STARK COUNTY, Ohio — Her pets are her family.
"I love animals," said Arstanza Davis.
Davis' chihuahua Jack is seven years old, and her cat Ivy just had kittens.
She says she adores her animals deeply but feeding them is sometimes a challenge. So she's turned to the Stark County Pet Food Pantry.
"If it wasn't for them right now, I don't know what I would do right now," she said.
It's a brand new spot in Canton where pet owners in need can come to grab a bag of food for their furry friend.
"Just because they don't have the money for certain things doesn't mean they don't love their animal or shouldn't have their animal," said Lynn Serri, the executive director of the pantry.
The waiting room is filled anytime the pantry is open, which means lots of grateful pets and people visit.
"Great lift off my shoulders that I don't have to worry about where her next meals going to come," said Joletta Collins. "It's a blessing for them to do this."
The nonprofit is completely donation based and so far they've received lots of help.
"It's amazing. It's like you say you need something and people are there to help," said Serri.
But they need more supplies if they want to keep helping families.
"Most of this will be gone tonight so then we'll have to start putting our pleas out tomorrow," said Serri. "We need cat litter, cat food, big bags of dog food."
Serri says she hopes the community keeps giving back so one day her small pantry can be much more.
The Stark County Pet Food Pantry is located at 2302 Fulton Road NW Canton, OH 44709 and open Monday's from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and Thursday's from 5-7 p.m.
This is where you can drop off donations:
- Stark County Veterinary Emergency Hospital
- North Canton Public Library
- PBS Animal Health
- Pet Supplies Plus (Perry Township Location)
- BowWow Bungalow
- Joy's Hair Studio
- Pet Valu (Jackson Township Location)
- Primary Care Physician Associates
- North Canton Veterinary Clinic
- Booney and Pooch Grooming
- Dairy Queen (4110 Hills and Dales Road NW Canton)
