New Fairfield/Sherman Animal Welfare Society offers tips and resources, for neighbors to help neighbors and their pets!

Text provided by NFSAWS

Rents and food prices are high, and this is affecting whole families—including pets. Many people are struggling to feed and care for the pets they love.

But through this, neighbors are helping neighbors, and are building stronger, safer communities for everyone while doing it. New Fairfield/ Sherman Animal Welfare (NFSAWS) is proud to support our community, and the people helping each other in it. There are all kinds of ways for community members to get involved in helping neighbors, that benefit us all:

• Donate food or supplies to NFSAW’s pet pantry. Last year NFSAW was able to provide food and supplies for 10 animals in our community. This year NFSAW is launching a pet food and supply pantry to help pet parents in need.

• Help a lost pet get back home. If you find a lost pet, it’s likely they haven’t wandered far from home. You can help them be reunited with their owner by taking their picture and posting it to Nextdoor and other local social media pages; walking them around the neigh- borhood to see if anyone recognizes them; and having them scanned for a microchip. NFSAW can help by posting them to our social media pages, and we can even provide food and supplies to any lost pet finders who can hold onto the pet for a short period! Reach out at nfsaw@ att.net to learn more.

• Check in on neighbors. People will often post to Nextdoor and other local social media pages when they’re having trouble feeding their pet, or need help with a vet bill. This presents the opportunity for mutual aid—people helping each other with pet-related challenges, and other basic needs. In addition to supporting neighbors