ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Times are hard, and having to give up your pet would make it worse. After seeing a significant increase in people surrendering their pets because of financial problems caused by COVID-19, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay announced it would be extending its food assistance program.
Maria Matlack with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay says the organization is giving out food on Tuesdays from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you're picking up food, you'll need to bring ID to show you live in Hillsborough County.
Matlack says the Humane Society is also accepting donations of cat and dog food to distribute to those in need since more people are participating in the program than ever before.
"Right now because we are giving out food to the community we are running low," Matlack said.
"We just want to make sure we’re prepared because we are noticing the lines are getting longer and longer, we actually had a line of over a hundred people waiting to get food last Tuesday, so our ultimate goal here is to make sure animals are not going hungry and people are able to keep their pets," she explained.
She says while there was an influx of people giving their pets to the shelter, they've also seen an increase in the number of adoptions, as more people work from home. In fact, on April 18, the shelter posted that 137 animals at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay were adopted that week.
You can find more information about how to donate food, or participate in the food assistance program on the Humane Society of Tampa Bay's website.
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