ST. STEPHEN – While households are struggling with rising food costs for the people sitting around the dinner table, what about the four-legged family members?
The impact of rising food costs is not only relevant for two-legged beings, it’s having an effect on households with pets and shelters, too.
The Charlotte County SPCA (SPCA) has broadened its mandate, in line with a national initiative, to help keep pets at home and prevent them from being surrendered. To help pet owners do that, it has launched Casey’s Cupboard, a food bank for pets. Food donations for the cupboard are separate from donations for the shelter and the two can’t be mixed or co-mingled.
Anne Gagné, vice-president of SPCA, said increasing costs are affecting everyone.
“We run solely on donations,” she said. “We don’t have any government money, so we have to rely on the good nature of the community to support us, and as prices go up it means we need more money.”
Gagné noted there are many people no longer living in Charlotte County who still support the organization.
She said, in the year since Casey’s Cupboard launched, demand from the public is rising. Part of it may be increased awareness of the program, but it’s also because of the higher cost of food for pet owners.
“Oftentimes they’re struggling month to month, and they have to feed themselves, so they’re struggling to find the extra money for their animals,” she said.
One of the goals of the animal food bank is to help owners keep their pets and not have to surrender them. Sometimes people just need a boost for a month or two to get them over a hump.
“Fifty per cent of the people are using it one or two months,” she said. The cupboard works on a once-per-month distribution model.
Since inception, the cupboard has helped 91 families, including 140 dogs and 95 cats. In addition to the half who have used the program once or twice, another approximately 28 per cent have used it for three to five months.
The SPCA held an open house recently for the community to go see the operation and get information about shelter operations. In an emailed message after the open house, Gagné said there were about 30 people who attended. St. Croix MLA Kathy Bockus presented one of the shelter volunteers, Doris Mosher, with a certificate noting Mosher’s 15 years of service at the shelter. The timing coincided with National Volunteer Week.
Gagné also noted that Harper’s Exotic Animals and Pet Supply had announced a donation of more than 1,100 pounds of cat food for Casey’s Cupboard. The value of the food is about $5,500.
Doug Harper, owner of Harper’s, has been a long-time supporter of the shelter, having made several food donations in the past. He said the donation has been in the works for about a month.
“Pretty much as soon as I got established enough that I could start helping out the community,” he said of when he started donating to the shelter and other animal welfare groups.
“We try to reach out to them at least every four to five months.”
Harper’s celebrated its five-year anniversary this past February.
Anyone looking for information about the Charlotte County SPCA can visit www.cc-spca.petfinder.com or email the shelter at ccspca@nb.aibn.com. Anyone wanting to make a donation to or needing help from Casey’s Cupboard can email caseyscupboard@gmail.com.
robertfisher@stcroixcourier.ca