Small non-profit helping animals in need expands to Guelph – GuelphToday

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Guelph just became a little friendlier towards animals in need.
Fur Your Friends Foundation, a non-profit that collects gently used pet supplies from owners and redistributes them to rescues and humane societies, expanded into Guelph at the end of August. 
Yoni Gootgarts initially founded the organization in 2021 in Toronto with his girlfriend, Elona Dahary, and has since collected hundreds of collars, leashes, harnesses and toys, as well as pet food, beds, crates, bowls, insulin needles and towels.
As the number of animals in shelters and rescues increased over the pandemic, Gootgarts and Dahary wanted to "ease the burden at animal shelters and rescues, so they can provide proper care for animals under their supervision as well as all the necessities for new pet owners when adopting," their website reads.
"With your donations, we can make the transition to being a pet owner as smooth as possible, so all animals can be properly cared for, whether at a shelter, or in their new homes."
He said they "bridge the gap between owners and rescues" by picking up unwanted items owners usually throw out, taking them directly to the places that need them the most. 
Gootgarts is a veterinary assistant at the Upper Bathurst Animal Clinic in Toronto, and is attending the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph. 
Working as a veterinary assistant has shown him how many animals actually come from shelters and humane societies, “and that rescues really need the supplies to make sure they can keep going.”
Executive leader Dylan Keith joined the team just a few months ago, wanting to give back to the community and help animals. A Guelph resident, Keith convinced them to expand into Guelph and the surrounding areas. 
“There are many animal shelters and rescues in the Guelph area, and a lot of them are always in need of supplies such as toys and leashes,” said Keith, who is also applying to vet school in the fall. “Yoni texted me one day (to join), and I thought this was a great opportunity for not only myself, but for animals in need.”
So far, he’s been doing outreach, posting in social media groups to get word out that he’s looking for donations. Once he gets enough, he will redistribute them to local organizations. 
“It’s more beneficial to do it in bulk, because there are a lot of rescues. You don’t want to be coming in with one leash or one bowl,” Gootgarts said. 
The collection process has so far been slow – not for lack of trying, but because they all have full-time jobs or full-time school.  
“We do our best with our extra time to do it. It’s all about recruitment and getting more people,” he said, adding that they hope to expand more in the future. 
It’s a small but growing team: they currently have three or four volunteers in the GTA, and Keith is in the process of recruiting volunteers in Guelph to help out.
Gootgarts added that they are “very accessible,” and can be easily reached by text, email and social media.
“It’s a small process – all we do is pick up donations and redistribute them,” he said. All donors have to do is send them some pictures of what they’ve got and let them know where it is. After that, they’ll schedule a time to pick it up. 
“It makes it easy for owners to give back,” he said.
You can learn more about Fur Your Friends here.
 
A post shared by Fur Your Friends Foundation (@furyourfriendsfoundation)
About the Author: Taylor Pace
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