Annual Food for Furry Friends Drive set for Dec. 16

The world will never be perfect. Rather than trying to make it perfect, small and continued efforts toward improvement can be made each day to help make the world just a little bit better than it was yesterday.

There will always be hungry animals in the world. However, through the dedicated efforts of the Adams County Pet Rescue (ACPR), there are fewer.

To aid the ACPR in making the lives of local animals just a little bit brighter this holiday season, the annual Food for Furry Friends Drive will be held Saturday, Dec. 16.

Community members and Broncos fans are encouraged to bring donations of bagged or canned dog or cat food to the Gilson Gymnasium, where the Broncos basketball teams will be playing the Colfax Bulldogs.

Junior varsity games will begin at 1:30 p.m., with varsity to follow at 4:30 p.m.

This year, even more than in years past, ACPR is in urgent need of donations. A representative from ACPR explained, “We are in dire need of kitten chow.”

Additionally, they report to be “getting very low” on canned cat and dog food, especially in the pté style.

Although the ACPR usually prefers donations of Kirkland Brand bagged foods (from Costco) to maintain consistency for the animals, drastically low supplies this year means any brand is greatly appreciated.

“We are low on all brands of dog food,” reported the ACPR.

Unfortunately, this is no surprise: the shelter goes through 40 pounds of dog food every other day, as well as puppy chow and small dog kibble every three days.

“For the first time in a long time,” the ACPR representative continued, “our Dog Food Bank is almost cleaned out, so any brand of dog chow is welcome.”

All types of donations make an impact, however, “kitten chow and kitten milk replacer is needed the most.”

Other needed supplies include dog chew toys, such as rawhides and beef bones.

Residents who want to support a local business while buying pet food and supplies for donation are encouraged to utilize the discount coupon for Bronco Farm Supply, which was published in the Nov. 30 edition of The Journal.

For those who want to contribute financially to ACPR, homemade chocolate chip cookies will be sold at the Gilson Gymnasium concession stand during the games, at a rate of two cookies for $1. All profits will benefit ACPR.

For those interested in helping ACPR outside of the Food for Furry Friends drive, volunteers can fill out a volunteer form available at the ACPR headquarters in Othello.

The ACPR is one of many shelters to help take care of the 6.5 million companion animals that enter United States animal shelters annually.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reports 3.2 million of those animals are adopted. As a non-euthanasia shelter, ACPR works diligently to provide for local animals until they find forever homes.

This holiday season especially, ACPR both needs and deserves the help of others.

All community members are encouraged to help ACPR and bring donations of cat or dog food to Gilson Gymnasium on Dec. 16.

By ACPR and the furry friends being fed, all donations are greatly appreciated.