GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) The Community Food Bank can only distribute human food. So, Tiara Rado Animal Hospital steps into help with families that need pet food.
The hospital and its clients do the hard work-- and Community Food Bank reaps the benefits.
More than 1,400 lbs. of pet food have been donated to Tiara Rado Animal Hospital for their annual pet food drive.
"It's grown every year," said Biff Messinger with Community Food Bank.
In fact, it’s the most the pet drive has ever raised. They also raised more than $600 for the food bank which lets them buy more pet food if they run out.
"Look at this big pile of food I'm sitting on. We have the best clients in the world," said Jeff Stoud with Tiara Rado Animal Hospital.
Now, all the food will now go to the Community Food Bank.
"People were kind and generous," said Messinger. "Our clientele are the working poor.”
They’re the working poor who need a helping hand.
"We've noticed after doing this for 40 years that people who come in for food always ask, 'Do you have any dog food? We have a dog and we can't afford to pay for ourselves, let alone our pet'," said Messinger.
The Community Food Bank's budget and mission only allows them to give out human food-- so campaigns like this really help with a family’s four-legged friend.
"We really identified this as a problem in our community so we decided this is the best way to do community outreach," said Stoud.
And they’re doing it one bag or can of pet food at a time.
"We have enough to last the entire year. If you come in for people food and you need pet food-- you'll get it," said Messinger.
