Jul. 24--When Ashley Wolo learned of people thinking of giving up their pets because of the financial strain caused by the coronavirus, she knew she had to act.
“Unfortunately, during these times, we’re seeing a much larger need from the public,” the executive director of the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter said. “At Griffin Pond, we’ve been getting calls that people want to surrender their animals because they can’t afford the food.”
She, along with dozens of others from animal shelters, rescues, advocates and sanctuaries, worked to begin pet food distributions. The NEPA Animal Welfare Collaborative, a project of the Scranton Area Community Foundation, will sponsor its third pet food distribution on Aug. 1 .
“We wanted to give people a sense of relief so they don’t have to stress about how they’re going to feed their animals,” Wolo said.
The collaborative, established in June 2019 , aims to advance animal welfare and increase the resources available to agencies who help animals. Already, the group has held distributions on June 20 and 27 . But the need in the region remains high.
More than 50 people submitted requests within the first 24 hours of the latest registration window . As of Thursday, the collaborative has received applications to provide food for nearly 300 pets .
Much of the pet food distributed has been donated, some “in memory of former pets, and the supplies go a long way,” said Laura Ducceschi , president and CEO of the foundation.
While the collaborative has been encouraged by the number of donations, supplies were dwindling.
“It’s absolutely amazing and inspiring to see the community come together to support one another,” Wolo said. “We’ve almost run out of food, but we just got some more donations.”
Ducceschi said members of the collaborative recognize people’s affinity for their animals.
“For many people, pets are their companions and they’re happy to be able to do this for them,” she said.
Contact the writer: rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5365; @rtomkavage on Twitter.
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First Published: July 24, 2020, 4:00 a.m.
