When the Heartland Animal Rescue Team in Baxter asked for help in feeding its abandoned dogs and cats, the response was overwhelming.
For the first time in many years, HART ran out of donated dog and cat food Wednesday at the animal shelter and was forced to buy food. The shelter has about 80 animals now, including impounded cats and dogs and those up for adoption. On Wednesday alone they took in about 35 stray cats and kittens and five dogs.
Donna Wambeke, HART executive director, said early Thursday morning people began showing up at the animal shelter carrying bags of donated food and it didn’t stop all day. The HART lobby was overflowing with bags of donated pet food and scoopable cat litter.
“It’s been really, really fun and exciting and really heartwarming to see,” said Wambeke. “We’ve got kids that are using their birthday money to buy food and kids bringing in coffee cans of money donated from their neighbors. We’re very grateful we won’t have any empty bowls.”
Wambeke said as of late Thursday afternoon the shelter had received about 4,000 pounds of pet food and 420 pounds of cat litter. The shelter also received about $2,100 in monetary donations, including one woman who stopped in with a $1,000 check to buy pet food.
“Our whole lobby is filled with bags of food. We can barely walk in it,” said Wambeke.
On Friday, Lakeland Veterinary Hospital and Hill’s Science Diet pet food company will be delivering 400 pounds of food to the animal shelter. Wambeke said Target in Baxter also provided donated pet food, as did the Salvation Army in Brainerd.
The shelter is still accepting donations of quality, brand name bags of cat, kitten, puppy and dog food. This would include any brands such as Purina, Pedigree and Iams. Quality food is necessary since many of the animals arrive at the shelter in poor shape. Scoopable cat litter is also needed.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
Comments (19)
Add commentThat is Great
The only thing I Dont agree with is the last Sentence that says we are still accepting donations of quality brand name pet food. I agree that pets need good nutrition but saying that will deter people that want to help but don't have much money.In Short my point is dont bite the hand that feeds you.No Pun intended.Take what is given to you and dont complain about the help from others, who may have taken food from their own pet bowls or used money to feed their families with but gave it to you instead. !!! Sorry that I got carried away but hopefully my point was understood.
Brand name foods
I disagree with the previous comments about brand name foods. I have owned many cats over the years and have found that the cheaper cat foods make my cats sick and throw up. Purina was the minimum brand-name cat food that my cats could tolerate without puking at least once a day. I'm sure that HART doesn't need a bunch of animals throwing up because of cheap food.
It's a shame
My father won't contribute money to HART because they adopt Pit Bulls. He believes that the Pit Bulls should automatically be put down when they're brought in rather than put up for adoption. That's a shame because I think that HART does a good job, even though we can't always agree with every one of their policies.
I will still contribute to them despite their policy on adopting dog breeds that I think should be eliminated, but I do make it clear to them that this is a deal-breaker for some people.
God Bless those who cared
God Bless those who cared enough. These creatures need our help. All they are waiting for is a loving home. Makes my day to know there are so many kind hearts in Brainerd. God Bless!
Junk Food
I can't believe a professional animal organization doesn't know what quality dog food actually is. The brand name foods like Purina, Iams, etc. are some of the worst quality foods. Generally, if it is a recognizable brand name then it is usaully one of the worst foods. These companies spend most of their money on advertisements, not quality ingredients. Just because your vet office stocks these brands doesn't mean there quality, it only means the dog food company has a good salesman.
The highest quality foods are usually the brand names you have never heard of, and their pricing is alot of times right in-line with the recognizable brands.
With miniumal effort, a search on the internet will reveal independent reviews, analysis, and information on dog food ingredients that can make any dog owner an informed one.
junk food
I can't believe a professional animal organization doesn't know what quality dog food actually is. The brand name foods like Purina, Iams, etc. are some of the worst quality foods. Generally, if it is a recognizable brand name then it is usaully one of the worst foods. These companies spend most of their money on advertisements, not quality ingredients. Just because your vet office stocks these brands doesn't mean there quality, it only means the dog food company has a good salesman.
The highest quality foods are usually the brand names you have never heard of, and their pricing is alot of times right in-line with the recognizable brands.
With miniumal effort, a search on the internet will reveal independent reviews, analysis, and information on dog food ingredients that can make any dog owner an informed one.
invisable
Well then maybe instead of using the money to buy the cheapest food available they should just donate the money. Like the post underneath you, Purina IS an extremely cheap food and is probably the lowest grade you would want to buy a pet that is still somewhat edible. Feeding something like say..Alley Cat or Alpo is the equivalent of eating McDonalds everyday.. nothing is real in that food.
brand name foods
I agree with fredanderssen about the quality of pet food statement. If someone doesn't feel they can afford a bag of such food to donate but still want to help, just drop off your $5 or however much you have for them to use, or volunteer to do one of the many tasks that can be done. I'm glad that a point is made to not use the lowest quality pet food at HART.
Quality food
I have to agree with those that only want quality food for their pets. I tried Ol' Roy and my dog was sick for 3 days. It is cheap filler and little substance.
Take less animals.
Maybe they should not take in 40 animals in the last week. What the heck are they thinking. Now there is an emergency and they play it up as a lack of donations. Take in less animals.
Pets
I said just shoot um
The Importance of Spaying and Neutering
There needs to be more awareness of the overwhelming problem of dog and cat overpopulation. People can help with this problem by spaying or neutering their pets!
response to take less animals
If people would take care of their pets, HART wouldn't have to take in so many! If more people would be responsible and spay and neuter their pets, we wouldn't have all these unwanted dogs and cats that HART ends up taking care of. They also turn away quite a few because of limited room and I believe they still euthanize when pets don't get adopted after so much time. They need donations to get a bigger buildling, which they plan to do in the future.
Response to "just shoot 'em"
You sound really heartless!
If they would actually stack
If they would actually stack the bags they would have more room. Although the article does use the word "stack" - it looks like they are thrown. They would not only be able to use less space but it would also be safer.
Response to Spaying/Neutering
Have you had a pet spayed lately? It costs a lot! $312 for my most recent spay (in May). HART should maybe sponsor a low cost spay/neuter clinic.
Spaying & Neutering reply
At the Pequot Lakes Animal Hospital they charged around $50 and she's very good. I had my female kitty spayed last year. Where did you go that it was that expensive?
The care of animals
Often people who treat animals poorly also treat humans poorly, I have found. I commend Hart for all their great work. It's too bad there are so many irresponsible and heartless people who don't care about animals. Good thing I believe in karma, what goes around comes around!
Pitbulls can be very loving pets, humans are the ones that shape the pets into bad behavior by mistreatment. That goes for raising children also, when they are raised with disrespect, neglect or abuse, they also can turn out violent. Parents often don't realize how much influence they have on their children and pets in shaping their personality and behavior.
Also if people would volunteer and get familiar with HART, they will realize how much they have to deal with. Maybe they would consider the importance of spaying and neutering their pets!!
Pets are wonderful and loving if treated well and have been very beneficial in helping people with disabilities or diseases. They have also saved people's lives by warning them about fire and there are many stories of pets saving children from drowining and getting help for their owner when in trouble. If only people realized how worthy animals are of our respect and love! They only want to give and receive love! Treat them well please!!