Animal Welfare Success Reliant on Inter-Agency Cooperation

Being a kid in the 1970s, Sesame Street was a childhood fixture. One of the themes they were forever emphasizing on the Street was one that continues to play a crucial role in the success of our endeavors as adults: cooperation. In the world of pet pantries, where I have been immersed over the past several days, this concept is particularly crucial.

When Alyce Pincoske of the Pet Food Pantry of Maine first said "Pick us! Pick us!" in response to my query searching for animal rescue and animal welfare organizations to spotlight here in Maine, I posted a quick Facebook blurb and shot out a few e-mails to folks saying that the Fairfield-based, non-profit pet pantry was having some tough times. By the end of that first day, I'd received e-mail responses from the Humane Society of Knox County and the Penobscot Pet Pantry, my brother had agreed to let me put a container in his business to gather food donations, and the fine folks of The Postcard Dude (my little bro's business) had all put their heads together in an effort to help out. Within five days, I was able to fill my car with the food and sundries provided by those at the Postcard Dude and the Humane Society of Knox County, in addition to a tremendously generous donation from the Penobscot Pet Pantry.



With people feeling the financial pinch around the globe, and more and more causes vying for our attention - and our dollars - it becomes critical for animal welfare organizations to reach out to one another to achieve the common goal: saving more animals. Keeping pets together with the people who love them. Educating the masses about critical issues like proper nutrition, the importance of spaying and neutering, putting an end to animal cruelty. We all love animals; God knows, none of us are in this business for the money. And so when organizations come together to achieve that common goal, it makes sense that our rates of success will multiply. And so, how can we best foster the collaborative spirit celebrated in our childhoods, in a climate where numerous animal welfare organizations are vying for a relatively small amount of funds from a limited donor base?

By sharing resources in those rare times of plenty. Helping one another in education efforts. Spearheading community efforts that encourage collaboration between agencies, rather than fostering competition and small-mindedness.

Andrew East of the Penobscot Pet Pantry is currently working toward establishing a state-wide Pet Food Bank from which pet food pantries around the state could draw whenever there is a need. Food stores would be kept in a central location, and individual pet food pantries - like the one in Fairfield - could then provide food for their communities and focus their fundraising efforts on education, spaying and neutering, and providing outreach so that, ideally, there are fewer people and pets in need in the future.

It's an idea the fine folks at Sesame Street would no doubt be happy to sing about.