Simmons donates dog treats to local shelters
Simmons Pet Food kicked off its Dog Days of Summer Treat Giveaway at the Siloam Springs Animal Shelter on Tuesday.
The company delivered pallets of treats, totaling about 15,000 packages, to 12 shelters across Northwest Arkansas, as far away as Van Buren, according to Julie Maus, public relations manager for the company. The giveaway started in Siloam Springs, where Simmons employees helped unload treats and handed out treats to the dogs in the animal shelter.
“At Simmons we make food for the people and pets that we love and we thought that during the dog days of summer who deserves a little love more than pets in our area shelters,” Maus said.
All of the treats were made at the company’s pet food plant in Siloam Springs, she said.
The project was a team effort between departments within
the company as well as with NWA Tailwaggers, Maus said. The nonprofit helped identify shelters in need and distributed treats to several smaller shelters in the area who don’t have the capacity to accept entire pallet loads, according to Tina Berrios, Tailwaggers director.
Tailwaggers not only works to find dogs new homes, but also organizes volunteers in local shelters to help walk dogs and socialize them so they will be successful when they arrive at their new home, Maus said. In addition to Siloam Springs, Tailwaggers serves the Gentry, Decatur and Gravette animal shelters as well as several shelters in Northeast Oklahoma.
Treats help volunteers with training dogs to walk on a leash and socializing them, Berrios said. The nonprofit spends hundreds of dollars each month to provide treats for dogs in local shelters so the donation will also have a big financial impact, she said.
“We’re really happy to provide some treats to some deserving dogs,” Maus said.