Imagine losing your job, exhausting your emergency funds and having to give up your best friend. Or, picture a child dealing with a serious health crisis, and on top of that being told that her beloved cat needs to go to a new home…because out-of-pocket medical expenses mean eliminating any and all expenses not critical to the family staying afloat.
Coloradoans experiencing financial emergencies often find themselves in a position where they need to make severe cutbacks to their budgets, far beyond skipping vacations and trimming back visits to the coffee shop. When savings run out and bills stack up, and it comes down to choosing between paying for kibble and keeping the lights on, many pet owners go to extremes to keep their animals at home. Others have no choice but to surrender their beloved animals to shelters because they’ve exhausted all other options.
Did you know that municipal and private animal shelters can spend more than $400 to place an animal in a new home, but Colorado Pet Pantry can provide food security for a pet—in its owner’s home—for as little as four dollars a month?
Here’s how you can help Colorado Pet Pantry keep pets at home with their families and out of overcrowded shelters.
1. Shop for your pet supplies on our HoundAbout page.
Looking for a snazzy new collar for your pooch? Are you looking for pet gates that don’t make your home look like a set from Orange Is the New Black?
When you make a purchase on our HoundAbout page, you get great prices on high-quality, name brand products. Everybody wins because 50% of the sale proceeds directly benefit Colorado Pet Pantry! Hundreds of items qualify for free shipping, too.
2. Donate pet food.
Next time you pick up a bag of dog or cat food, consider buying a second bag to donate at any one of 40 locations throughout the state.
Or, has your finicky cat rejected the new food you purchased for her? We provide easy instructions for donating previously opened packages.
3. Purchase pet insurance.
Are you in the market for pet insurance? Consider Healthy Paws Pet Insurance & Foundation. Rated the best pet insurance company in 2015, Healthy Paws covers veterinary care at any licensed vet clinic. When you purchase coverage, Healthy Paws will donate $50 to Colorado Pet Pantry.
4. Chip into our CPP wishlist at Amazon.
We go through a lot of resealable bags when we’re packaging donated pet food, and donation barrels and bins are spendy. With just a couple clicks, you can help stock our distribution and collection materials. You’re saving us valuable time and money, and hey…who doesn’t love finding an unexpected Amazon package on their doorstep?
5. The tried and true…donate funds.
Donations to The Colorado Pet Pantry are tax-deductible, as we are a fully credited 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Please consider signing up for scheduled monthly donations, as a small donation each month can be much easier on your budget than a big one every year, and scheduled donations allow us to better plan ours.
Does your company have a corporate matching program? If they’re not listed here, please ask your employer if they’d be interested in signing up.
6. Volunteer your time.
Volunteers are the heart and soul of CPP, and we’re always looking for help as we expand our service areas. Can you commit to at least three hours each month? We could use a hand at our pet food banks, with transporting donations and with showing your enthusiasm at fundraising events.
We’re also looking for natural-born leaders, willing to manage our growing number of food banks and the outstanding volunteers who step up to staff them.
If you have marketing, event or writing skills, your expertise can help us share our story and promote our fundraising efforts. You may even have mad skills we haven’t realized we need, so if you’re excited to make a difference and work with a great group of people, please reach out to us on our volunteer page!
7. Spread the word.
Do you like what you’ve read so far? Reach out to people who might share your enthusiasm. We’re always looking for new sites for food donation bins, and locations for food banks. You may know of a potential volunteer or donor, or you’ve just learned that a friend or acquaintance member is struggling to keep their family—their whole family—fed.
Thanks for learning about Colorado Pet Pantry!
Food pantries and nutrition programs go a long way to providing stability for our citizens and communities. It makes sense to help our pets, too, when we have so much research supporting the positive benefits animals have on our mental and physical health.
During the most stressful times in our lives, our pets provide stability and companionship. Please help give back by supporting Colorado Pet Pantry, and together we can keep pets out of shelters and at home with the people who love them.
