Group seeks donations for helping pets in disasters

P.E.I.'s Emergency Animal Response Team is seeking donations for its new comfort kit program.

The team helps care for pets following disasters, from house fires to storms and floods. It was set up to extract animals from dangerous situations and look after them until their owners could take charge of them again.

More recently it has recognized a need to provide items to people who are able to keep their pets with them, says group president Ron McConnell. The comfort kits include items like leashes, food bowls, blankets for beds, and pet food.

The kits, McConnell said, don't just provide comfort for the pets.

"It's stress relief," he said.

"The key word there is comfort. It means that they don't have to worry about, for the next couple of days, providing for their animals. It takes that stress off of them."

The group is looking for donations of new or used supplies for the comfort kits. It has set up four donation sites around the province.

• Gifts from the Heart in Charlottetown.
• Sunnybrook Farms Pet Supply in Travellers Rest.
• Island Spaw and Kennels in O'Leary.
• Island Taylored Meats in Montague.

More information is available on the response team's website.

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