PINE GROVE TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- At 12:30 p.m. on the dot, a massive rig from Motter's Collision Center near Pine Grove pulled into a parking lot of a farm in Pine Grove Township.
Animal lovers awaited the 18-wheeler's arrival, knowing very well what was inside.
"It's like Christmas for the rescues," Tami Beiber of Tamaqua Area Animal Rescue said. "We appreciate every donation we get. If it's $5, a bag of food, a whole truckload, we're very appreciative because it helps everybody."
Chewy, an online pet food retailer, donated thousands of pounds of food to local animal shelters. Motter's Collision Center used one of its tractor-trailers for the delivery.
"There's so many unwanted animals out there, and for them to get the food and everything they need to survive in these shelters," Cindy Motter said. "It's too expensive to go out and buy all the food for all these animals, so these shelters need people to donate and help and put their time into it."
The 15,000-20,000 pounds of food will go to four different animal shelters in the area, including Wanna-Be Pet Rescue in Mount Carmel, Faery's Felines, also in Mount Carmel, Tamaqua Area Animal Rescue, and Blue Mountain Area Animal Rescue Society in Palmerton.
"If we can't feed them, we can't take them," Rebecca Hetherington of Wanna-Be Pet Rescue said. "The bottom line: You can want to help all day long, but if you can't feed it, you can't take it. If you can't house it, you can't take it, and this company is an eternal blessing for us, always."