Your Donations Make a Difference

When most people think of a pet food pantry, they picture families struggling to feed their own pets. While we certainly help families in need, they're actually not the majority of the people who come to our pantry.

What many people don't realize is that much of the food we distribute goes to the dedicated individuals who care for Delaware County's outdoor stray and feral cats. These dedicated people know that these cats didn't choose to be homeless. They were dumped, abandoned, left behind when someone moved, or simply put outside and never allowed back in. The reality is, these cats exist because people failed them—not because they chose this life. The overpopulation of stray pets is not an animal problem. It's a people problem.

The people feeding them are volunteers, rescuers, and trappers who spend countless hours—and often their own money—making sure these cats don't go hungry while working to have them spayed, neutered, and receive the veterinary care they need.

Every bag of food, every can of food, and every donation helps support those efforts. It helps feed cats that have no one else looking out for them, supports the people doing the hard work on the front lines, and helps reduce the stray population through prevention instead of waiting until there's a crisis.

 

Should Delco Have a Community Cat Carrier Lending Program?

At Delco Loves Animals, we're always looking for practical ways to help pets and the people who care for them. Thanks to generous donations, we now have several extra cat carriers available—and it sparked an idea. What if we created a Community Cat Carrier Lending Program? Before moving forward, we'd love to hear from you. Is this something Delaware County would benefit from? How should we handle deposits or returns? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Answer the Call for Local Pets: June Donations & Volunteers Needed

Do you enjoy taking photos and videos? The Pet Food Pantry could use your help!

Our pantry days get pretty busy between setting up, helping families, and chatting with everyone who stops by. Before we know it, the event is over and we realize we barely captured any photos or videos to share on Facebook!

If you'd be willing to snap some pictures or take a few short videos at one or more of our pet food pantries, we'd love to hear from you. Your photos help us share our mission, thank our supporters, and show the impact we're making together.

Please contact Rich and Lisa at delcolovesanimals@gmail.com if you're interested. Thanks for helping us tell the story of the pets and people we serve! ❤️🐾

A Community Crisis Deserves Official Action - Joyner's Furr-eedom Rescue Tries to Help

Her name is Amanda and her rescue is called Joyner’s Furr-eedom Rescue. Amanda recently received a Pennsylvania stray-hold license, which means she is legally allowed to take in stray animals.

A lot of people still don’t realize that Delaware County has no SPCA, and that Providence Animal Center, a well-run organization, is not a stray intake facility — they only accept owner surrenders. Meanwhile, the stray animal over-population crisis continues to grow, especially in Chester City.

Right now, Amanda is willing to step up and help Chester City at no charge and be part of the solution. But this cannot happen without leadership, cooperation, and elected officials willing to work with the people trying to make a difference.

Mayor Stefan Roots, I don’t know if you remember, but over a year ago I met you while you were sitting your SUV (if I remember correctly) in the parking lot of Chester City Hall. I noticed you were in the Mayor’s assigned parking spot so I assumed you were the mayor. I introduced myself and explained our mission. I handed you a flyer about our mission. You said you would pass it on to the right person. I was appreciative. But I never heard anything more; not from you, not from anyone in Chester.

I truly hoped you would become part of the solution. Instead, the situation has continued to get worse.

Children are at risk. Adults are at risk. Animals are suffering every single day. Police officers are being put in heartbreaking situations where they are forced to shoot dogs. That should never be considered normal. There’s also talk about dog fighting rings - hearsay but not far-fetched. Are you aware?

After having a good conversation with Amanda, we came to the conclusion that we want to work together — along with Jules Clevenger and anyone else willing to help — to build an Animal Welfare Center for Delaware County. The pieces are starting to come together, but one major thing is still missing: a building.

Amanda is offering help. The question is whether Mayor Roots and elected leaders are finally willing to accept it before this crisis grows even worse.