New Yorkers on tight budgets say it’s not only human food that’s getting harder to afford — it’s food for their pets, too.
“They’re like your kids. I know mine are,” said Daisy Santiago, 58, who has two Shih Tzus, Nico and Kimora. “Sometimes I go without buying stuff that I need, like a gallon of milk or coffee or whatever, just to get them food.”
The city's affordability crisis is increasingly affecting people’s ability to care for their pets, according to food pantry providers and pet owners. Animal Care Centers of NYC, the city’s largest contracted animal shelter operator, said so far this year, 1 in 3 pet surrenders are due to housing insecurity.
Few places exist for pet owners to get help feeding their pets. Food pantries that do provide pet food say demand for kibble and canned cat food has increased, but what these pantries distribute often falls short of what is needed.
Pet owners say even a couple of days' worth of food for their furry companions helps as rising rents and food costs squeeze their budgets further.
Santiago said she visits the New York Common Pantry in East Harlem just for the bags of dog food that are enough to hold her dogs over for a few days until the next paycheck comes in. She works as a home health aide and money is tight.
Volunteers on a recent Wednesday at the New York Common Pantry.
“Sometimes they don't have it and I’ll be so devastated,” Santiago said. If she doesn’t have enough to pay for a $35 bag of food to feed them, she’ll give her dogs some of her own food. ”They eat rice and beans, whatever," she added. "They don't go hungry.”
Jose Santos, 60, said when he was short on cash last month because of an issue with his disability check, he went a few days without food, but made sure his 8-year-old German shepherd Grace's bowl was full.
“If I have to go hungry, I'll go hungry so she can eat. I'll do that,” he said, noting he pays $50 for a bag of food at Costco every month. “ I sacrifice. She's worth it.”
Santos got Grace as a birthday gift eight years ago and saves up his money every month to make sure he can afford her shots. Her last vet bill was $211, he said.
“She means everything to me," Santos said. "She's not gonna run and share my secrets or betray me in any way, because loyalty out here is something that you don't find often.”
Seniors are particularly struggling to take care of their pets, according to animal advocates.
“They’re more isolated often than other people. Oftentimes, their families move away and their dogs and cats, birds, become their family,” said Michelle Giancola, who founded Kiso’s Pet Food Pantry in Bay Ridge to provide pet food to seniors.
“People that can't afford their rent anymore are downgrading, and the new apartments that they're getting into don't take pets," she said. "So then people are needing to make the decisions about ‘what do I do? I have to move. I can't afford to live here. I have to eat.' Dogs more often get put into shelters, but they're being found on the streets, too.”
Giancola said they often can’t supply people with more than 10 days of food. She distributes food every three months for about 80 to 90 people.
Perla Munoz shows a photos of her dog, Grizly, at the New York Common Pantry where she picks up some produce for her family and some food for a few days for her dog.
City Councilmember Robert Holden of Queens said he understands the needs facing pet owners, and that’s why he proposed a bill earlier this year to pilot a pet pantry in the city for 12 months. He said the legislation has yet to come to a vote.
“We had two cats all the time and it was easy, you bought pet food on sale, but now you look at the prices, it’s $1 a can. I used to buy them four for $1,” Holden said. “I don't want people to give up dogs and cats because they can't afford it.”
Elena Titova, a senior, said she’s still working for a medical insurance company to be able to take care of her two rescue cats and feed another 20 strays outside.
“I could be retired a long time ago. But I'm working because I need to buy food,” Titova said, adding that she recently spent $85 on canned and dry food.
“I can't just say, 'Oh, I don't have money, so you're gonna be hungry.' No, no,” she said as she picked up bags of canned food from Kiso’s pantry. “I believe in reincarnation and I'm saying to myself, 'Maybe next life I'm going to be a cat, too, and why not to help the cats and hoping that somebody is gonna help me?'"
