It’s that time of the year. It’s time for the eighth annual Sun newspapers’ “Deck the Paws and Help a Collie” holiday drive to aid area animal shelters and rescue groups.
And, again this year, we need your help. More specifically, the animals in the shelters need your help.
This year, the drive will run from the week of Nov. 28 through Dec. 16.
As mentioned, we started this effort way back in 2004. That year, we had only a few drop spots, and we collected a couple of carloads of supplies.
All of that has changed. In recent years, we have had 20–30 drop spots and have been able to deliver about 25–30 carloads of supplies to the shelters every holiday season.
The animals in these shelters are in a tough spot. Our goal always has been to lighten the burden shelters and rescue groups have to keep the animals fed and comfortable. When the shelters receive basics, such as food, blankets and litter, they save money. That’s money that can go toward helping to find animals a permanent home.
Want to help? Here’s how it all works:
Right now, we need to build a list of drop spots. We need places where people can go to drop off food, cat litter, cleaning supplies and everything else our local animal shelters need. If you don’t mind people showing up at your door and dropping 40-pound bags of dog food on your floor, we need to hear from you.
In a couple of weeks, we will publish a list of drop spots in our newspapers and online. People then will read the list, gather supplies and take them to a drop spot.
After that, the supplies are picked up and taken to a shelter.
It all starts with the drop spots. The more spots we have, the more supplies we collect. More drop spots mean a brighter holiday season for shelter animals.
If you want to be a drop spot, or if you have questions, please send an email to [email protected]. Please put “Animal Shelter Drive” in the subject line.
