Thousands of Pounds of Critical Supplies to be Made Available this Saturday as Missed Paychecks Mean both Pets and People are Vulnerable
BOSTON, Methuen and Centerville, Mass. Jan. 17, 2019 – With thousands of federal government employees in Massachusetts not receiving pay as a result of the government shutdown, the MSPCA-Angell is stepping in with food relief so that pets do not go hungry.
The MSPCA plans to distribute thousands of pounds of dog and cat food to furloughed workers beginning Saturday, Jan. 19. The organization also has hundreds of pounds of litter available for distribution as needed.
“The best data we have indicates that about 8,000 federal workers in our state are either furloughed or working without pay and we know many people live paycheck to paycheck,” said Mike Keiley, director of adoption centers and programs at the MSPCA-Angell. “We want to be able to support pet owners in need of help during such a stressful time and we hope this offer of food assistance alleviates at least some of their concerns.”
Furloughed government employees can come to any of the MSPCA’s three animal care and adoption centers in Jamaica Plain, Methuen and Centerville on Cape Cod between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. this Saturday. “We’re offering one free bag of Hill’s® Science Diet® brand dog and one bag of cat food plus a 17-lb bag of cat litter to all who need it,” added Keiley.
The MSPCA also has food for farm animals and small pets such as birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and more available for distribution as needed.
The only requirement is identification validating recipients’ employment with the federal government.
Keiley and his team worry that many more pets will be impacted, and the demand for more food will grow, if the shutdown continues much longer. “There’s no way to know how long this kind of support will be needed but we’ll do our best to continue helping our community with additional food distributions if we need to.”
For hours and locations of MSPCA-Angell adoption centers closest to them readers can visit www.mspca.org. Anyone in need of food who cannot come on Saturday can email adoption@mspca.org to make arrangements for pick-up.
“And anyone who wishes to donate unopened packages of dry and wet dog and cat food is welcome to and we’ll ensure that food gets into the bowls of the pets who need it most,” said Keiley.
