The two-week Christmas Paw Drive happening now takes old and unwanted dog items to give to local rescues.
As the holidays are a time for giving, two Vancouver pet companies have joined forces to run a two-week long donation event to give back to local dogs in need this festive season. After a hugely successful donation event last year, the owners of The Pawsitive Collection and Global Pet Food Burnaby are back with a second Christmas Pet Drive to provide local rescues organizations with much needed items ahead of the holidays. Beginning November 22, The Christmas Paw Drive will run until December 6, 2021, and invites dog owners to donate their old or unwanted pet items so they can be distributed to Lower Mainland rescue organizations. The two-week event is making it easy for local pet owners wanting to help make a difference to the lives of local animals in need, with various drop off points around the city where they can leave unwanted food, leashes, toys, and more. “We were so overwhelmed and touched by the generosity shown last year by pet owners both locally and from other provinces, that we knew we had to run another drive this year and hopefully make even more of an impact,” explains Alex, owner of The Pawsitive Collection. As an owner of 3 dogs herself, Alex knew she wanted to do something to give back to rescue organizations, and enlisted the help of Amelia - a fellow dog parent, and owner of Global Pet Foods Burnaby - after the idea for the donation event came to her last year when cleaning up her own dogs’ toys.
“I was looking at all these toys scattered everywhere and thought about just how many old dog items we all have laying around our homes that could be put to much better use!” Alex tells OhMyDog!. “I’ve always had a great business relationship with Amelia so I reached out to her straight away and here we are, back for a second year and we’re so excited to get started again!”.
Where will donations go?
All items donated during the event will be divided between five local rescues - SAINTS Rescue, PB & Chi, Endless Pawsabilities Rescue Society, VOKRA, and Hug-A-Bull Advocacy & Rescue Society - who have all given a wish list of items that would be extremely helpful to their organization. “We wanted to focus on 5 rescues this year so we could provide a larger amount of items to each of them, and the wishlist ensures the items they get are really needed ,” explains Alex.
Wish list items include opened and unopened bags of food for cats and dogs, canned food, toys, bowls, beds, crates, supplements, CBD oil, treats, and any items for bunnies, budgies and doves.
Last year, Alex told OhMyDog! that the pandemic had had a significant financial impact on many not for profit animal organizations, as a large number of local rescues rely heavily on in-person fundraising events, and a year on, not much has changed.
“These issues are still there and they’ve actually been exacerbated,” Alex says on a call with OhMyDog!. “A year has gone by and supplies even further depleted, and there’s the added problem of animals who were adopted during the pandemic now being returned to shelters as life eases back to normality. So these rescues need our help this year more than ever and even the smallest toy can make a difference.”
How to donate
If you have any of the items mentioned above that you’d like to donate, from now until December 6, 2021, they can be dropped off at following locations: - Global Pet Foods Burnaby, 4293 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC V5C 2J5 - Puptown Girls Burnaby, 3999 2nd Avenue, Burnaby, B.C V5C 3W9
- Global Pet Foods Langley, 6183 200 St. Langley, B.C V2Y 1A2
Pet owners across Canada wishing to donate can do so by shipping donations directly to the Global Pet Food Burnaby address listed above.
“If anyone living in the Lower Mainland is unable to get their donations to a drop off point directly, we’d be happy to come and pick them up from their doorstep, so we encourage them to message either The Pawsitive Collection or Global Pet Food Burnaby on Instagram and we’ll sort it out for them!” explains Amelia, who tells OhMyDog! that both she and Alex collected many donations this way last year, ensuring all COVID protocols were in place.
Monetary donations will also be accepted and will be directed to the donor’s chosen rescue. Those wishing to donate this way are asked to send a direct message to The Pawsitive Co Instagram page who will be able to help.
Until December 1, The Pawsitive Collection and Global Pet Foods Burnaby are both offering exclusive discounts for OMD! readers. Use promo code BOGO to get Buy One Get One Free on your purchase at The Pawsitive Collection, and use promo code GPFPAWDRIVE to save 15% off your online purchase at Global Pet Foods Burnaby. Conditions apply, so find full details, along with other exclusive offers for OMD readers, here.
OMD! Branded Content
This content has been sponsored by Laslo & Saxon and written exclusively by OhMyDog! editorial staff.
Are you a pet business that wants to be involved?
Both Alex and Ameila encourage any pet businesses that would like to partner with the event this year by becoming a drop off location to email them directly at support@pawsitiveco.com.
“Where we are usually in competition with each other, we’d love for this to be a real community effort as we all have the same goal - to help the community. The more businesses we have on board, the more donations we will be able to take in! So we’d love to hear from local pet stores willing to help in the next few weeks,” explains Amelia.