Humane Society pet food bank keeps cats together with families

Maxed out on cats, the Humane Society of Sandusky County has received a new pet food bank grant that helps keep pets with their families.
The food bank has been available for years, but this is the first time it has had grant funding. Popular in larger cities, like Toledo, pet food banks are rare in smaller communities.
Shelter Manager Sara Armbruster said the $5,600 grant from the Sandusky County Community Foundation is “to make it more well-known.”
They’ve also been able to buy more pet food.
“It’s not for our pets here. It’s for people out there who need help with their animals,” Armbruster said.
Their goal was to get the word out about the grants before temperatures got too cold.
The shelter has a trap, spay and neuter program, but that’s not enough to keep the population down. There was a huge increase in pets during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now some are unwanted or people simply can’t afford to keep their pets.
The shelter is now overloaded with cats — 180 of them at the shelter and 266 more on the waitlist.
“Unfortunately, it’s a nationwide issue. Almost all the other Humane Societies and rescues around us are fully packed,” Armbruster said. “There’s a shortage of veterinarians, so people can’t take their animals to vets, with months-long waitlists, and everything is so expensive. This year alone, we have way more owner surrenders than we do strays because they can no longer afford their pet.”
“That being said, we have the animal food bank, where we can provide cat food to people in our community, and dog food,” Armbruster said. “We don’t want to break up a family. If that’s what’s keeping them together, we want to do anything we can to help, and that’s one way we can.”
Hard times also affect pets
A sad resignation is obvious as she explains the situation.
“With the economy being the way it is, we used to take in a lot more strays, but right now, the owner surrenders. It’s just a lot,” Armbruster said. “We’re actually going to be publicizing it more. We’re making flyers and taking them to the homeless shelters and other places where they may have animals that need help — even the police department.”
At the front desk just after the entrance is Julie Bliss’s desk. All the cool cats know her because she’s the one with the treats.
Bliss buys cat treats with her own money and everyone loves it when she feeds the cats.
“They just come running like a Jumanji herd. It’s so cute,” Armbruster said.
The shelter has nine cat rooms. Room No. 1 is for kittens, but otherwise, the cats are grouped together by personality.
“Room No. 2, that’s a very chill room. It’s a very happy-go-lucky group,” Bliss said affectionately.
All the cats have names. If a cat doesn’t have a name when it’s dropped off, the workers give it a name. Each one also gets played with; otherwise, they wouldn’t know the cat’s personality.
“Since it’s getting cold, that’s the hardest time,” Bliss said.
She’s been yelled at when she tells people that they are maxed out with cats.
Bliss pointed out that cats can have three litters per year, with up to six kittens per litter.
Pet food bank keeps pets with owners
“They blame you. It gets hard sometimes. There is a limit to the number of animals we can take in. But when it gets stressful, we just go play with some cats,” Bliss said.
Ultimately, Bliss and Armbruster agree that they just need to have more cats adopted.
Armbruster notes that they always try to take in the sick and the injured. And it’s not just cats; the shelter also cares for dogs and, occasionally, other pets. She said that they’ve had a ferret and other “pocket pets” like guinea pigs and birds.
There is a more complex process for helping the other pets, even dogs. For example, they are not well equipped for large dogs, but try to find ways to work with their adoptions.
The food bank has an application process. Those who might need the service should call ahead to get the form.
The Humane Society of Sandusky County is located at 1315 N. River Road in Fremont. It can also be found online at www.humanesanduskyco.org and on Facebook.
419-332-2674
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