March 14 to April 18
I am working with the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cincinnati (IHN) to organize a five week Greater Cincinnati campaign that will enrich the lives of dogs and cats, and their humans, during financial hardship – including homelessness.
The Gifts for Best Friends Campaign will collect gently used hard dog and cat toys and new soft or hard dog and cat toys that will be distributed through IHN’s Pet Program, and members of its SAFE Coalition, to pets belonging to people in the Greater Cincinnati area who are experiencing financial hardships including homelessness. The SAFE (Saving Animals From Eviction) Coalition, spearheaded by IHN, helps pet owners in unstable housing situations to remove the barriers of keeping their pets before they become homeless. *Please see below for more.
This is a cause very close to my heart. As a dog trainer, I know how important a pet
can be for someone’s mental well-being. I also know that boredom can be a significant
contributing factor of pet behavior issues which not only affects their quality of life, but
also affects a family’s ability to find and keep low income housing or shelter – while also
keeping their pet. Many dog and cat owners have bought toys that are sitting unused.
Let’s give those toys to people who would not be able to afford them for their pets.
Special thanks to the very talented Erik Pietila for donating his creative talent to creating the beautiful artwork for the campaign!!
How You Can Help
Sign up to organize your own collection during the campaign, among your friends, co-workers, or group. Just reach out to me through my website. I will get you the materials to distribute.
Donate your own gently used HARD dog and cat toys or new soft and hard toys through one of the designated drop off locations in the Cincinnati area. These will be listed here and on the Facebook Event closer to the campaign.
Volunteer to help clean the toys after the campaign.
Volunteer to help print flyers for us using a color copier machine.
Help spread the word! Mark yourself as *attending* the Facebook EVENT for updates on the campaign.
About the Interfaith Hospitality Network Pet Support Program
IHN has assisted homeless parents and children through emergency shelter and housing services for nearly 30 years with an emphasis on keeping the whole family together during the crisis of homelessness; including single parents, two-parent families, children of all ages, and grandparents. In 2014, IHNGC, with support from PetSmart Charities, built an on-site kennel in its Day Center facility to extend this definition of family to include four-legged members. In 2016, IHNGC expanded this service to accept pets for any person experiencing homelessness, not just those served at IHNGC, and works with other social service agencies to see that those individuals access affordable, pet-friendly housing.
The Pet Support Program is open to ANY homeless household served by social service providers in the Cincinnati region. These are pets at high risk to enter animal shelters if the program was not available. IHN provides on-site kenneling and/or foster homes, pet rental deposits, supportive services, medical care (if needed), food, supplies and referrals for veterinary care for cats, dogs, and other small animals.
In addition to directly saving pet lives and preventing additional trauma/loss for homeless families, IHN and its partners help ensure pets are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and have access to medical care. They help pet owners re-enter affordable, pet-friendly housing to prevent future pet surrender and provide case management that includes veterinary referrals, lease/landlord advocacy and pet supplies.
In 2018, IHN served a total of 104 pets and in 2019, they served 150. With a large grant from PetSmart Charities, an expansion will double IHN’s capacity to serve 250-300 animals in a given year.
Drop Off Locations:
Care Center Vets (Cincinnati)
6995 E Kemper Road
513-530-0911
General area – Montgomery/Symmes Township
EarthWise Pet / Harper’s Point
11328 Montgomery Road
(513) 469-7387
general area – Montgomery/Symmes Township
Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cincinnati
990 Nassau Street
513-471-1100
general area – near downtown
PetPeople Hyde Park
3651 Michigan Ave
513-871-5800
general area – Hyde Park/Oakley
Pet Wants: The Urban Feed Store
1813 Pleasant St
513-721-8696
general area – Over the Rhine
Pet Wants – Cincy Kitchen
1409 Vine St
513-621-3647
Pleasant Ridge Pet Hospital
6229 Montgomery Rd
(513) 351-1730
general location – Pleasant Ridge
Western Hills Animal Hospital
5500 Glenway Ave
513-922-2266
general area – Western Hills