December 27, 2021 5.30 pm This story is over 27 months old

Food bank for pets helping families across Lincolnshire this winter

Festive cheers for furry friends and their owners
By Local Democracy Reporter

A Lincolnshire-based pet food bank has helped over 1,000 families in the county feed their pets during tough financial times this year.

Gem and Dan Colson set up Happy Paws Pet Food Bank during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, and have been travelling across Lincolnshire to help those in need with supplies for their furry friends.

Happy Paws has a number of collection and donation drop-off points in Lincolnshire towns and villages, and the charity relies heavily on donations to its Amazon wishlist, which you can view here.

Gem and Dan say that they’ve seen “more requests for help” than ever towards the end of 2021, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect families both physically and financially.

“We’re expecting this winter to be incredibly busy,” they said. “So we’ve been getting dog coats and more food to help spread a little extra joy.”

One of the grateful people to be helped by Happy Paws is Glen Hilton, who said the help of the pet food bank meant he could look after his cat Felix and not have to foster him while off work with illness.

Glen said: “Without the pet food bank I would probably have had to foster out Felix until I was financially able to look after him again. It meant the world to me that I could feed Felix and make sure that he’s okay.”