Christmas came early for pet owners on the Downtown Eastside today.
BC SPCA and Charlie’s Food Bank teamed up to hand out free gifts and advice to the low-income pet guardians on the Downtown Eastside.
The food bank has been operating on a weekly basis for the last 12 years, helping more than 5,000 pet owners a year.
It distributes pet food and sets up a free vet clinic for pets of Downtown Eastside residents.
“There are so many people on the DTES that have a lot of challenges in their lives, but are just wonderful pet guardians,” says BC SPCA spokesperson Lorie Chortyk. “They will go without food themselves rather than have their pet go without it. But they just don’t have the resources.”
Chortyk says people usually want information and advice on how to take care of their pets, but the most pressing need is pet food.
“These people are living on very fixed incomes. What they get barely covers feeding themselves.”
Chortyk says they are always looking for financial donations around this time of year, but are in bad need of wet pet food right now.
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