09/16/2025
Here at CARA we utilize a variety of serving dishes and foods to individualize our feeding for each of our dogs. We have some who need to lose a little weight, some with allergies, a few who need to slow down and learn to enjoy their meals, and a small handful who struggle to keep weight on due to kennel stress. We dedicate a good bit of time making sure their meals are a positive experience because we know it’s one of the highlights of their day.
Here are some ways YOU can help us ensure every pup gets what they need and love each day:
- Donate metal muffin tins and cookie sheets. These make excellent slow feeders and allow us to ‘scatter feed’ on a clean surface. Also, they double as indestructible lick mats which saves us worrying about them ingesting something that may need to be surgically removed. 😬
- Donate metal slow feed bowls. We cannot utilize plastic bowls with most of our dogs since we’re not able to closely monitor ensuring they don’t help with the dishes by eating them. 🤦🏻♀️ Metal bowls also harbor less bacteria and are more hygenic. 🦠
- Donate canned dog food. Each of our pups gets a little canned food in their bowls every day. Some of our more picky eaters will turn their noses up if we forget to mix in the good stuff. We don’t blame them! Eating the same old thing every day gets monotonous. Canned food is a fun alternative for stuffing Kongs, and we even use it to make ‘meatballs’ for dispensing medicine. 🍗🥩🥫
- Donate fresh or frozen veggies like apples, blueberries, bananas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, green beans…there are so many that are great additions to their meals! 🥕 🍎
- Donate fresh hard boiled eggs. Eggs are a great source of protein and can be a big help with adding a little fat to the meals of our skinny pups. 🥚
- Donate hot dogs. These dogs will work for hot dogs! We use them in group and individual training with our shelter dogs. We give them out freely when we have to do vetting. They make excellent pill pockets. Seriously, you guys. We use so many hot dogs. 🌭
- Donate peanut butter. Great for lick mats, Kongs, and smearing around the edge of their food bowls. Sometimes we dip a milk bone in it and make a little lollipop. 🥜
- Donate canned sardines or salmon. One of our senior pups has some food allergies which exclude him from most of the goodies we get donated. Boy, does he dance when he smells a little something extra in his bowl! 🐟
- Donate good quality kibble. As you can imagine, feeding 80+ dogs every day takes a whole lot of food! Our preferred brand is Purina (ProPlan, One, Dog Chow). These dogs just do better on it. We have a lot less trouble with upset tummies, and that makes everyone’s day easier. 🐶
- Donate calming treats. Our preferred brand is Quiet Moments w/Melatonin. Calming treats can be beneficial for helping new dogs settle into shelter life or ride out a storm. 💊
One other ritual we all enjoy is Bedtime Biscuit distribution. At the end of every day our staff hands out bully sticks, chew bones, etc and tucks the dogs in for the night. We all look forward to it and love to see them all quietly, happily gnawing on something tasty. We can always use these types of treats as well. 🦴
If you’re not local to CARA, you can still help with these items by clicking this link and making a monetary donation. 👇🏻
https://carams.org/donate/food/
Thank you for helping us ensure the CARA dogs don’t know they’re shelter dogs.
