does provide a space for its supplies.
“When people run out of money, we’re just there to let them know their pets don’t have to go hungry,” Little said.
Shelter operators and personnel arrived with their SUVs and pickup trucks soon after the contributions were unloaded. Debby Smith of Pet Haven said the load of pet food and other supplies will help “a lot.” Her facility does not receive government funding.
Pet Haven has had several adoptions recently, but the facility usually cares for a total of 60 dogs and cats. Puppy and kitten season is over for this year, but new litters can take up limited space quickly when spring arrives, Smith said.
Area shelters are often filled to capacity during the holiday season, a time when donations dwindle.
“We’re booked,” Randy Sheets of the Tazewell County Animal Shelter said. “We’ve got dogs, we’ve got cats.” He looked at the bags of food and other supplies filling the back of his SUV. “This will do wonders, especially this time of year.”
Inside the Mercer County Animal Shelter, employees looked at the bags of pet food, blankets and pet toys under their Christmas tree. For them, the show of local generosity was moving.
“It shows that more people than us care about the animals,” Animal Control Officer and kennel technician Brittany Harman said.
Besides the generous material contributions, there were also monetary donations to each of the shelters, Daily Telegraph Editor Samantha Perry told the volunteers. The Tazewell County Shelter received a “quite significant” contribution, she added.
The 2016 Prerogative-Bluefield Daily Telegraph Shelter Drive received more than 2,186 pounds of pet food and supplies.
“I think it is definitely better than last year,” Perry said. “We seem to be getting more every year.”
Perry thanked community members for their generosity in contributing to the shelter drive.
“It was amazing to see all the folks coming in last week,” she said. “They were lugging bags of dog food, carrying stockings filled with toys, and bringing bags filled with blankets and more. The generosity and compassion of the residents in our region is truly heartwarming.”
“We appreciate the Bluefield Daily Telegraph and Prerogative magazine for all their efforts to encourage donations that benefit our animals in need and the community for their tremendous support,” Michelle Muncy of the Mercer County Animal Shelter said.
