Pet shelter makes a plea for pet food in Citrus County.  County Animal Services is hoping to raise awareness of a growing need.  They say as families struggle to find enough food to feed themselves often pets are left out or abandoned.

Not only do food banks see an increase in food requests but they also have requests for pet food and will gladly accept donations. Animal Services Shelter Ops Manager Pattie Amon says we may not think about peoples' pets.

"It just makes more sense to be feeding them relatively inexpensive pet food that is specially formulated for the animals, so any kind of pet food donated to the food banks is appreciated," Amon said. Often pets are given food meant for families already struggling to feed themselves.  They are seeing more cases of pets being given up or abandoned.

Moved by the need, two Citrus Springs Middle School students, Sara Marchant and Sarah Chesser organized a pet food drive for animal services.  Their efforts filled up a carload of supplies including pet food, paper towels and new pet beds.  It came just in time as the shelter's supplies for needy pet owners was nearly depleted. All of the five major food banks in Citrus County will accept pet food donations too.