Serving the Needs of Pets and Their Owners

Guest speaker at the meeting of the Park Ridge Rotary Club on September 5 was Patricia Bungert, one of seven volunteers who set up Companion Animal Advocates in 2008 to serve the needs of pets and their owners. We often forget how important pets are to the lives of so many people and what difficult choices people must often make when hard times strike.

It is the goal of CAA, a 501c3 non-profit, to see to it that “every pet has a family and every family can keep their pet”. Over the past 6 years, the group has delivered nearly 250,000 pounds of pet food to food pantries, thus providing food for nearly 400 pets every month.

Keeping pets fed, however, is not the only project in which CAA is involved. Since starting their “Stop Littering” program began in 2010, the group has paid for over 250 spay/neuter procedures for food pantry clients and others based on income eligibility.

Another initiative started in 2010 has resulted in the donation of 122 pet oxygen masks throughout Bergen and Passaic counties. Now fire departments throughout the region have these life saving kits readily available in emergency situations.

If you would like to learn more about this unique group of volunteers who are providing such a wonderful service, visit their website at http://www.companionanimaladvocates.org