Annual Shelter Drive gets underway

Animal lovers in the two Virginias are being asked to share that love again this Christmas season by donating pet food, toys,  bedding and other supplies to the annual Prerogative-Bluefield Daily Telegraph Shelter Drive.

Donations will be accepted from Dec. 5 to Dec. 9 at the Bluefield Daily Telegraph offices and the Princeton Times offices on Thorn Street. On Dec. 10, the donations will be delivered to all the participating animal shelters.

This year the Mercer County Animal Shelter, McDowell County Animal Shelter, Tazewell County Animal Shelter and the Pet Haven in Falls Mills, Va. will receive shares of the donations along with the Save A Pet Food Bank. Housed at the Bluefield Union Mission, the pet food bank offers dog and  cat food to pet owners who otherwise could not afford it. The food bank is not affiliated with the union mission.

When possible, the donations are divided according to each shelter’s needs. Some may have more dogs than cats, while others see more cats dropped off at their door.

“Well, we always need cat food,” said Debby Smith, director of the Pet Haven at Falls Mills, Va. “We can use dog food, but we rarely get cat food. I’ve got 75 pets here; about 50 cats, the rest dogs. I spend $500 a month just on dog and cat food.”

Pet Haven uses newspaper for lining cages and kennels, but kitty litter is welcome along with cleaning supplies, she said.

“We always need cleaning supplies like floor cleaner, dishwashing detergent, paper towels, stuff like that,” Smith said. “We appreciate anything.”

Animal shelters always need pet food and other supplies to keep their operations  going from day to day.

“Of course, the number one thing is dog and cat food, cat litter, anything like that,” said Donna Murphy, manager of the Tazewell County Animal Shelter.

The Tazewell shelter also accepts newspapers, clean rags, leashes and other items, she added. Cleaning supplies are helpful, especially during the winter when the animals have to stay indoors more often.

“We use lots of detergents and  bleaches and spray cleaners,” Murphy said. “Anything we can scrub with and clean with and kill a germ with, we can certainly use that.”

Representatives of the Mercer and McDowell county shelters and Save A Pet Food Bank were not available Friday.

Those people who are unable to make it to the Telegraph or Times offices can leave donations in their daily telegraph paper boxes. The carriers will then bring them back to the Telegraph Sunday night through Thursday, Perry said.

“The success of the Perogative-Bluefield Daily Telegraph Shelter Drive is due to the generosity of the residents across the two Virginias,” Bluefield Daily Telegraph Editor Samantha Perry said. “Each year, we have been able to help meet the needs of the shelters, and it’ a trend we hope to continue in 2011.”

Perry  thanked all those who have donated to the Shelter Drive in years past. Charlie Cole, of Cole Harley-Davidson, who has assisted in the transport of the contributions, and the employees of the Daily Telegraph and Princeton Times, who volunteer with the collection and the transportation of the donations.

“And, of course, I’d like to thank the employees and volunteers at all our shelters across the region,” Perry said. “They have a challenging job – at times a heartbreaking job – that many of us would not be able to handle.”