A nonprofit group called AniMeals has collected over 40 tons of pet food in an eight-month period, which is distributed to shelters and rescue groups all over Montana.
Dogs are meant to be man’s best friends. So why do so many of them get treated so badly?
All around the United States, millions of dogs, cats, and other household pets are abandoned, left to fend for themselves on the streets, or dumped at animal shelters. Shelters and rescue groups do what they can to help, but most are severely understaffed and underfunded, which makes it tough for them to provide for all the needy animals that show up at their doors.
But thanks to Karyn Moltzen of Missoula, Montana, and the nonprofit organization she founded, AniMeals, the neglected and abandoned pets of western Montana have a much brighter outlook. For the last few years, Moltzen has been working to supply bags of pet food to animal shelters, rescue groups, and homebound elderly and disabled pet owners throughout a 29,600-mile stretch of Montana, from the town of Dillon up to the Canadian border. Within an eight-month period, AniMeals has delivered more than 40 tons of food to shelters and needy animals around the state.
Though AniMeals is now registered as a nonprofit organization, it started out as a small volunteer project, in which Moltzen would deliver pet food along with Meels on Wheels deliveries to senior citizens. Once the word spread about what she was doing, though, Moltzen’s phone started ringing off the hook. As she soon discovered, the need for pet food around the state was huge. Now, AniMeals contributes to “no-kill shelters, rescue groups, pets for homebound and disabled people, animals living on street,” Moltzen says. “We feed thousands every day.”
It’s not just cats and dogs, either – AniMeals has lent a hand to all sorts of needy animals, including horses, peacocks, and even llamas. Though Moltzen doesn’t have the space to house animals, she is adept at bringing animals in need to organizations that can help them. “We have an obligation to help them when we can,” she says.
These days, Moltzen has a small team of staff to help her out, and a huge network of volunteers all around Montana, who drive donated food to drop-off points all over the state. “It’s very gratifying to know that you’re making such a difference,” says Moltzen, but “it isn’t just me. I couldn’t do all this without all my volunteers and staff and all of the people who love what we’re doing. I’m very grateful that the compassion of people shows itself to us every day.”
With the help of donated funds from members of the community, AniMeals is slowly expanding its operation. Moltzen is planning to start a spay/neuter program for cats and dogs, in an effort to keep animals from being born onto the streets. She also hopes to create an animal sanctuary and a pet cemetery in the near future.
“I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I am in the animal welfare world, and I am going to stay there,” Moltzen says. “It’s the most important and rewarding work I’ve ever done. So many little bellies are full because of what we do.”