The NWT SPCA says it’s offering low-cost dog food to people living in the territory’s smaller communities.
Samantha Laviolette, a staff member at the Yellowknife-based animal shelter, said the program began in response to “people telling us the prices were outrageous” for dog food in some parts of the NWT.
“We started to notice a pretty significant trend within the communities that folks were needing some support with pet food,” Laviolette said.
“Hearing some of the prices was shocking. We were basically relying on people within Yellowknife to donate dog food to us and we would ship that out. With the demand coming in, it just wasn’t enough.”
Through a grant from the Definity Insurance Foundation, which is associated with Petsecure pet insurance, the NWT SPCA is offering $30 bags of dog food – or, in some circumstances, six months of food for free.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Laviolette is also calling for anyone who can help to make a donation to the SPCA. Petsecure will match donations up to $5,000 “to help us really get this thing going,” she said.
If you’d like to receive subsidized dog food, call the shelter at 867-920-7722 any day after 4pm, Laviolette said, to assess your eligibility for one of two programs.
Families with pets can sign up for the spay-neuter program and receive six months of free dog food “to allow them to save up the funds” to spay or neuter their pet with the SPCA, she said. If a pet is already spayed or neutered or the family would prefer not to pursue that option, subsidized $30 bags of food will be available.
Even from the limited rollout so far, Laviolette said the program “feels like it’s already a success because of the response we’ve been getting.”
“Like, we’ve advertised in Délı̨nę but I’ve had people from Tulita calling because they’ve seen people posting on Facebook. So the word is getting around,” she said.
“We’re getting all these wonderful emails where people are super gracious and beyond excited, because it’s going to put them in such a better financial situation and allow them to keep their pets – which is what we want.”
