Saturday, January 12, 2019 ~ VICTORIA & WEST SHORE.
~ West Shore Voice News
The SAFARS animal rights group has launched a major new’s year pet food drive, running January 10 to 25 in the Greater Victoria area.
There are five drop-off locations where you can take your donations of pet food, collars, leashes, warm impermeable winter coats, dog houses and other pet supplies.
- Three locations are in Victoria: Charmaine’s Past and Present furniture store at 1083 Fort Street; Creature Pets Stores downtown at Blanshard and Bay; and Paws on Cook on Cook Street in James Bay.
- In Saanich the location is Mr. Pet’s in the Tillicum Mall.
- In Sooke the drop-off location is Wiskers & Waggs store on West Coast Road.
The pet food drive is in memory of Cody, a golden lab who greeted customers on the street outside Charmaine’s Past and Present at 1083 Fort Street in Victoria, for many years.
“During the last seven years we have been reliably delivering pet food, collars, leashes, warm impermeable winter coats, dog houses, and some medical care to the street community pets,” says SAFARS president Margarita Dominguez.
“We have also sponsored Our Place Society from 2012 to 2014, the Victoria Cool Aid’s Rock Bay landing, and Mount Edwards, and Salvation Army’s Stan Haggen Center for Families from 2015 to 2017 and the Namegan tent city in 2017. After so many years working with the homeless our project, the Boneless Project, became very known among the street community and nowadays those in need text us directly when they need help.
At the beginning of 2017, SAFARS started a new program called the S.O.S program for chained dogs. “We have seen a wonderful improvement in the lives from the owners of these poor animals who are condemned to a chain for the rest of their lives. We provide houses, runs (two post with a tied up metal cord) bowls, collars, sawdust to prevent them of living on the mud, bones, toys, and much more. We drive long distances to remote rural areas to help them.”
Two major things have impacted the level of donations to SAFARS in the last two years. People have only so much to give, and donations have been going to pets of people who suffered in summer wildfires, which deflects donations from going to pets in low-income and homeless people in Greater Victoria.
As well, Margarita says: “The pet food producers and the pet food stores’ policy of throwing the pet food out instead of donating it, has caused our food supply to be reduced to a few bags per month. We aim to usually deliver 1,200 lbs/544 kg of dog kibble and 170 cans for dogs per month and we are really struggling.”
In addition, SAFARS assists 20 disabled and low-income elder individuals door-to-door with kibble and canned food on a regular basis. The volunteer-run group also provides a feral cat rescue and rehabilitation center where they feed seven cat colonies, and deliver almost the same amount to volunteers; all that totals 348 lbs/160 kg of kibble and 200 lbs of canned food.
SAFARS is also known as the Victoria Pet Food Bank & Cat Rescue Society. Why has the group’s name changed over time? “Every time we extended our pet food back to a new area we tried to reach donors. As well, we have decided to not be a charity anymore because the Canada Revenue Agency does not allow charities to try to advocate for changes in the law, and we do.”
For more info: https://www.facebook.com/bonelessproject and www.safars.org