For much of the year, the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation has been providing free pet food to help pet owners who have lost their jobs, had their hours cut, or been furloughed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Without this assistance, many individuals and families would not have been able to afford to keep their pets and may have had to relinquish them to shelters. This problematic situation is compounded by the fact that the shelter system simply can not cope with a huge influx of animal surrenders from members of the public who are no longer financially able to care for their pets.
As of December 27, the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation will have donated 35,340 lbs of dry cat and dog food, 7,000 lbs of canned dog and cat food, and 22,546 lbs of cat litter, to people in communities that are facing economic hardship due to the health crisis. The food has been distributed in partnership with rescue organization Nuzzles & Co., whose staff have held a number of “Pop-Up Pantry” events at regular intervals throughout 2020.
“These dogs and cats are extremely important to families – our pantry staff hear stories from grateful pet owners as they drive up to receive pet food and cat litter. We will continue to help the community as long as we can!” said Cathy Green, Development Director for Nuzzles & Co.
If you would like to show you support for our vital work, and help ensure owners and pets stay together during this pandemic, you can make a donation here.
Last weekend the Heigl Foundation teamed up with Nuzzles and Co. for a special spay/neuter and vaccination clinic at the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation in Ibapah, Utah.
The JDHF sponsored event took place over two days on September 29-30, and thanks to the dedication of staff and volunteers from our partner Nuzzles and Co. a total of 82 animals were sterilized and 95 pets received vaccinations. A food pantry and animal supply giveaway was also held for the local community. (more…)
Donates one pound of litter to animal shelters for each jug purchased
CHICAGO (Jan. 10, 2018) — Cat’s Pride today announces its national “Litter for Good” program as part of its long-term commitment to help save America’s shelter cats through partnerships with and donations to animal welfare organizations across the country. The Litter for Good program encourages consumers to nominate their favorite animal shelters to receive free litter at www.catspride.com/litterforgood and to purchase a green jug of Cat’s Pride Fresh & Light litter. For every green jug sold, Cat’s Pride will donate a pound of litter to shelters nationwide to help animals in need, with the goal of five million pounds of litter donated this year and twenty million pounds by the year 2020. Cat’s Pride is also continuing to partner with actress, producer and animal rights activist Katherine Heigl to help promote the program through Litter for Good videos, TV commercials and social media advocacy to encourage all shelters around the country to participate. (more…)
California could soon make history as the first state in the country to ban all puppy mill pet store sales. Lawmakers have passed The Pet Rescue and Adoption Act (Assembly Bill 485) to ban the sale of commercially raised dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet stores across the state. The legislation will now head to Governor Jerry Brown, who has until Oct. 15 to sign or veto the bill.
The Jason Debus Heigl Foundation is extremely positive about this news which we hope will set a precedent for all other states to end the brutal and inhumane treatment of pets in puppy mills.
ASPCA President and CEO Matt Bershadker has called on Governor Brown to help vulnerable and victimized animals with his signature:
“The brutality of puppy and kitten mills and their connection to pet stores is well documented. These animals generally live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions — sometimes in wire-floored cages stacked in tall columns — without adequate veterinary care, food, water or socialization. Animals bred in these conditions may also suffer from severe health issues, including contagious and deadly diseases and congenital defects, as well as behavioral challenges. By cutting off the puppy mill pipeline that moves cruelly bred animals from across the country into California pet stores, A.B. 485 will also help prevent California consumers from being duped into purchases that contribute to unconscionable animal ‘production’ and suffering.”
If you live in California, we would strongly urge you to add your signature to the form on the ASPCA web site requesting that Governor Brown sign A.B. 485 into law.
Please help to put an end to puppy mills!
In 2012, Cesar Millan wrote an article which appeared on his web site and social media pages, that highlighted some fundamental issues with how we treat homeless companion animals in the United States. It contrasted our approach to dealing with unwanted animals and attitudes towards adoption in this country, with that of European nations such as Germany. (more…)
In California City, a rural town about two hours north of Los Angeles, straight into the desert, there is a small animal shelter that operates on extremely limited resources. With a very tight budget, staff work hard to look after the cats and dogs in their care. Like many community oriented shelters, the facility is heavily reliant on local support and the tireless efforts of volunteers.
Heigl Foundation staff recently visited volunteer Jim Creighton at the California City Animal Shelter (CCAS) to lookat the facility and were impressed to see the remarkable work being done with so very little The Foundation was keen to try and help ease some of the financial pressures the shelter faces by working to improve conditions for the animals.
The air conditioner in the room that housed the shelter’s feline population was malfunctioning, and the cat cages were in a poor state of repair. In both cases the age of the objects meant replacement parts could not be sourced. Volunteer Diane Perry would also face a regular 50 mile round trip to purchase cat litter and a much longer journey to reclaim the
cost of her purchases from the City.
The Heigl Foundation decided to purchase a new air conditioner for the cat room and work with staff to replace the cat cages in the building. That just left the problem of getting hold of high quality cat litter…
We turned to our friends at Cat’s Pride and asked if they could help. Not content with already helping tens of thousands of shelter animals through our partnership, which
sees a portion of proceeds from every sale of their Fresh & Light Ultimate Care product go to support our mission to end animal cruelty and suffering, Cat’s Pride were more than happy to supply a few bags of litter for the folks at the CCAS.
And by ‘a few’ bags of cat litter, we mean 6700 pounds!!!
Cat’s Pride incredible donation and generosity will help to offset the CCAS’ budget by almost $2000!
Jim Creighton and Diane Perry were delighted to visit Cat’s Pride Taft plant to pick up the cat litter and deliver it to the shelter yesterday afternoon.
There was only one problem – how to fit all the boxes in their truck and trailer!
The find out more about the California City Animal Shelter check out their volunteer administered Facebook page and visit Cat’s Pride to discover how buying Fresh & Light Ultimate Care litter for your cat will help support our life saving work.