By: Jesse Heinrichs
Kimberley Kritters Pet Boutique is calling on locals with spare time, to create artistic paw prints of their, or a friend’s animal, in the spirit of community.
Erin Sondergaard, who opened Kimberley Kritters back in 2017, started a Facebook group called PAWS in the Window. The group was made on March 25, as a place to share positive, fun, and meaningful art within the Kimberley community.
For every paw put up in a window, Sondergaard said Kimberley Kritters will donate $1 to the community, and to people who might not be able to afford pet food in the coming weeks.
“We always want to be a big part of our community, and I feel it’s especially important in a small town to pay things forward whenever you can,” said Sondergaard.
Pet food and supply is considered an essential service, so for the meantime, Sondergaard’s business remains open. She said that last week was Kimberley Kritters busiest week to date, in part because of people preparing for uncertain times.
Although Sondergaard is staying busy, she’s aware that many other people aren’t as fortunate. That is why she is hoping people in Kimberley will participate in the communal art project.
“I feel like over the next few weeks or months, we might start seeing people really feeling the pinch of being out of work,” said Sondergaard, “There could potentially be a lot of people struggling to afford pet food, let alone groceries and their bills.”
Which is why Sondergaard is going beyond donating for PAWS in the Window, and has contacted pet food manufactures to see if they’d be able to donate a few dozen bags of pet food to the community.
At the moment, suppliers are busy catching up on orders. She’s been told, however, that someone will be in contact with her in the coming days to discuss what can be done for the pets of Kimberley.
More people are working from because of COVID-19, and many pets are getting extra attention than usual. In an effort to get out of the house, people are walking their pets more frequently, and Sondergaard hopes PAWS in the Window will give them something positive to think about as they go about the neighbourhood.
She warns, however, that some pets might experience separation anxiety as things return to normal. She said it would be a good idea to have pets slowly acclimatized to solitude.
“Easing them back in, or having a friend or family member check-in on them is probably good,” said Sondergaard, “Not all dogs will suffer, but I think some will.”