MCQE Mobile Pet Pantry, a nonprofit based in Manchester, will host its first “summer shopping event” with drop-in veterinary appointments and more than 50 vendors at Manchester Valley High School Saturday.
Michele Szper, the nonprofit’s founder and director, started the pet pantry to help families feed their pets after she noticed many surrendered animals because of high care costs. MCQE hosts a drive-thru pantry each month, where people can pick up food and other items for their pets.
But what started as a plan for a yard sale quickly grew into an event with more than 50 vendors, a DJ and a veterinarian, according to Szper and Melanie Bowden, the nonprofit’s fundraising coordinator.
“We have a bunch of crates stockpiled at the pantry that we’ve just acquired different places,” Bowden said. “We were just going to have a yard sale and just sell the crates, and then it just kind of snowballed, really.”
From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., vendors such as Joyride Java, Wetzel’s Pretzels, Heart to Heart Mobile Pet Care, Harlows Haven Cat Rescue Campurr and more will gather in Manchester Valley High School’s parking lot. The event is free to attend, and community members will be able to eat and shop throughout the day.
Attendees can also bring their dogs or cats for a free exam with Heart to Heart Mobile Pet Care, run by Cynthia Chisolm, a licensed veterinarian. Pets can receive vaccines for $25 after their exams as well, according to Bowden.
Chisolm, who started Heart to Heart Mobile Pet Care to help educate pet owners about preventative care, works as a veterinarian in the evenings, on weekends and at various events in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, she said. Part of why she works as a mobile veterinarian is to help pets stay with their owners, Chisolm said.
“So many animals are getting surrendered right now, the rescues are overwhelmed, the shelters are overwhelmed,” Chisolm said. “If I can help you take care of your pet in an affordable way, that means you can keep your pet, right?”
Chisolm receives vaccines from a number of different vendors, she said. She provides rabies, distemper, bordatella, lepto and Lyme vaccines, as well as heartworm testing and flea and tick prevention medication.
MCQE, in its fifth year, is hosting Saturday’s fundraising event to cover rent, food and other supply costs, Szper said. The pet food pantry supplies goods for about 900 pets per month, including dogs, cats, chickens, guinea pigs, goats, birds, fish, rabbits, horses and more, Bowden and Szper said.
Before each pantry, nonprofit employees and volunteers must bag food and treats, get supplies and more. Those costs can often add up, Szper said, and the fundraiser allows them to continue providing goods for pets in the community. Especially ahead of an expected rush in July; the nonprofit ran out of food to give out in July last year, Szper said.
But to Bowden and Szper, being able to help pets stay with their families and continue the support for other community members is the most important part, regardless of any pay for themselves.
“We just want to help the animals, we want to help those who can’t help themselves,” Szper said. “They have no voice.”
For more information, visit mcqemobilepetpantry.com.
