A large donation of pet food will help people feed their furry and feathered friends.

On Tuesday, Alberta Animal Services donated 10,000 pounds of pet food to the food bank.

The food was collected from across Red Deer, including donations and stores and even a couple of young girls who went door-to-door in their neighbourhood asking for donations, said Erica Coomber, Alberta Animal Services director of operations.

The pet food drive took place during the month of May.

“Keeping dogs and pets out of the shelter is our ultimate goal,” said Coomber. “It always starts with the community and if we can give back to the community, it all helps the pets in the end.”

Volunteers from the food bank and Alberta Animal Services staff loaded up the pet food on Tuesday.

Alice Kolisnyk, Red Deer and District Food Bank deputy director, was very appreciative of the donation.

“Our cupboards are going to be flush and our clients are going to have lots of food for their pets,” said Kolisnyk. “Our Kibble Kitchen served more than 160 clients in the month of April. Potentially 200 more pets will be impacted by this. We won’t necessarily have to turn people away.”

Coomber said Alberta Animal Services was receiving numerous asks for pet food from low-income families and homeless people with pets. By gathering pet food and distributing it through the food bank, it can help keep pets and their owners together.

Coomber said they don’t want to see people unable to feed their pets and just giving them up instead.

“People forget that pets are family too and we don’t want family members, be they furry or feathered, to go hungry,” said Kolisnyk.

According to Coomber, Hagen International and Petland were the largest donors to the food drive.