Paws 4 Life CEO encourages donations for holiday food drive

With National Holiday Food Drive for Needy Animals Day occurring this week, Paws 4 Life founding member and CEO Jennifer Marcellino is encouraging everyone to donate to our local no-kill animal shelter.

“We do have a lot of needy animals out there that we care for who are in need,” she said. “This is holiday time, and sometimes it’s difficult for people to pay for their own needs let alone their families, much less their animal family members. So we do encourage people to give food to the animal shelter to help these people.”

Paws 4 Life also operates in conjunction with Rabun County Animal Control who often also need supplies when out on calls for strays.

“Our animal control officers do offer food to animals in need if it looks like they are sick, hungry or weak,” she said. “So we do offer those services to dogs and cats throughout the county.”

Marcellino said wet and dry food donations are encouraged.

“We often times have litters of kittens so we have a great need for wet food as they are being weaned off of their mothers,” she said. “We also have a need for bags of dry dog/cat food as well.”

Many times, Paws 4 Life takes in animals who are sick or injured so any medical supplies are also encouraged as donations.

“If you have anyone or an animal that has been sick and you have leftover gauze/bandages or medications, then we will also gladly accept those. We have animals who come in injured off of the roadways, or sick from families not being able to care for them. So we are always looking for supplies,” she said.

Monetarial donations are also accpeted according to Marcellino.

“Money donations are also wonderful as well. We do have a lot of expenses at the shelter,” she said. “We are constantly checking for heartworm and other parasites and treating those diseases and making sure our animals stay healthy while they are in the shelter which can be costly.”

Marcellino said without the enormous support of the community, Paws 4 Life would not be where it is today without all of the generous donors and those who have helped keep their doors open since 2012.

“Here at Paws 4 Life, the board of directors, the volunteers, the staff – we’re always so enamored with the amount of support we receive from everybody. We want to thank everyone for giving us so much support throughout the years,” she said.