New Pet Food Bank launched in Kirkby to help struggling owners take care of their pets

Emma Johnson, 35, works as a dog trainer and dog walker in Kirkby and after talking with one of her clients she was inspired to set up Rocky Road Pet Food Bank.

Emma said: “I’ve had the idea of starting up a food bank for animals.

"We’re all familiar with food banks for people but animals sometimes get forgotten.

“I’m not asking people to go out and buy things, it’s more an idea that if you’ve already got a cat and there’s a particular flavour of Whiskers they don’t like in the packet and that sort of thing then they can donate them.

“I’ve spoken to the Kirkby Food Bank and they have my number and contact details so if they have someone come in who needs a certain hamster food, dog food, etc, they will ring me and ask if I’ve got it and then I can take it to them the next week.

“But it’s not just food either, I’ve had people donate dog crates, I’ve got dog leads, harnesses, I’ve got a hamster cage coming.

“The idea came to me when I was talking to a client who mentioned how the price of living has gone up for us all and I asked her if she thought people would benefit from a pet food bank and she was like ‘of course they would’ and it’s literally come from there.

“I’ve got two drop off points now from two local businesses and I’ve got a Facebook group which I’ve set up which my friends are sharing to get the word out as well.

“People have been really generous.

“The drop off points are Acre Cafe on Kingsway Park in Kirkby and Poppys Pet Shop in Sutton so I’ve got two one each side of Ashfield and then I’ll collect it.”

If you would like to know more about pet food bank and how you can help search for Rocky Road Pet Food Bank on Facebook.