Milford Animal Control was in need of more dog food. Here's what happened next

MILFORD — Milford Animal Control put out the call. The community answered.

Last Sunday, Animal Control Officer Keith Haynes posted on Facebook that the department was in need of dog food.

"The Milford Animal Control Department is in desperate need of canned dog food," Haynes wrote. "Donations would be greatly appreciated. All donations can be left at the ramp side door."

Since then, several people have come to the 3 Fiske Mill Road facility to drop off dog food. And others have pledged to set up monthly subscriptions on sites like Amazon and Chewy to help feed the captive canines in the future, Haynes said.

Haynes said he has seen more dogs in recent months — there are currently five on hand — than in the past.

"What happened was, when COVID came around, a lot of people adopted animals," he said. "Now, people are moving or going back to work and they don't have time for the animals anymore and a lot of people are getting rid of them."

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In abandonment cases, dogs are often dumped on the side of the road with no way to get home. The dogs end up in the care of animal control until they are placed in new homes.

Milford isn't the only community that has seen a higher number of stray dogs.

Jennifer Condon, owner of Boardman's Animal Control in Maynard, said she has also noticed an "uptick" in strays during the past few months. Boardman acts as animal control officer in several communities — Concord, Maynard, Lincoln, Hudson, Sudbury, Wayland and Southborough.

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She said she had been housing seven dogs since November until she recently found homes for them.

In Milford, while five dogs doesn't sound like much, that's actually only a portion of the real number. It doesn't count the numerous dogs that Haynes said he picks up when they're running loose and has to house them. It can sometimes take several days before he locates an owner. So that adds to the amount of dog food he needs.

Some people purposely don't pick up their dogs for several days because the animals are unlicensed. Instead, dog owners wait until they have an opportunity to license their pets before reclaiming them.

"I easily go through 30 or 40 cans of food a week, sometimes more," Haynes said.

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The town budgets a "small amount" for animal food, Haynes said, adding that many of the department's needs are met by the community, be it food, blankets or other items.

"There are a lot of good people in town," he said. "When you ask the community, they usually help out. People are great. I love Milford. I love people in this community.  Anytime we ever ask, anytime we post anything, people really step forward. They're really great people."

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Milford animal control needed more dog food; the community rallied