CANIDAE Pet Foods Helps The Pongo Fund Launch Largest Pet Food Bank in the United States

PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 23, 2009 – San Luis Obispo, CA - CANIDAE Pet Foods, a manufacturer of all natural dog and cat food, has donated $125,000 USD worth of premium pet food to The Pongo Fund, allowing Larry Chusid, Founder and Executive Director, to open the nation's largest pet food bank.

The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank opened Sunday, November 8, 2009, operating out of a warehouse in Portland, directly across from the Oregon Convention Center. Over 30 enthusiastic volunteers were on hand to help ensure that everyone with a genuine need would receive a two week supply of premium pet food for each of their dogs or cats. In addition to receiving free pet food, recipients were given nutritional information and tips for safely transitioning their dogs to an all natural, premium diet. All recipients were all invited to return every two weeks to receive more food for their companion animals, so long as they had a need.

"Our first day was exceptional, a perfectly joyful opportunity to help the community," explained The Pongo Fund Founder Larry Chusid. "We were able to effortlessly guide each person through the facility, providing them with food and nutritional advice, in only a matter of minutes. Providing a respectful and efficient experience will be critical as we expect to help more and more people as news of the pet food bank spreads. Our goal is to be able to provide eight tons of free premium pet food every month."

In addition to the homeless, many of the people who arrived on opening day had a place to live, but were unemployed and so were unable to feed their companion animals. "Pets mean so much to people, they'd do anything for them. If people can't afford to feed their pet, they have to give them up. The Pongo Fund fills a unique need… they help keep families together by feeding the pets," said Lael Concordia, Director of Social Services at William Temple House, another Portland organization that helps individuals and families in crisis.

The Mayor of Portland, Sam Adams, was so impressed with Chusid's vision and the unprecedented donation from CANIDAE, that he declared Sunday, November 8, 2009 to be "CANIDAE All Natural Pet Foods Day" in the city.

"A lot of these folks were surprised to find that they needed less CANIDAE than the pet foods from grocery stores they were used to feeding," said CANIDAE Sales Manager Jon Tingle. "We explained that because CANIDAE doesn't contain the corn, wheat and fillers that some other brands do, there is a lot more nutrition in each pound. We asked everyone to fill out a Pet Profile so the next time they come we can quickly give them the right amount of food for their dog or cat."

Chusid spotted one man leaving the pet food bank with only a 4 pound bag of FELIDAE cat food. He was concerned the man did not take enough to last two weeks and caught up with him outside the warehouse. When asked, the man said he only had one very small cat and four pounds was, "all he needed." When offered an additional bag of Felidae, the man graciously declined. “I don’t want to take more than I need; I want to make sure there’s enough for everyone else.”

Among the volunteers were representatives from all three Healthy Pets Northwest stores including Laura Amiton from the Alberta District store, Julie Cantonwine from the Hawthorne District store, and Mike Carroll and Barb Cantonwine from the Multnomah Village store. They offered their years of expertise in pet nutrition to the needy dog and cat owners and were among those that helped to calculate the right amount of food to last each pet for two weeks.

After opening, an anonymous individual was so impressed with The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank that he called Chusid to donate $3,000 for purchase of even more CANIDAE. "We are thrilled that the community has responded so well. Sometimes it’s simply a bowl of kibble that can keep a family together and save the lives of the animals they love," said Chusid.

The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank is open the second and fourth Sunday of every month. Details at www.thepongofund.org.