Mary Douglas, community outreach chair for Lincoln Animal Ambassadors, stands with her dog at the warehouse where donations from the group's pet food bank are stored. Photo: Christina DeVries, NewsNetNebraska
When Mary Douglas tells her favorite story - that of an older man struggling to feed his Doberman after his unemployment checks stopped coming - she can't hold back the tears.
"It was very touching because he said, ‘My kids are gone and he's my son,'" Douglas said. "That's when you're like, ‘Alright, let me get you some food.'"
Colorful moments like these have become commonplace for Douglas. As the community outreach coordinator for the Lincoln Animal Ambassadors, she has supervised the organization's creation of a new kind of food bank - one catering specifically to furry friends with financially stressed owners.
Since the bank's inception in September, an estimated 2,300 pounds of food have been distributed to individual pet owners and no-kill animal rescue organizations.
No-kill animal shelters -- with high veterinary and maintenance costs and dependence on donations - can especially feel the financial crunch. And shelters like The Cat House are stretched further during a recession, said board member Alma Vlasak.
But that's where a partner organization comes in.
The Lincoln Animal Ambassador's food bank recently donated a "substantial" amount of kitten food to The Cat House, Vlasak said, "which we really needed because of the number of kittens we work with."
Such collaborative efforts are nothing new for the Lincoln's animal advocacy community, which frequently pools resources and labor.
Molly Hoffmann, president of the Lincoln Animal Ambassadors, calls such cooperative interactions "eclectic."
Volunteer Alma Vlasak shows off a homemade cat bed The Cat House sells to raise money for the non-profit organization. Photo: Christina DeVries, NewsNetNebraska
"That's the cool thing about animal rescue - it shouldn't be competitive," she said. "It should be one group working together. There's no money in it. It's all about helping the animals."
One organization, the Coalition for Pet Protection, mirrors the work of the Lincoln Animal Ambassadors. According to member Wilda Lyons, the group established a pet food bank since 1992, when Lyons and her husband began soliciting donations from factories across Nebraska.
The main focus of the coalition, though, is providing free or low-cost spay and neuter programs. Lyons and others see owners' lack of responsibility as the "root of many problems" they work to solve, such as overpopulation.
Lyons says that while the cooperative efforts between the organizations are helpful, it would be better if there was "one big group" of animal advocates because it might mean a more efficient use of limited resources.
Nonetheless, many of Lincoln's animal advocates are still united by the need to help people and pets -- despite recessions, tough emotions and "never-ending" overcrowding that can lead to euthanasia.
Douglas said the food bank does more for struggling pet owners than just keeping pets fed.
"These people need the animals in their lives," she said. "They're their family."
Lincoln Animal Ambassadors started collecting dog and cat food for a pet food bank this past summer. Volunteers come to the warehouse to pick up food and then deliver it to individual homes. Photo: Christina DeVries, NewsNetNebraska
Click here to listen to Andrew Mach's radio report on UNL efforts to control and manage the university's feral cat population.
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