It’s August: Give A Dog A Bone!
This week (August 7 through 13th) marks the 13th annual “Give a Dog a Bone Week” event arranged by Feeding Pets of the Homeless. The nonprofit has been raising both awareness and pet food for the unhoused for the past 15 years.
Feeding Pets founder and president Genevieve Frederick says it all began in New York City in 2006. “I saw a gentleman with a dog on the street and, it’s not like I hadn’t seen homeless people before but for a lot of people the homeless are invisible. What caught my eye was the dog. And I couldn’t get my head wrapped around how he was able to take care of his dog when he could barely take care of himself.”
Frederick asked around, calling homeless advocacy groups. No one knew how many of the unhoused have pets. Five percent? Ten?
“So I contacted my own veterinarian [in Carson City, Nevada] and I said, ‘What if we were able to put a donation bin in your hospital? All of that pet food that you could get from your clients would then be taken to our local food bank where it would be distributed to the homeless and to people that can’t afford pet food.’ And he said, ‘Yes this’ll work.’ So that’s how it all started. His hospital became the first donation site across the country.”
Frederick’s idea caught on. Soon Feeding Pets had more than 450 donation spots. “At one time we had donation sites in every state and every large city across the country.” But then, a pandemic happened. “Covid just devastated us, as it did a lot of businesses, so now we’re down to just over 200 donation sites.”
Give A Dog A Bone Week is one way to ramp up enrollment again. “So we're reaching out to individuals. ‘Hey, would you like to collect some pet food for just this one week, in your own neighborhood and take it to a local food bank where it can be distributed?’”
Normally one would consult Feeding Pets (petsofthehomeless.org) to find pet-food donation sites in your area. During Give a Dog a Bone Week, you can arrange to have your own donation spot set up with a local business that agrees to receive pet food and supplies.
Why August? “People have a tendency to give during the holidays but they need to know that this pet food is needed year round. Yeah it’s nice to give a turkey to a family but we need to be a year round organization. So that’s why I picked the middle of the year in August and we’ve been doing it ever since.”
As it happens, the donations are not only for the homeless. A lot of the pet food ends up at food banks where the needy, homeless or not, can get relief for their pets. To date the organization has collected and distributed over 874 tons of food. “So that’s why we do this, so that animals out there can get nutritious food instead of, say, a dollar hamburger.”
Visit the website to donate. If you’re game to Give A Dog A Bone, register and grab some downloadable graphics and other information to bolster the effort. While you’re there, check out the News & Blog section to hear stories from the unhoused themselves, who share “things they wish others knew” about being homeless, especially about life on the streets with a pet.
Photo credit: Feeding Pets of the Homeless
