Geauga County Humane Society’s Rescue Village has launched a Public Pet Food Pantry Program offering free cat and dog food to families enduring tough financial times.
The program begins Friday, January 25.
“We get donations of cat and dog food regularly from the public and pet stores, and it’s not always the brand that we serve to our population,” said Rescue Village Marketing and PR Coordinator Leah Backo. “We like to keep our adoptable cats and dogs on the same food rather than switching up the food that they are eating. They can be very sensitive to that.”
Rather than let bags and bags of food donations go to waste, why not give it to financially strapped pet owners who can use it?
“We’ve been thinking, ‘We’ve had this food sitting around, let’s do something good with it,’” Backo continued. “It was our goal for 2019 to open up a pet pantry to the public. It just so happens that 2019 kicked off with this government shutdown, and we want to make sure affected people know that we are here to use as a resource for pet food. Anyone one needs food can come in and we can provide assistance.”
Cat and dog food will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Food pick up generally will be 10 a.m. to noon Fridays, but arrangements must be made in advance by emailing intake@rescuevillage.org or by calling 440-338-4819, ext. 13. The pantry website is rescuevillage.org/pet-pantry.
Because the program is donations-driven, Rescue Village cannot guarantee food always be available, or that you will have your choice of pet food brands.
Rescue Village isn’t asking for proof of need.
“We are going by the honor code for now,” Backo said. “It says on our website that this isn’t meant to be a permanent solution to your situation, but we totally understand that, for various reasons, people might go through a period where they can’t afford pet food. This program is intended to temporarily supplement your monthly supply of pet food, not be the permanent sole source. Our main goal is to keep people and their pets together."
The Pet Pantry is open to any pet owner who needs help, not just Geauga County residents, Backo added.
Rescue Village is located at 1563 Chillicothe Road in Russell Township.
A little over two years ago, Friends of the Cleveland Kennel volunteer group opened a center that assists low-income pet owners in a number of ways. The center is called The Neighborhood Pets Outreach & Research Center, and it’s located in a storefront in Slavic Village at 3711 East 65th St.
The center’s mission is helping low-income families keep their pets, and it does so by offering affordable pet care, including spay/neuter services, low-cost pet supplies such and gently used collars and leashes, emergency pet food assistance, free ID tags, counseling and education and more. Services are ongoing, not on a financial emergency basis.
The program is based on membership, which is free. Members must be a Cleveland resident and qualify for low-income assistance, but proof of that isn’t required.
“We ask if they are low-income and we take their word for it,” said Becca Britton, Friends of Cleveland Kennel founder and executive director.
Non-members pay full price for services, and that supplements reduced price programming for members, as well as donations.
Opened in 2016, the center is thriving.
“We’ve grown quite a bit since we opened,” Britton said. “We’re up to 1,900 human clients.”
The center has been so well-received that the group is opening a second center, in Collinwood, this coming summer.
For more information, including hours, go to neighborhoodpetscle.org, call 216-505-5853, or email info@neighborhoodpetscle.org.
