Pet shelter receives major donation thanks to viral social media post

By Mythili Gubbi

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    WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (KSTU) — West Valley City Animal Services got a special delivery on Monday, and it’s all thanks to a social media post.

Scout is a golden retriever who is almost 7 years old. He and his mom, Brandy Chenoweth, run an Instagram account and website called Dog Friendly SLC.

“I couldn’t find accurate information about where I could take my dog to like, eat at a patio. So I figured if I have that question, other people probably did too,” explained Chenoweth.

Nearly 6 years since she started growing her corner on the internet, she is channeling her social media influence to help other furry friends. West Valley Animal Services is bursting at its seams with more than 200 animals, and they need help with food and supplies.

“I think with dog rescues, the automatic assumption is that if I want to help, I need to adopt a pet,” said Chenoweth. “Some people just aren’t in a position to be able to do that, and there are other ways that you can help.”

So, to do that, she put out a call out to the community with this post: “Would you consider donating $7 for Scout’s upcoming 7th birthday to help? You can Venmo: dogfriendlyslc, imagine how much good our community can do.”

And from there, the good came in troves!

“I thought we’d raise $1000,” said Chenoweth. “All together with what was sent to us and what was sent to them, almost $16,000.”

They raised this one dollar at a time.

“Over 500 people donating, mostly small donations, $7, $5, $10, and it’s just been such a fun exercise in how small gifts really make a big impact,” added Chenoweth.

Christmas came early at the shelter! They had a surprise delivery on Monday because people didn’t just donate money, but bought stuff for animal services from their Amazon wish list.

“It’s really been a tide-turning moment of hope I think for them to know that so many people and that food is not something they have to worry about for the foreseeable future,” said Chenoweth.

People also helped take care of the wishlist for Rescue Rovers, a volunteer foster-based dog rescue.

Their goal is to help more animals on their way to finding their forever homes.

“It feels a little surreal, to be honest,” said Chenoweth.

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