hometown news report

By Casey Preston

Staff writer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH - Florence and the Machine may sing that the dog days are over, but that's because they didn't talk to local acupuncture therapist Kate Canfield.

Tomorrow, Nov. 12, Ms. Canfield will team up with members of local nonprofit Sophie's Circle to host Happy Petsgiving, a daylong event to celebrate man's favorite four-legged friend while also educating the public on the deadly realities facing pets of low-income families who cannot afford pet food.

"We organized this as a fun day for owners to spend with their dogs while also learning what we are about," said Christi Sharp, executive director of Sophie's Circle, which operates the only two pet food banks in Volusia County. "Hopefully we can pull together as a community and collect enough pet food to keep these animals at home where they belong."

Attendees are encouraged to donate wet or dry pet food and cat litter. A pickup truck will be stationed outside Ms. Canfield's office that will hold donations.

The drive will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Health Point Acupuncture, 394B North Causeway in New Smyrna Beach.

The first event of the day is an 11 a.m. Mutt Strut Holiday Parade in front of Ms. Canfield's business. Members of the public are encouraged to bring their pets and join in the brief hike.

Following the parade, a pet costume contest and an owner/pet look-a-like contest will be held, with special prizes going to the winning canine and owner.

Less than two years after opening their pet bank in South Daytona, Ms. Sharp and her partner Kathy Blackman have seen Sophie's Circle grow to serve roughly 520 families at the location with 15 new families registering every week. They recently opened another food bank in Orange City, where about 80 families are currently registered.

The duo stays busy, handing out anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of pet food every week. However, that is still far from enough, Ms. Sharp said.

"This is a much bigger problem than most people realize," Ms. Sharp said.

If a family cannot afford to continue feeding a pet, the most logical alternative is to give it to a shelter.

However, that hardly guarantees an animal's safety. Shelters have become increasingly overcrowded in recent years, forcing the shelter to euthanize several pets each day to keep population under control.

"It makes me sick thinking about an innocent dog being put down like that," said Ms. Canfield, a dog owner herself. "It's just inhumane."

To help prevent overpopulation, Sophie's Circle requires that to register, families spay and neuter their pets. Not only does this help control the population, it also weeds out breeders who are attempting to exploit the organization for free food.

"We lose some people (by requiring spay and neuter)," Ms. Sharp said. "But we aren't going to give money to breeders. Period."

For more information on Sophie's Circle or the Happy Petsgiving event, call Christi Sharp at (386) 843-2472 or visit www.sophiescircle.com