West Suburban Humane Society

Dog food drive helps DuPage shelter

For each person who does this, the company will donate one pound of food to a shelter as part of their “Every Dog Deserves” program. The West Suburban Humane Society in Downers Grove is among 10 shelters nationwide that will receive the donated food.

“We believe every dog deserves leading nutrition and a loving home,” said Lisa Campbell, senior brand manager for Pedigree.

Even before the food drive had started, Pedigree had donated 3,000 pounds of food to the West Suburban Humane Society in Downers Grove.

“We’ve had a relationship with Pedigree for a while,” said Carolyn Mossberger, executive director of WSHS. “They donated to several shelters and we were one of the lucky ones who received it.”

The online food drive coincides with Pedigree’s launch this month of a new dry dog food, which the company touts as its “best recipe ever.” To celebrate, Pedigree is challenging America to help dogs in shelters get a nutritious source of food.

“It meets the four universal needs of dogs, which are skin and coat, oral care, digestion and immunity,” Campbell said.

Pedigree will donate up to 100,000 pounds of food to 10 shelters across the country.

“We really wanted to celebrate the launch of our best recipe ever in a big way and we know that shelters are always in need of food,” Campbell said.

Pedigree is excited with the response the promotion has received so far and will continue donating through the end of June.

The West Suburban Humane Society is trying to help spread the word as well.

“We are so excited to be a part of the campaign,” Mossberger said. “It draws attention to the plight of shelter dogs in the United States and how many there really are.”

There is an easy way to support this cause: for any interaction with Pedigree on social media (a comment, post, status or “like”) the company will donate a pound of food, and dogs everywhere will be sure to “like” that a lot.

Shelter rejects part of dog food donation — Downers Grove news ...

How much is too much of a good thing?

That was the question West Suburban Humane Society officials had to ask themselves recently after they were selected to receive 10,000 pounds of free dog food.

“It’s not that we don’t appreciate it,” said Carolyn Mossberger, executive director of the Downers Grove-based shelter. “Our problem is that we can only take so much because we are small.”

In this case the shelter opted to take 3,000 pounds donated by Pedigree Brand dog food,  due to size and consumption constraints.

“That’s, like, 100 bags of dog food,” said Mossberger, who said bag weights vary, but typically come in 30 or 40 pound sizes. The first shipment was slated to arrive this week and was donated by the company as they seek publicity for a newly revamped dog food line, which the animal food purveyor is referring to as “our best food ever.”

Even though the shelter turned down 7,000 pounds of food, the donation they accepted is certainly welcome.

Because of the poor economy, cash donations have dropped in recent years by thousands of dollars, according to shelter fundraising figures. That stretches the facility’s budget, which is used not only to feed and lodge animals but provide medical care as well.

“The food is going to help us in … that … we are going to be able to use the money on other items which we need,” said Mossberger. But, it “would still be great if people would come in and adopt.”

The shelter typically goes through 200 pounds of dog food a week and the palate-sized donation they are receiving could conceivably last a few months, Mossberger said.

The remaining 7,000 pounds of food will be donated to shelters near tornado-devastated Joplin, Mo., said Dana Metz, who works with the Chicago public relations firm Weber Shandwick, via email.

“Pedigree’s hope is that this food will provide comfort and nutrition to the distressed pets in their time of need,” Metz wrote.

West Suburban Humane Society is the only local shelter among 10 across the country selected to receive donations of food. It is the only shelter that has turned down part of the donation. In total the company is giving out up to 100,000 pounds of food in an effort to tap into dog lovers’ use of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

For every user who goes online and makes a post to the company’s Twitter of Facebook accounts about what “every dog deserves,” the company will donate one pound of food.

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