Cat and dog parents who are struggling financially or are homeless can find a little extra help this Sunday.
The New Westminster Community Pet Outreach will be happening in Moody Park near the off-leash area. There will be a pet food bank, supplies and equipment, grooming, training advice and other help and tips from local animal caregivers and trainers. Local animal shelters, pet supply stores, groomers and trainers are putting on the event.
Margie Fox with the New Westminster Animal Services says the local groups hope to help animals in the community that are in need.
“The goal is to provide resources to people in New Westminster, pet parents, who may just be temporarily struggling to make ends meet, or perhaps they are homeless, they are on fixed income or no income,” she said. “We just want to set them up with some resources.”
She said it’s heartwarming to see how people and their pets are connected.
“All different types of people from all different walks of life connect with animals and have companion animals … I’m sure it’s just as important to someone who doesn’t have a home, maybe more-so. We don’t want to see animals go hungry, we want to see them have good sources of food, we want to see them get good veterinary care … we want to see them have clean litter boxes.”
On-leash dogs are welcome to come for free grooming, but you don’t need to bring your dog or cat to schedule an appointment for veterinary help.
Royal City Paws Pet Clinic will be offering nail trimming, grooming and ear cleaning on site. Bosley’s by Pet Valu will be donating cat litter and pet food for the event. Mutt & Moggy Training and Pet Care and Mindful Mutts will be offering some dog and cat training tips to help owners address problem behaviours. Royal City Humane Society will be there to help with the food bank and will be available to talk to pet parents that might need to set up future veterinary appointments, and to help fill out forms for financial assistance. Other organizations are also helping out.
New Westminster Animal Services will be collecting donations for their community outreach fund to help pets that might need more extensive care.
