Contributing to This Cat Vet Visit Will Help Us Develop a New Pet Food Project

I developed a theory over 30 years ago while working in social service ministry in Western Kentucky – if we could find ways to help folx out with small problems, we’d avoid a lot of bigger problems. I saw this play out nearly daily in the rural community with no traffic lights and nearly 100 […]

Update on Pet Food Pantry Drive. Fantastic momentum – we just need $30 and a little more pet food

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sue Kerr (@pghlesbian)

Never Any Extra Food, Never Enough Food – When the Pet Food Pantry Says No

kitchen shelves with bgs and cartos of cat food

The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry team spent the weekend packing up non-food donations like beds, trees, bowls, towels, blankets, and so forth. That’s when we realized something problematic – we are going to run out of food at the end of May. We know you came through for us in February […]

Another Urgent Plea for Dr. John P. Ruffing Pet Food Pantry – Families in Urgent Need

Two days ago, we posted an appeal for donations to the Dr. John P. Ruffing Pet Food Pantry. Our supplies have run low and we need donations to fulfill needs through April. Our main needs are dry and canned cat food, but we also distribute dry and canned dog food. We also have three special […]

Urgent Caturday Appeal – This Pittsburgh Pet Food Pantry Only Has Enough Food Through March 14

Our pet food pantry is going to run out of food in three weeks. Help! The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry serves cat colony caretakers, TNR trappers, rescues, and modest income pet owners. We currently have 60 household registered, 40 are active. Each month, we distribute dry and canned food – typically […]

How a Community Pet Food Pantry in Pittsburgh Joined the Resistance

We don’t know what lies ahead. We won’t give you platitudes about resiliency or inner strength or toughness even though we think those are true. What we can give you is reassurance that you are not alone. The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry supports neighbors taking care of animals – community cats, […]

Update on Winter Pet Food Drive – After the Reindeer Are Fed, Remember the Cats and Dogs

We urgently need dry dog and cat food The Winter Holiday Pet Food Drive is underway. We are supporting the striking pet owners of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh along with our colony caretakers and modest income pet owners. Scroll down for donation information. We have 68 households registered caring for over 700 animals. Each […]

Community Group Partners with Striking Post-Gazette Workers on Pet Food Drive

New Guild of Pittsburgh holiday logo

This wasn’t a difficult decision, I thought when considering if the Dr. John P. Ruffing Pet Food Pantry could help members of the the Guild facing their third holiday season on strike. Technically, it is month 26, the longest ongoing strike in the United States. Our pet food pantry was created to fill gaps in […]

My best friend Dr. John Ruffing died 17 years ago. His legacy is now a pet food pantry.

Dr. Ruffing Pet Food Pantry

All week, I’ve been loading donations for The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry into my borrowed Land Rover that we’ve dubbed St. Gertrude or Gertie. She contains multitudes of cat food. Now,there’s no interior light so I bought a head lamp. I added a USB port to the cigarette light – oh […]

The Reason My Cats Think I’m Horrible

Our second month of pet food distribution is underway. We have 50 total colony caretakers registered and 26 are active. All feed cats, some have dogs. Our main focus is dry cat food, especially during these winter months.  We’ll need bags of food in the 10-20 pound range. Smaller bags can be combined as well. […]