Dogs' (and Cats') Best Friend

POTTSTOWN -- If all went according to plan this weekend, a group of very dedicated animal lovers from Pottstown Borough Hall made some stray cats and dogs very happy.

A photo Bill shot of the donations to help stray animals.

The hall's most dedicated animal lovers, Karen Lewandowski and Bill Sharon, both of whom work in the codes office, have collected about 200 pounds of cat and dog food and "hundreds, I  really mean that, of towels and blankets" to bring to the Montgomery SPCA and the Animal Control kennel and the cat shelter, according to an e-mail I received from Bill.

"We are probably going to do this until the end of the month, and then will start a holiday card drive for the troops," Sharon wrote.

"This will be our third load" to the animal shelters, he wrote. "Your readers have been been very generous to the animals."

He is refering to Mercury readers who responded to the donation drive after it was announced in a Nov. 15 letter to the editor.

"There is a table located in the lobby of Pottstown Borough Hall for any donations," Karen and Bill wrote in that letter. As you can see from the photo, it's getting filled to overflowing.

Pet Fair photo by Mercury Photographer John Strickler

"With the state of our economy, more and more pets are being abandoned in our streets and alleys and after being taken care of, are now being left to survive on their own," they wrote.

"After doing our first annual Pet Fair in Pottstown, the turn out and interest in all animals was overwhelming. We are not asking for your help in lending a hand to help these unfortunate animals," the letter said.

(Here is a link to Mercury video of the pet fair, held in September)

My mother would say to me in Polish, "The way you treat animals, is the way you treat people." We know there are a lot of good and caring people in Pottstown," the letter concluded.

Bill says that the collection will probably go through the end of the month, so if you have some extra food, or just some extra space in your heart or your budget, you know where to put it.