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If you have a cat or dog at home, chances are you’ve heard them take one of those big, long, tired sighs – an exhalation that suggests the release of a heavy burden they’re tired of carrying.

It’s ironic because your dog or cat probably doesn’t have too much to whine about: They don’t have a job and they don’t have to pay bills, although for now, it might help if they did.

According to the US Department of Labor, the cost of pet food has risen by nearly 10% in the past year. The cost of pet services, including veterinary visits, is increasing by almost 8%.

Inflated costs are certainly an inconvenience and extra burden for individual pets and families, but they are also a complication for smaller, non-profit organizations that rely on donations to help animals.

“It made us ask for more help with dog food, cat food – we’ve always had that appeal there as an ongoing thing, but in situations like this, it’s harder to provide with the funds that come through adoption,” said Michelle Masi, who founded a non-profit animal rescue called My Loveable Angels in 2013. “It was more difficult, but it certainly didn’t change our focus.”

Similarly, Lynne Rice of Sterile Feral, another nonprofit whose mission is to neuter feral cats, has noticed that recently it has become more expensive for her to help cat owners who need help with food.

“I bought, just a few weeks ago … a 20-pound bag (of food) and it was $21. A year ago, that same bag … would have been about $16. Four or five dollars starts to add up because I don’t buy for just one person — I’m shopping for multiple people,” Rice said. “That four or five dollars starts to turn into $20. That’s a whole bag of food I could buy for somebody.”

Right now, Rice said she helps about 10 people feed their cats. That may not seem like a lot, but it’s a fivefold increase from two years ago, when it was just a few people.

“Again, 10 might not seem like a lot, but I can go into the pet store, or Walmart or Sam’s Club or wherever to buy the food and I spend $300,” she said.

That $300 or so only reflects the need of the people Rice is currently helping. She believes that, given the inflated costs of everything these days, people are caught between deciding to put food on the table for themselves, their family or their pets – and the pets end up being the loser in that scenario.

“I just see everywhere that every shelter is just full,” Rice said. “Unfortunately, that’s one of the reasons I think more and more cats are being thrown out: People think, ‘Oh they can fend for themselves.’ And it’s only getting worse.”

‘We’re all in the same place at once’

In January, the Humane Society of Central Illinois (HSCI), a no-kill animal shelter on Kays Drive in Normal, took in 15 dogs, 50 cats and two “small animals,” said shelter manager Jane Kahman. See the article : Colombia-based suppliers, food trucks feel effects of inflation, supply chain.

By June, the number of dogs had doubled to 30, and the shelter had taken in 67 more cats.

That’s not all due to inflation: Kahman believes some of the increase is due to the COVID-era increase in pet adoptions and a lack of veterinary appointments at the same time, resulting in a large number of unsettled pets. At HSCI, these services used to be offered to the public through regular clinics; a lack of available veterinarians has limited that program for the time being.

“If you look at past numbers, when we had the availability to spay and neuter on a consistent, monthly basis, there weren’t as many animals coming in,” Kahman said. “We’re seeing more and more kittens this year, and that’s the spay and neuter (issue). Not being able to have access to the vet, I think, increases the population a little bit.”

Kahman also said that people who adopted dogs when, say, they were working from home, found that the adoption wasn’t a long-term fit, prompting them to ask about giving up the dog. That said, some of the dog abandonment, according to HSCI coordinator Jake Bradford, is inflation-related.

“I would say probably 90% of our calls for surrender are large breed animals, just because they can’t take care of them, whether it’s time or money,” Bradford said. “Large breed dogs obviously take more to feed and care for.”

Added Kahman, “With the cost of dog food, specifically, it’s jumped all over the place. The cost has gone up and people have to make a choice: Food on the table for them or the animals?”

The intake-to-adoption ratio is also skewed for HSCI at the moment, with the intake for dogs notably outstripping the adoption rate. Kahman said it’s not just a problem for the Normal shelter, but across the state.

“I have a lot of connections across the state and we’re all in the same position at the same time,” she said. “They’re trying to move animals, but every one of the facilities they’re trying or have had luck with placing before are full.”

My Loveable Angel founder Masi said her organization also juggles a lot of pets. The nonprofit is a foster-based system, which means there is no shelter or single location where pets are housed. Instead, Masi and volunteers foster animals in their homes until they are adopted.

Right now, the rescue fosters about 25 dogs, including newborn puppies, and 15 cats.

“It’s a lot, but I found that when I issue the plea for dire situations, we have people who respond to the need and the challenge,” Masi said. “We’ve found that when times are tough, it really gives people a push and even though it’s been harder for us, it hasn’t stopped us in the slightest and it hasn’t diminished our concern or our ability to provide.”

Masi admitted that it was especially difficult for the all-volunteer rescue to make ends meet when it came to veterinary costs, but credits “an awesome (one) who works with us” for not turning away animals in need.

However, the bottom line for most, if not all, animal-serving nonprofits right now is that, just like the social services that need extra help to help people during this inflationary period, they can also use more help today.

“Cash is really, for the most part, the best way because that’s how we can make sure we stay consistent with what we’re providing people,” said Sterile Feral’s Rice.

Masi said her organization often relies on the generosity of organ donors, or people who have adopted pets going to “Petco, PetSmart and (grabbing) an extra bag” of food that people can drop off at a bench at USA Ballet and Dance Company in Bloomington . .

And for people who can’t personally adopt now, HSCI’s Bradford said there are other ways to help.

“We do take donations that are monetary or even supplies because, obviously, the more resources we have, the more we can help the animals,” he said.

How Americans Are Getting Food During the COVID-19 Pandemic: 2020-2022 • daily farmdoc
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