Weston Gives Back: Club hosts drive to aid pet owners impacted by food insecurity

As a dog trainer at the Charles River Dog Training Club in Weston and the owner of three dogs herself, Penny Shultz understands just how expensive owning a pet can be.

“I think some people would say that dog ownership, pet ownership, is a luxury item for a lot of people,” Shultz said. “We understand that right now people are struggling just to feed themselves and keep [their] homes.”

In an effort to help people struggling with the expense of pet ownership, she and club members are currently hosting a pet food drive at the Weston Community Center, where the club meets.

Alyssa Krieger, director of community outreach at The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said when families are food insecure, pets are also food insecure.

Countless people will use their last $2 to buy pet food rather than paying for groceries or electricity, she said.

To assist, the MSPCA distributes about 275,000 pet meals per month for those in need.

“We want to make sure that people have enough pet food so that they are not having to make hard choices about their own care,” Krieger said. “What we hear from folks as we are giving out that food is that this is a major lifeline for them. They would be making hard decisions without this.”

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When people come to the MSPCA because they can’t afford to buy food or care for their pets, the MSPCA offers solutions, rather than having people surrender their pets.

“We would happily give people pet food [and] make sure they have the supplies or the medical care that they need,” Krieger said.

All the pet food the MSPCA gives away is obtained through donations – either monetary or in-kind purchases.

Shultz hopes pet food drives like theirs will help.

“We want to do whatever we can do in order to help people keep their pets in their houses because we also understand, being dog owners ourselves, just how important people’s pets are to them and how people consider their pets to be family,” Shultz said. “If there is something we can do to help people hold onto their pets, we’re going to do what we can in order to help those people out.”

Krieger could not agree more.

“We just believe that pet ownership is not a privilege for the wealthy. It has so many documented benefits – mental health, physical health benefits – we want to make sure that everybody who wants that can have it. So that is why we do our best to step up and make sure that people can if they want to,” she said.

Donation boxes for the Charles River Dog Training Club pet food drive are set up in the lobby at the Weston Community Center until Dec. 18. Donations of unopened, unexpired pet food can be dropped off at 20 Alphabet Lane, Weston, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or whenever the center is open.

Food for all types of pets will be accepted.

“People are hurting and they’re having enough trouble feeding themselves, much less their pets, so please be generous,” Shultz said. “I’m sure we all understand just how important our pets are to us and whether you give or not might be the difference between someone being able to keep their pet and not keep their pet.”

The MSPCA is also hosting a food distribution day from 2 to 6 p.m. Dec. 2, at Franklin Park, on Pierpont Road, in Boston.

“Anyone who is struggling this holiday season is welcome to stop by. We want to make sure that everybody has what they need,” Krieger said.

How you can help

For a list of area food pantries that offer pet food visit

mspca.org/animal_protection/massachusetts-food-pantries/.

For information about the Charles River Dog Training Club visit crdtc.org.