Keeping pets and people together

Blue Cross now collects and donates pet food to owners struggling to afford to feed their four-legged friends as the cost of living soars.

"More and more people were asking to rehome pets through fear of not being able to provide for

them,” says John Cahill, Manager of the Blue Cross Sheffield rehoming, behaviour and advice unit (RABU).

Calls peaked as the pandemic took its cruel toll on purse strings in 2020 and John and his team were determined to find a way of giving these loving owners, who had simply fallen on hard times, the chance to stay with their beloved pets.

In stepped the idea of a pet food bank, open to kind donations from the local public, pet shops and vet surgeries to feed the animals in the area who are most in need.

Officially opened in June last year following a pilot, the scheme, based at our Sheffield unit and now extended to our Manchester RABU, supports a core part of Blue Cross’s mission, to keep pets and people together.

We work with partnership charities and organisations to get the food into the right hands, with a focus on helping those on low incomes, out of work or with mental health difficulties.

“Some people are being forced to use food banks to put meals on the table for their families, and us to feed their pets,” John continues.

“These are wonderful owners who otherwise give their pets perfect homes and lives but have suddenly found themselves crippled financially, through no fault of their own. It could happen to any of us.”

John adds: “One person has told us that he wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for us helping him to keep his pet. That really hit home to us what a lifeline this is to people. I’m so glad we can be there for them in this way.”

Find out more about how you can donate pet food or contact your local rehoming centre for more information.