Want To Help Hartford-Area Pet Owners In Need? Here's How

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford area-based nonprofit dedicated to helping folks in need take care of their beloved pets is in dire straights this holiday season on the eve of its final "pet pantry" of 2022.

The organization is called "Aid-a-Pet" and it is based in Hartford's Frog Hollow neighborhood, one of the state's more impoverished communities. But the people it serves come from the area and beyond in a desperate quest to help their pets.

"Aid-a-Pet" volunteers will be manning the distribution event slated for Saturday, Dec. 17, at Hartford's Holy Trinity Church, 53 Capitol Ave., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Such events take place the third Saturday of every month at the church, with Aid-a-Pet saying it's especially grateful to the Rev. Charles E. Jacobs for opening up Holy Trinity to the organization.

There, people living under financial distress can get much-needed pet food and supplies, items that often get cut out of personal budgets as inflation jacks up human food and medicine costs.

Inflation hasn't been kind regarding pet food and supplies as well.

For a population most in need of the furry companionship a pet can provide, not being able to afford basic necessities can lead to heartbreaking situations for a pet and its owner.

Which is where "Aid-a-Pet" comes in.

"A vital service that fills a gap in social services —pet care — in one of the poorest parts of the state, Hartford's Frog Hollow, is now stretched to its limits," wrote Aid-a-Pet volunteer and spokesperson Sara Hammel.

"Who takes care of and feeds the beloved pets of those who are already struggling to feed their human families?"

But as Aid-a-Pet's services have become more known, folks are coming from outside of Hartford to get the help they and their pets desperately need.

And this is putting a strain on what Aid-a-Pet can do.

"Aid-a-Pet has reached a critical point. In these tough times, this local pantry that provides resources to help keep pets with their families, encourages spay/neuters, and assists with medical emergencies when possible, has become a magnet for people around the state who have nowhere else to turn and we can’t keep up with the exploding need and rising costs," wrote Hammel.

"Aid-a-Pet is facing a desperate situation as we fight to avoid sending anyone away empty handed."

Aid-a-Pet is hoping donations of pet food and supplies can be dropped off Friday, Dec. 16, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and/or Saturday, Dec. 17, between noon and 1 p.m.

Those donations can be made at the church and volunteers will be able to help benefactors bring their donations.

In addition, online donations are being sought through Amazon and Paypal.

For more information on Hartford-based "Aid-a-Pet," click on this Facebook page or call 860-550-7507.

To donate to "Aid-a-Pet" via Amazon wish lists or find out, specifically, what is being sought, click on this link.

To donate to "Aid-a-Pet" financially via Paypal, click on this link.