Pet Food Drive Puts New Spin on St. Patrick's Day

Jim Collver, founder of the St. Pet’s Day pet food drive, is in awe of the support he’s received from people in three Northeast Ohio counties and is confident that by the end of the month they’ll have collected 25,000 pounds of food.

Collver has been busy drumming up attention for the cause and asking around for donations, which residents can drop off at about 80 area fire stations. Those include , Bath, Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Kent and .

He’s taken photos at each of the donation sites and uploaded them to Facebook. Many feature the “honorary chair pet” Jake, a 12-year-old Black Lab/Collie mix that Collver’s fiancee rescued about 10 years ago.

“You can see the reaction that we’re getting, especially now with the photos at each of the sites,” Collver said. “I mean, the firefighters are really into it. … I’m really happy with the way it’s going.”

Donations are pouring in, and someone even donated 1,000 pounds of pet food at the Copley site. (That’s 20 50-pound bags.)

He said St. Pet’s Day, sponsored by the Celtic Club, started seven years ago, but it wasn’t a pet food drive back then. Collver organized free Irish concerts and asked people to bring pet food up until last year, when he got fire departments involved.

Since the beginning, it’s been about having something out of the ordinary to do for St. Patrick’s Day. Last year’s drive took place the week leading up to the holiday, while this year’s spans the entire month of March.

“(For) St. Patrick’s Day, everything’s green, there’s drinking and having a good time and trying to remember your heritage,” he said. “I just wanted to do something a little bit different.”

Sites accept dry dog and cat food and cat litter. Collver said he’ll collect the items at the end of the month and take them to the counties’ dog wardens. From there, humane and animal rescue groups will pick up the items.

Collver, an animal lover, said it’s fulfilling to lead the drive, and he’s enjoyed his role since day one.

“Everybody loves pets,” he said. “A pet will never disappoint you. And I just like doing it.”