MOOSIC, Pa. — A donation bin inside Pet Valu in the Shoppes at Montage Mountain is usually filled with hundreds of dollars' worth of food and supplies for rescue animals at NEPA Pet Fund and Rescue, a Lackawanna County nonprofit.
But the bin is empty now after employees here at Pet Valu say two women who claimed to be volunteers with NEPA Pet Rescue took all of the donations.
Volunteers say they are completely dependent on donations of this kind.
"We are totally volunteer-based, totally foster-based. We don't have any sort of location, so all of our supplies go directly to our foster homes," said volunteer Katrina Coviello.
Volunteers tell us this collection bin was filled all the way to the top. It was about a month's worth of donations.
"We're so small, like every little thing we get, we use. So it's really a hit to us for those donations to be gone."
Melissa Black from Lake Ariel was at Pet Valu shopping for her pup, also a rescue, so this situation hits close to home for her.
"It'd be absolutely heartbreaking," Black said. "There's so many rescue dogs out there that need it, so much more that are getting abandoned, that are getting abused, that are terrible situations that need it."
The alleged theft was reported to Moosic police, but volunteer Katrina Coviello has just a simple request to the women who may have stolen the items.
"Please return them if you can, even if you just drop them off. We really, really need them for our puppies and kitties. They're all rescues, so you're stealing from homeless pets."
In the meantime, NEPA Pet Fund and Rescue is hoping new donations can make up for the shortfall.
The organization accepts monetary donations through PayPal - nepapetfund@gmail.com - or call the director, Shannon Ceccoli, at 570-344-4646 if you'd like to drop something off directly.