Orange County Animal Services to Hold Large-Scale Pet Food Giveaway
Drive-thru Aims to Help Pet Owners Struggling Financially
Orange County, Fla. – Orange County Animal Services is preparing to make available several tons of free pet food at the South Econ Recreation Center, 3850 S. Econlockhatchee Trail, on Sunday, September 11, 2022 beginning at 9 a.m.
The event will be setup in a drive-thru fashion, with people able to select up to two bags of food on a first come, first served basis.
“We have many different types of Instinct brand pet food, bags of dry food, cases of wet food and freeze-dried food as well, that were donated to our shelter and will be made available to the public through this event,” said Diane Summers, manager for Orange County Animal Services. “We hosted food distribution events during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the public was incredibly receptive and told us how meaningful the food was to their families so we jumped at the chance to help the community once again.”
From January 1 through August 31 of this year, Animal Services has accepted 2,727 pets that were surrendered by their owners, a portion of which were relinquished due to cost. Through this event, the shelter aims to help hundreds of pet owners, some of which may be on the brink of having to make the difficult decision to surrender due to the inability to afford pet food.
Orange County Animal Services is this county’s only open admission pet shelter, which means homeless pets are never turned away, regardless of any potential medical issue or behavior challenge. As a result, the shelter receives a high volume of animals and seeks to keep owned, loved animals with their families. Animal Services is dedicated to keeping families together and invites any pet owner experiencing hardship to reach out to the shelter to see what resources exist to help them in their current situation.
Animal Services is best reached by emailing AnimalServices@ocfl.net and lists their many services and programs on their website at www.ocnetpets.com.
About Orange County Government: Orange County Government strives to serve its residents and guests with integrity, honesty, fairness and professionalism. Located in Central Florida, Orange County includes 13 municipalities and is home to world-famous theme parks, one of the nation’s largest convention centers and a thriving life science research park. Seven elected members make up the Board of County Commissioners, including the Mayor, who is elected countywide. For more information, please visit www.OCFL.net or go to Orange County Government’s social media channels.