Burlington, VT- Every day there are seniors in the Champlain Valley who worry about how they are going to afford to take care of their pets. Many Meals on Wheels recipients share their meal with their dog or cat. The Champlain Valley Agency on Aging wants to make sure that seniors and their pets receive their proper nutrition and that no senior has to worry about how they will take care of their primary companion.
According to Beverly Hill, Volunteer Coordinator for the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging, there are many seniors who are feeding their food to their pets. To address this problem CVAA is kicking off Feed Pets 2, a pet food drive to help seniors not have to choose between feeding themselves or their pets. According to Hill “By helping senior’s pets, we help maintain the health of the pets and ensure that the seniors eat their own food which helps maintain their own health.” During the month of December donations will be accepted at locations throughout Chittenden, Franklin and Addison counties. Donations can be dropped off at the Banfield Animal Hospital next to PetsMart in Williston, Pet Food Warehouse in South Burlington and Shelburne, The St. Albans Coop, the Franklin County Senior Center in St. Albans, and Paris Farmers Union in Middlebury.
Dr. Michael Romp, proprietor of the Banfield Animal Hospital in Williston, was eager to sign onto the Feed Pets 2 campaign. According to Romp, “When a single daily meal prepared for a person is shared with a pet, neither one is getting the proper nutrition they need to stay healthy. We want to keep pets healthy so they can give their companions many years of friendship and unconditional love. We know the human-animal bond contributes to happier, healthier lives for people with pets. Senior and homebound Vermonters need their pets. For many of them, their pets are their only friend.”
The St. Albans Coop stepped up to the plate offering their facility as a drop off site and working with their distributors to solicit corporate donations. Steve Martin, Manager of the St. Albans Coop store, was able to secure a large donation of pet food from Blue Seal. Martin got on board because he thought Feed Pets 2 was a “great way to reach out to the community. Many quality feeds are made here in Vermont and the people at Blue Seal stepped up to the plate to offer a lot of support. Blue Seal is local right here in Richford so we are supporting local business and helping seniors.” According to Martin pet “companions are very important to seniors so if we could help out, our role was to do so, I think it is important to reach people in our community and senior citizens are not as much at the forefront during this time of the year.”
Gilbert Goodyear and Charlie of Paris Farmers Union
Gilbert Goodyear of Paris Farmers Union is working the phones trying to secure corporate support including a donation from Iams and Nutro. Goodyear has been told he looks like Santa Clause and his store has a company cat named Charlie so they seemed like a perfect fit for this project. Goodyear believes that Feed Pets 2 is a “good thing to do for everyone involved, good that I can help, it fits into our way of doing things.” Evan Wisell, Marketing Manager for Pet Food Warehouse readily agreed to be a drop off location. According to Wisell “Through their Feed Pets 2 Program, I know that CVAA is really helping a lot of pets in our community. At Pet Food Warehouse, we’re very concerned with helping our community’s pets, so partnering with them on this terrific project is a perfect match.”
Donation barrels will be out for the entire month of December. Don’t miss the kick-off events on Dec 8 from 10am-12 at Banfield Animal Hospital, the St. Albans Coop and Paris Farmer’s Union. Drop off a donation, enjoy a holiday treat and have your photo taken with one of the many mascots that will kick-off this Pet Food Drive to support our furry friends and their owners. Rally Catamount, the UVM mascot, will be at Banfield in Williston; Sparky, the Vermont Voltage mascot, will be at the St. Albans Coop; and the Middlebury Union High School Tiger will be at Paris Farmers Union in Middlebury. For more information on the Feed Pets 2 campaign call 865-0360.
