Many donors help ‘Furry Friends’

The “Furry Friends” of the Sisters community will have a happy holiday season thanks to donations of food and pet toys from the Sisters community and beyond.

“It really is amazing to see it all come together and the trailer is full of over 150 large bags of dry pet food and 100-plus Ray’s paper grocery bags full of pet treats and toys,” said organizer Kiki Dolson.

Steve Mills from American Nutrition made sure a donation of AttaBoy pet food arrived on time. The donation increased by 1,000 pounds to 2,000 pounds this year.

“We were relieved to see the three large boxes — shipped December 7 — arrive from Hartz on Friday,” Dolson said. “But when we opened them and saw all the squeaky toys, cat treats, dog chews and hundreds of other pet supplies we were thrilled. What a generous donation from Hartz.”

Jeff McDonald of Ray’s, a great supporter of Furry Friends, deserves the credit for making the contact with Sherry Mason, regional division director with Hartz, Dolson noted.

These two donations help make it possible to give away 20 spay/neuter certificates through the Bend Spay & Neuter Project this year.

“We look forward to expanding the spay/neuter certificate program next year,” Dolson said.

From the small boxes of cat kibbles to the large bags of dog food, hundreds of donations all helped provide food and treats to the 289 animals this year. Animals included 169 cats and kittens, 111 dogs and puppies, three birds, one senior horse and five rabbits.

“Erin Deggendorfer of Fast Creek Productions totally organized a successful pet-photo-with-Santa fund-raiser,” Dolson said. “Central Oregon Humane Society donated back their portion to raise $250 for Furry Friends. Our friends down at Sisters Feed collected many bags of food this year, adding the convenience of delivery to Furry Friends. Sisters Veterinary Clinic donated cases of pet food samples that are great for the treat bags.”

Furry Friends distributes to families in the Sisters area through the Sisters Kiwanis Christmas Food Share program and the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District Toy Drive.