PORT ANGELES — Like their owners, dogs and cats can feel the pinch when money is tight.
When it comes to the difficult choice between feeding a pet and giving it away, the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society is trying to help owners keep their companions.
“Sometimes a little extra food is the difference between surrendering an animal and keeping an animal,” said Scott Chandler, executive director of the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society.
“For us, it’s best if the animal stays at home.”
Chandler and three volunteers delivered pet food to about 150 low-income pet owners in Port Angeles and Sequim on Thursday in the humane society’s third Christmas Eve pet food delivery.
‘Christmas for critters’
“It’s Christmas for the critters,” Chandler said.
The idea is to help people who may be stretching their dollars to pay for their own meals. By doing so, Whiskers and Fido have a better chance of avoiding the pound.
“For some folks, it’s a godsend if they’re having trouble,” Chandler said.
“For us, it’s a way to make sure the animals have a merry Christmas too.”
Thursday’s delivery started at the Welcome Inn RV and Mobile Home Park in west Port Angeles.
1,000 pounds
From there, two vans packed with a combined 1,000 pounds of pet food and supplies split up to help as many pets as possible.
Volunteers Ruthanne Salcido and Rachelle Crueger took one van to the Sequim area, while Chandler and his wife, Nita, drove around Port Angeles.
“There’s some areas where we’ve seen some dogs that might need some help,” Chandler said.
“We’re going to drive around and see. We’ll drop off treats or food or whatever we’ve got.”
The humane society prefers not to use food containing certain types of dye because it stains the kennels.
“It’s not that it’s bad food or anything,” Chandler said. “It just makes it harder to clean.”
The humane society often donates pet food to the Port Angeles and Sequim food banks and occasionally to the Forks food bank.
“In this particular situation, we had a lot of food, and we needed to move some of it along,” Chandler said.
“We want to try to use it before it expires. We try and make sure that none of it goes to waste. People are very generous and donate to us.”
Chandler brought the idea of the Christmas Eve pet food delivery to Port Angeles after doing the same thing in Longview.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
