Cost of living crisis has hit pet bowls hard, animal charity says
Heavenly Creatures says it needs more pet food donations urgently
A St. John's animal charity says the same economic factors that are hitting families hard at the grocery store are also hurting their pets.
For more than 20 years, Heavenly Creatures has operated a food bank to help low-income pet owners. Organizers say they have never seen demand for help as high, and said donations are low.
"The pet food drive can start off slow, but … this is one of the worst years that I've ever seen — if not the worst year for donations," co-founder Jessica Rendell told CBC Radio's On the Go.
While donations of pet food are stored at the group's LeMarchant Road office, it doesn't have nearly enough to meet the needs of the community, she said.
"In order for us to get through the winter, we need this entire room and the charity's basement — which is also used as food storage — to be brimming with food," said Rendell.
During last year's pet food drive they did manage to get both spaces packed with pet food but it only lasted them until April, but that as of mid-December, she estimates the food they had stocked so far would only make it to February.
Donations have also been slow to come in at a time when more people are asking for help, she added.
"And we understand people are struggling. Corporations are struggling."
Rendell is urging companies to donate to the pet food bank, either through food donations or financial help.
"No donation is too small," she said. "We really can't do it alone."
While it can be easy to say people who can't afford a pet shouldn't have one, Rendell said for many people their pets are all they have and they offer emotional support.
"We get seniors coming over who say I would be completely alone without my cat or my dog," she said. "We just want to help people help their pets."
People sacrifice for their pets
Volunteer Ivan Morgan said the cost of living crisis is hitting people hard.
"I've been doing this food bank for over a decade and this year people are coming in saying, 'Did you see the price of X, Y or Z?'" he recalled.
Morgan added they are seeing many more first-time clients reach out to their organization for help.
"I don't know how many times people say to me, 'Well, geez, I'd go without food before my cat did.' So if we're giving them a week and a half's worth of food, that's money they can spend on themselves," he said.
Rendell said the situation right now is the worst she's seen since starting Heavenly Creatures.
"For the first time in our 23 years of doing this, heard a lot of stories the last couple of years about people saying 'I have to give my pet up because I can't afford them' or 'I will never have a pet after this.'"
She said people cite the rising cost of pet food and vet bills, on top of the challenges of finding housing. People are telling her they're giving up senior animals they've had for eight or more years. In addition, some people who have turned to living in their vehicles have asked Heavenly Creatures to take their pets in.
"Summer before last, we had a woman living in our parking lot here at Heavenly Creatures with her cat because she had nowhere else to go," said Rendell.
"When people are suffering and struggling, their animals wind up suffering and struggling because it trickles down to them."
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
With files from On the Go
