Hundreds of street dogs, former street dogs, and feral cats are benefitting from a recent donation of hundreds of pounds of food and other pet items, from Chewy.com. The pet products distributor recently opened a distribution center in Dallas, and last week they contacted Take Me Home Pet Rescue to help place usable products that had been damaged in shipping and couldn’t be sent to customers.
Vanessa Vandiver, of Take Me Home Pet Rescue, said they were thrilled to get the call. “They told us there were seven pallets of food and other items- we knew that could feed a lot of dogs and cats-- so we contacted our volunteers, rented a truck, organized a convoy of borrowed pick- ups, and headed out to load up,” she says.
Vanessa adds that the items are not out of date – they are mislabeled items, bags that may have been punctured or torn, or cans that were dented. “Our volunteers dropped everything to get there on Thursday, March 16, loading bags, cans and crates into our vehicles, with the help of the wonderful warehouse team at Chewy.com. We were able to get it distributed to rescue groups who needed it the next day.” Vanessa adds that the donations will be picked up from Chewy.com on a regular basis, and TMHPR will facilitate distribution to rescue organizations and individuals who need pet food.
The donated food was taken to volunteers with four different groups in South Dallas, all of whom work to feed and rescue the large population of street dogs and feral cats that live in the neighborhoods. A portion was also stored at Paul Quinn College for later use. The college is located in South Dallas and has been an advocate to solve the South Dallas street dog problem.
Astro, a former street dog who is now available for adoption at Take Me Home Pet Rescue, went along for the St. Patrick’s Day delivery.
About Take Me Home Pet Rescue
Take Me Home Pet Rescue, located in Richardson, TX, is a 100% nonprofit organization committed to reducing homeless pet populations by vetting, fostering and placing dogs and cats in loving homes. Since 2008, TMHPR has rescued over 3500 dogs and cats. For the past several years, they have stepped up to take on some of the hardest cases—a mom dog raising puppies under a muddy shed; a small dog thrown from a bridge and left to die in a creek with broken legs; skeletal dogs foraging alongside busy streets -- these and more are dogs that have been abandoned in Dallas’ low- income Southern neighborhoods, left to starve, roam the streets, and produce more puppies.
TMHPR also pulls dogs from rural shelters with high euthanasia rates, and all rescued dogs and cats are sterilized, microchipped, and provided with necessary medical care before being adopted. Our rescued pets live in foster homes until adopted to experience the love of a family while waiting for their very own forever homes. Take Me Home Pet Rescue was founded by Elise Bissell, a former nurse at Parkland Hospital and founding member of the Richardson Animal Shelter's Advisory Commission. TMHPR also runs a store front Pet Adoption Center, which is a multipurpose office, used for isolation for incoming dogs and cats and a place to hold weekend adoption events. For more information, or to see adoptable pets, go to takemehomepetrescue.com