WINDSOR — —
It's been a year since Debbie Sansom and a group of volunteers started a pet food pantry to help dog and cat owners struggling with the cost of keeping their pets fed.
And in that year two things have surprised Sansom the most: How many people are in need and how many people have stepped up to help.
"I'm totally blown away," Sansom said Monday as she looked back on the past year.
Sansom said her group, The Friends of Windsor Animal Care & Control, is now serving 110 pets and 52 local families, providing cat food and litter, dog food and other pet care supplies that help them keep their pets healthy and home.
In order to do that the group has relied on corporate support, including receiving supplies from Pet Supply Plus, which has its corporate headquarters in Bloomfield, Kibble-N-Stuff in Windsor Locks and The Stop & Shop on Kennedy Road, where the group held it's first pet food collection a year ago.
"Stop & Shop has gone above and beyond," Samson said referring to the Dog House, a permanent collection area where shoppers can drop off donations.
"It's filled every two weeks," Samson said, adding that it isn't unusual for strangers to walk up and hand her or one of the group's half-dozen volunteers a fifty dollar bill at a food collection event.
The group will also be holding an anniversary celebration and food drive at Stop & Shop Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature free hot dogs, beverages and ice cream, face painting for kids and a raffle of nearly two dozen gift cards donated by local businesses
Bill Davis, owner of Kibble-N-Stuff and a Windsor resident, said Monday that the group is doing a good thing by providing assistance to pets and their families.
"There's a lot of rescues but they're helping people keep pets in their own homes," Davis said.
Samson said a key to the pantry's success has been maintaining confidentiality for its clients and respecting their privacy.
"All we require is a Windsor address," she said. "If they call they are looking out for their animals."
As for the future, she said they hope to add rabies vaccinations and educational programming in local schools, as well as continuing to grow corporate and community support so they can help even more families keep their pets.
"We want to continue to be able to stand by Windsor's pets," Samson said.
For information about the pet food pantry, call 860-249-9463, or email friendsofwindsoranimal@yahoo.com