A mission to help feed needy pets could be extinct without new donations. Meals on Wheels has been working for the past four years to bring small bags of food for pets along with their owners’ hot meals.
But the donations have run dangerously low. Project originators, Nancy Driscoll and Rebecca Burns, have been digging into their pockets the past two months to make sure that their clients pets can eat, too.
“The whole goal of it is so that people will not have to give up their pets,” Driscoll says.
Driscoll, Burns and Marian Riter have worked for Meals on Wheels for years. They enjoy passing out food to people in need on their route. But many of their hungry clients also have hungry pets.
One day, Driscoll read in a newspaper that a Meals on Wheels office in Polk County had started delivering pet food to clients along with regular hot meals. She thought it was a great idea.
So the animal lovers started to solicit for donations for pet food along with the help of their friend Nita McMaster.
They deliver about a 4 pounds of dog food or 3 pounds of cat food to those in need. There are at least 15 pets on the Plant City routes.
“It’s not expected to be all the food for the pet for the month,” Driscoll said. “It’s just like the hot meals, it’s meant to be a supplement.”
The Meals on Wheels team can identify with the pet owners. Driscoll had a dog for 16 years. But when it died, she had a “broken heart” and couldn’t “go through that grief again” with another pet.
Burns has two rescued shitzus. Riter has a “beautiful calico” cat. Nita “has always had cats.”
“Some call in and say they appreciate it,” Driscoll said. “I feel it’s a wonderful thing. We all feel it’s a great thing and want to keep it going.”
To donate, take pet food to the Meals on Wheels office, 203 N. Thomas St., Plant City. Cash and check donations are also accepted as long as they are designated for pet food.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.http://emilyscakes.co.za/oformit-kreditnuyu-kartu-renessans-bank-1.php