READ OUR PRESS RELEASES
Please scroll down to see the following media coverage of the Pikes Peak Pet Pantry, our work, and mission:
NEW 8/6/08- "More Pet Owners Seek Aid, Give Up Animals Due to Cost" as mentioned on National Geographic NewsNEW 7/26/08- "Pet food needed" as written in the Gazette newspaper
7/23/08- "Food assistance for pets" as mentioned on KOAA News Channels 5/30 at 5:00 pm
6/7/08- Article "Several Organizations can help local pet owners save money" as written in the Gazette newspaper
5/31/08 - Article "Pantry helps strapped owners keep their pets fed" as written in the Gazette newspaper
3/24/08 - "Pikes Peak Pet Pantry Reaches Milestone" as mentioned on KKTV News Channel 11
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8/06/08- More Pet Owners Seek Aid, Give Up Animals Due to Cost as mentioned on National Geographic News
Maryann Mott
for National Geographic News
August 6, 2008
More Pet Owners Seek Aid, Give Up Animals Due to Cost
Friends in Need
So far this year, Pikes Peak Pet Pantry in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has donated nearly three tons of cat and dog food to needy locals.
Darlene McCaslin, a self-described cat rescuer, started the pantry last September after noticing more people were considering giving up their pets due to finances.
Twice a week a steady flow of cars pulls up to the storage unit where the organization operates to load up on bags of food and kitty litter--no questions asked.
"We give help to anyone who needs it," said McCaslin, who has helped individuals in seven other states start their own pet pantries.
To view the whole article, please go HERE.
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7/26/08- Pet food needed as mentioned in the Gazette newspaper article "Learn new tricks to train Fido"
July 25, 2008 - 10:42PM
BY CAROL MCGRAW (carol.mcgraw@gazette.com) 636-0371
THE GAZETTE
Pet food needed
The [Pikes Peak] Pet Pantry has doubled the amount of donated food it is providing for hungry animals and still can't keep up with the demand, says President Darlene McCaslin.
In the past three months, the group has provided nearly 2,400 pounds of pet food, 400 pounds more than during the previous six months.
"We are having to ration some pet food, especially dry cat food, because need is outpacing donations," she said.
The organization provides free food on an interim basis to pet owners. It is thought to be the only local group devoted solely to offering temporary petfeeding assistance.
For information on where to drop off donations or how to obtain food, call 217-9528 or visit www.pikespeakpetpantry.org.
To view the rest of the article, please go HERE.
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7/23/08- "Food assistance for pets" as mentioned on KOAA News Channels 5/30 at 5:00 pm
Food assistance for petsStory By: Rachel Hoffenberg
Source: KOAA
Colorado Springs
A new organization in Colorado Springs is trying to help pet owners who are struggling financially by feeding their animals.
The Pikes Peak Pet Pantry provides temporary food assistance to families who qualify. One of the pets they are helping this month is Little-Bit. She's half basset hound, half black lab.
Little-Bit's owner, Stacy Capra, says she rescued her. This month [they] have run into some financial difficulties and can't afford to feed her. "It's very difficult. And you don't want to give your pet up for something as ridiculous as not being able to afford the food that month."
The Pikes Peak Pet Pantry began last September. Since then, they've distributed about 4500 pounds of food to animals in the area.
If you'd like information about how to get help from the pet pantry or you'd like to donate, click here.
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6/7/08- Article "Several Organizations can help local pet owners save money" as written in the Gazette and on AARP Bulletin Today
June 6, 2008 - 9:07PMBY CAROL MCGRAW (carol.mcgraw@gazette.com) 636-0371
THE GAZETTE
Last Saturday, we ran a story about how pet owners can take the economic sting out of caring for their pets. Here are more ideas.
It's worth mentioning again the work that the Pikes Peak Pet Pantry is doing to keep needy animals well-fed:
Pikes Peak Pet Pantry: Temporary emergency food for dogs and cats. Call 217-9528, or visit pikespeakpetpantry .org. To donate, drop off pet food at: SecurCare Self-Storage, 4729 Astrozon Blvd., 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Healthy Pets Animal Hospital, 5195 Fontaine Blvd., Suite 4, Fountain, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays; or St. Francis Animal Hospital, 8834 N. Union, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.
To view the rest of the article and the other organizations mentioned, please go HERE.
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5/31/08 - Article "Pantry helps strapped owners keep their pets fed" as written in the Gazette and on gazette.com
Pantry helps strapped owners keep their pets fed
Local woman began nonprofit so Fluffy, Fido won't go hungry
May 30, 2008 - 9:34PM
BY CAROL MCGRAW (carol.mcgraw@gazette.com) 636-0371
THE GAZETTE
Sky Estrada, who has been out of work for six months, is burning up a lot of gasoline in unsuccessful job hunts. She fears she might eventually lose her house. But it's her three big dogs, Lulu, Pinkie and Sadie, that she's really worried about.
"My dogs are my kids - the love of my life. I used to be able to buy them treats," she says, tears welling in her eyes. She says she would buy food for them instead of herself.
"I can eat noodles; they need protein."
But then she heard about Pikes Peak Pet Pantry, a new nonprofit organization that aims to keep local animals from going hungry. Estrada recently got 40 pounds of dog food at the pantry.
"This program is a blessing. My kids can eat," she says.
More and more pet owners in these hard economic times are finding themselves in the shoes of the proverbial old Mother Hubbard - finding it difficult to fill their cupboard with bones and kibble.
Darlene McCaslin, who has done cat-rescue work, opened the Pet Pantry in January after realizing just how many animals were becoming victims of the economy. She's distributed more than 3,100 pounds of food but says she has put only a dent in the need.
A few charitable groups sometimes have a bit of animal food available, but Pikes Peak Pet Pantry is thought to be the only local group devoted solely to offering temporary pet-feeding assistance.
"With everything increasing in prices, including pet food, it's apparent that animals aren't getting the food they need," McCaslin said.
When Andrea Gaugler's fiance was laid off from his construction job, they were able to get help from a food pantry. But feeding the family dogs, Rain, Kali and Sugar, twice a day was another story.
The money she receives from working part time is gobbled up by the rising cost of food and gasoline for her commute from Monument to Colorado Springs. She heard about the Pet Pantry when she was getting food for her family at Manna Ministries.
On a recent afternoon at Pikes Peak Pet Pantry she received about 50 pounds of food for her dogs - a bull mastiff and two Labrador retrievers.
"This helps so much. If not for this to help to get us through, I would have had to get rid of the dogs," Gaugler says.
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3/24/08 - "Pikes Peak Pet Pantry Reaches Milestone" as mentioned on KKTV Channel News 11
Pikes Peak Pet Pantry Reaches Milestone
Posted: 3:10 PM Mar 24, 2008
Last Updated: 3:10 PM Mar 24, 2008
Reporter: Frances Algeo
Email Address: falgeo@kktv11news.com
What started as an online community is now celebrating a milestone.
Since September 2007, The Pikes Peak Pet Pantry, located in Colorado Springs, has given out 2,097 pounds of dog and cat food to pet owners needing temporary assistance.
The Pantry started when the founder asked an online community for some dog food to help a person feed their dog.
Donations from other pet owners are what fill the shelves of the Pantry.
If you are interested in helping the Pikes Peak Pet Pantry or would like more information, see the Pikes Peak Pet Pantry's website on the link below.
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