Donate to a food drive for dogs and cats

Birch Bay resident Samantha Syrnich is organizing a food drive for dogs and cats.

A few years ago, Syrnich decided to run a food drive for the first time. She loves animals deeply and has a cat and two dogs of her own. “We had quite a bit of success that year and delivered a lot of food,” she said. “I have a van, and it was totally packed except for the driver’s seat. It took more than one trip to deliver it all.”

After a second successful food drive, she is now doing her food drive for the third time, this time benefitting dogs as well as cats. The food drive, which runs until Sunday, March 22, will benefit Whatcom Feline Alliance (WFA) and Rescued Hearts Northwest.

Syrnich hopes that local residents will donate food, toys, treats, puppy pads, litter and supplies. For dogs, she is specifically requesting Nutro, Victor and other high-quality brands of dog food. She said that dog treats are also welcome except for rawhide treats. For cats, she is requesting dry and hard cat food, as well as pine pellet cat litter.

Donations can be dropped off to the Birch Bay Activity Center, 7511 Gemini Street or Syrnich’s residence at 4667 Loft Lane in Birch Bay. Amazon purchases can also be shipped directly to either address.

After the food drive concludes, Syrnich will load up her van with the donations and deliver them to WFA and Rescued Hearts Northwest.

WFA is a no-kill, foster care-based “virtual” shelter with the primary mission of saving and improving the lives of Whatcom County’s feline population. Run by Siva Marie and Chelsea Lyn Matthews, WFA saves newly lost or abandoned stray cats who are often injured, ill and starving.

“I’ve donated cat food in the past to them,” said Syrnich. “I just know of them that way, and I’ve seen what they do. I’ve been to their facilities. I totally believe in what they’re doing to help cats and save cats and educate the community. They are very good.”

Rescued Hearts Northwest, meanwhile, is a nonprofit that is operated by Judy Cobb and Rebecca Rae and rescues dogs and other animals in need. After being rescued, the animals are brought into their foster home program for care and rehabilitation, and through a screening process, they are eventually placed in permanent, loving homes.

“Rescued Hearts Northwest has been my favorite rescue for dogs, ever since about 2016 when I first got to know them very well,” said Syrnich. “They help so many dogs and they are so good at re-homing and they put a lot of their own money into taking care of these dogs, so they could use the help.”

Syrnich said that she hopes her food drive will raise awareness about the importance of taking care of animals in need. “I believe that animals bring us so much comfort and companionship,” she said.