Shelter Bowl: These pets looking for a new home were the big winners
The sounds of barking echo off the cinderblock walls at the Animal Care & Control Team (ACCT) shelter in Philadelphia. ACCT staff is used to these persistent sounds: dogs yelling out for attention and the softer meows from many cats wishing for a behind-the-ear scratch or two. But now, employees focus on mopping floors, cleaning windows and putting a superhero costume on a female pit-bull mix.
"We're the only open-intake shelter provider in Philadelphia," said Sarah Barnett, executive director at ACCT. “We take every stray that comes in, which means we have upwards of 14,000 animals a year.”
The deep cleaning (and dressing up the dog) are in preparation for donations from two large companies specializing in animal products, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and Hill's Pet Nutrition. Both companies partnered with Seattle-based Greater Good Charities' Shelter Bowl, an annual event to support needy pets. This year, Boehringer Ingelheim donated thousands of doses of essential medicine to ACCT and the Wayside Waifs shelter in Kansas City, Missouri. The shelters were chosen because those cities house the two professional football teams who played in the NFL's biggest game of the year. Boehringer Ingelheim and Hill's Pet Nutrition also matched donations raised from February 6 to February 12, resulting in $5,000 for each shelter.
"I'm very proud to be part of a company that supports programs such as this," said Jed Hayes, who works in the Animal Health division of Boehringer Ingelheim. Hayes was on hand to represent the company and present one of the $5,000 checks. "We are a company that loves to get involved in our communities. The human-animal bond is so important and is something that Boehringer Ingelheim does a nice job of finding ways we can partner."
Doug Beatty, a sales manager in Animal Health, echoed Hayes's perspective and attended the Philadelphia event.
Doug Beatty, a sales manager in Animal Health, echoed Hayes's perspective and attended the Philadelphia event.
Maintaining a clean and efficient animal shelter costs well over $100,000 a year. Because of this, donations of medicine, food, and money help thousands of adoptable pets, all waiting for a home.
"We have to watch the funds we spend," said Kathryn Mahoney, president of Wayside Waifs shelter in Kansas City. "We have to be responsible. So anything we can do to offset those expenses is so helpful."
Back in Philadelphia, the pit-bull mix wasn't thrilled about wearing a costume and was more interested in gaining guests' attention. But at ACCT, she will continue to find food, medicine and love until her new owners walk through the front door.
"When companies step in like this, I don't know if they realize the impact they are having. It has a ripple effect. The money we are saving can be used elsewhere – it's money for treats and enrichment items. It's about helping the animals, and that's wonderful," said Barnett from ACCT.