Furry Friends building a pet food bank

Not all pets in need are homeless: some just need a helping paw.

Furry Friends Foundation offers pet food assistance and spay/neuter sponsorships.

"Sometimes a pet-owner only needs a few weeks of food to assure their pets can stay with the family," says Furry Friends founder Kiki Dolson.

Best-known for its annual holiday pet-food drive, Furry Friends is currently building a pet-food bank to assist pets in need year-round. The food is distributed primarily in cooperation with the Sisters Kiwanis Food Bank.

In March of 2012 Furry Friends became a 501(c)(3) organization known formally as Furry Friends Foundation, Inc. Its mission is to operate a year-round pet-food bank in Sisters, offer spay/neuter sponsorships to low-income families, and limited medical-cost assistance for pets on an emergency basis.

"We were thrilled to finally receive our nonprofit status. After 19 years of holiday food drives, it is the next step to making sure pets in Sisters don't go hungry," said Dolson.

According to the ASPCA website, approximately 5 million to seven million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, and approximately three million to four million are euthanized (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats). That number is staggering. "We want to make sure pets in Sisters have the opportunity to be spayed or neutered," related Dolson.

Contributions to Furry Friends are tax-deductible. Cash donations are best because they allow targeted purchases of needed food and as a nonprofit Furry Friends has purchasing power that exceeds that of individual donors. To donate visit the Furry Friends newly launched website at www.furryfriendsfoundation.org.

Sisters area pet owners are invited to share photos of their pets for the online photo gallery, www.furryfriendsfoundation.org/photos.html.

Email photos with pet's and owner's names to [email protected]