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Pet food bank for Edmonton's inner city always in need

After the final bag of food for large dogs was handed out Monday, a shelf at an inner-city pet food bank was bare.

Any other owners of large dogs who need help providing their pets with food will have to try again Friday, when the food bank is next open.

The pet food bank, in the basement of Boyle Street Community Services, relies entirely on donations, and the need is always pressing.

"We always need dog, we always need cat, we always need wet cat food," said Philippe Browatzke, who volunteers at the Inner City Pet Food Bank.

"If you are low or have limited amounts of money or you're homeless and you have an animal, you kind of need food to keep it alive. So we started it to help them the way that they need and [to provide] a support for furry creatures."

The pet food bank usually operates on Mondays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

What's available on the shelves is handed out first-come, first-serve to community members who need it.

About 100 clients use the services each week.

The agency is back in operation after being flooded out in the Boyle Street building last year.

"The pet becomes an important part of their lives — like anybody who has a pet, it is a companion," said Ian Mathieson, director of operations for Boyle Street Community Services.

"Imagine if you lost your pet because you were unable to take care of it," Mathieson said.

"It would be devastating. It would certainly impact you in negative ways, so we wanted to create an opportunity for people to be able to support pets in their home as a part of their family to help them grow and be better people, like anybody."