A REDDITCH charity worker is reminding struggling pet owners that help is available at her animal foodbank.
Anita Arthur from Brockhill set up Animal Food Bank Support UK last year after the cost of pet food spiraled.
Since launching the group has already given thousands of support packages, and Anita is urging people to come forward and ask for help if they need it.
She said: “We’ve been helping nearly 2,000 people a month, but we want to ensure anyone who is facing financial difficulty knows there is somewhere they can go to get support.
“Since losing my bulldog Bessie and seeing how the crisis with animals is going I wanted to do something to help.
“I’ve seen people have to give up their pets due to not being able to afford to keep them.”
Anita runs the group with her fellow charity worker Robert Miller.
She added: “Together we are successfully building a fantastic group who we help by supplying food for their animals.
“We give between two to four weeks worth of food depending on what we have available at the time.
“I’m running the group from home and have a network of community helpers up and down the UK who have come on board to help get food to those in need for their pets.
“Our aim is to try and stop a few pets going into shelters – if we can support some people so they are able to keep their beloved pets then a good deed is done.”
The group is now a registered charity, and people can ask for help without a referral.
“As well as support from communities in the West Midlands, we also have several foodbank bins in London, where people can donate items.
“We are not here just for the unemployed, we are here to help anyone who is struggling as this crisis has hit everyone.”
Anita has had nurses, carers, and fire service workers contact her for help.
“People just aren’t earning enough money to keep up with the rising costs.
“No-one should have to be faced with the decision of giving up their pets or going into debt.
“If anyone needs any help please contact our Facebook group, there is no judgement, we just want to help as many people as we can.”
Visit animalfoodbankuk.com/ for more information.
