posted 11/02/10 02:45 PM | updated 11/02/10 02:45 PM
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Paws for Hunger Creates Innovative Outreach to Hungry Families As Well As Animals

By Jo Murray
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A hungry puppy looks at an empty bowl.

Paws for Hunger, a program in which The Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley and The Hunger Coalition provide pet food for needy families, has brought an unexpected benefit for The Hunger Coalition:  help in reaching needy families.

“It seems to be easier for people to ask for help for their pets than for themselves,” said Jeanne Liston, executive director of The Hunger Coalition. “A major benefit has been that it gives us a chance to check in with them and ask if they need help for themselves.”

Approximately 30 families receive pet food each month, and about 10 of the families also receive food for themselves, she added. More than 4,000 pounds of pet food were distributed by the Animal Shelter through this program last year.

“We’re finding that it is an incredibly innovative way to reach people who may be reluctant to approach us,” Liston said. “We had not heard of a similar program when Dr. Jo-Anne Dixon, shelter executive director, approached us last year.“

Dixon suggested the program as a way to help families who were giving up their pets because they could not afford to feed them.

“These are pets that already have loving homes,” Dixon said. “When a family needs help from the food bank, it’s usually a temporary and very stressful situation. Pets are very much a part of the family support system, particularly for the children. We want to make sure that this part of the support system isn’t broken.”

The Hunger Coalition, unlike the Animal Shelter, already had a screening and distribution system to help needy families.

The Paws for Hunger program is financed by donations to the shelter. Cash donations may be made to the shelter, and unopened containers of pet food can be brought to the shelter or to The Hunger Coalition warehouse at 121 Honeysuckle St., Bellevue. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

The Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley, the first “no kill” shelter in Idaho, promotes companion animal welfare by providing temporary shelter for homeless animals, adopting them to qualified homes and reducing animal abuse, neglect and overpopulation through community education and spay/neuter services. More than 90 percent of its funding comes from private donations.

In 2009 more than 1,500 animals received services from the shelter. This includes 350 animals that were adopted, 252 lost animals that were reunited with their owners, 255 shelter animals that were spayed/neutered, and 387 privately owned animals that were spayed or neutered at no cost to their owners. On an average day, the shelter cares for 45 dogs and 45 cats.

Jo Murray is a public relations consultant to the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley.

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