New Kamloops pet food bank feeds community need

Kamloops' Bonnie McBride wants to make sure that all pets in the city get the kind of care they deserve.

That's why in September of 2016, she started up the Four Paws Food Bank in Kamloops with the support of the local SPCA.

Her goalis to help provide food and other pet essentials to people who might not necessarily have the ability to pay for what they need.

'Make all the homes good'

For years, she volunteered at the SPCA in Kamloops and saw how many pets are surrendered to the shelters and reasons that people are sometimes forced to give them up.

McBride realized that a food bank for pets was one of the best ways to provide people with the supports they need to be able to keep the animal.

"It's really important that we help people be the best pet owners they can possibly be," she said.

"There's never going to be enough good homes," she said.

"We need to make all the homes good."

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Overnight fostering also available

On Tuesday evenings, McBride spends her time down at the Salvation Army Mobile Kitchen. It's there that she hands out pet food along with other pet supplies from the back of her vehicle.She typically sees between three and 12 people who stop by for a handout.

"We'll talk with people about what they need, if they're having some difficulties," she said.

She also tries to connect people with other community services. One of the waysshe's trying to do thatis by providing a fostering service. This allows people who own a pet to stayovernight at a shelter where animals are not allowed.

McBride has recruited volunteers from the community to help provide places for the pets to be billeted. Each volunteer is provided with a crate, food and a leash for the animal they take in.

"When [shelters]don't allow dogs, that's a terrible stress on the person who can't be with their dog," said volunteer Heidi Coleman.

"I know I'm giving a safe place to that dog and I want the person to have a good night sleep that night and know that their pet is taken care of."

Community responds to call for donations

Another way the community is stepping up to help is by providing donations to the food bank. McBride reached out on Facebook to ask for places for people to donate pet supplies and a number of businesses responded.

James Price runs the Kamloops pet daycare and exercise centre We Love Dogs. He saw the post and decided it would be an easy way to support pet owners in the community.

"We have so many rescue dogs of our own," said Price.

"There's so many people out there that can't always get their dogs exactly what they need at certain times."

Already, Price has seen lots of donations being dropped off at his location. He says one couple even dropped off six big bags of dog food.

"It's really cool to see everybody kind of give a helping hand like that."

McBride says she'dlove to see more people stepping up to volunteer or donate so the pet food bank can continue to grow in Kamloops.

With files from Daybreak Kamloops

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