For the 2,000 homeless cats and dogs at Los Angeles Animal Services, Halo’s 10,000 meal donation of Spot’s Stew dry and canned food was the cat’s meow.

“The Halo donation is extra special to us,” says Linda Barth, assistant general manager of the city’s six shelters. “Wonderful for us.”

Receiving such a large donation — eaten by cats and dogs, kittens and puppies at two of the shelters — enabled the animals to eat one kind of food for an extended period of time, helping their bellies get used to a new food. “Animals are already under stress in an animal care center and already have digestive issues,” says Barth.

“It is great to be associated with this kind of product and Ellen DeGeneres,” Barth continues. “It is a boost that our organization is something that Halo wants to help, and is providing a natural food.”

The strays who enter the shelter following abuse particularly benefit from a food like Halo. “We would have used this food for animals who need to get healthy,” says Barth, “animals in trouble due to neglect.”

The donation was in partnership with Warner Brothers and L.A. station KNBC.

Barth and her veterinary medical and animal tech staff were so impressed with Halo’s top quality, they are now recommending it to people adopting pets.

In the first four months of the pet food bank’s existence at the City of Sacramento Animal Care Services, 500 different people showed up, all unable to feed their cats and dogs. Their only other option was the devastating: to turn their pets over to the shelter.

So when Halo, Purely for Pets recently sent over 5,000 meals of Spot’s Stew, which was shared by the Sacramento SPCA, it was a complete surprise. “Halo was dropped from heaven,” says Penny Cistaro, manager of the animal care program for Sacramento and creator of the food bank in November of last year. “It has been incredible for us to have that much food.”

The food bank relies on donations for the program to run. “I love the food bank,” says Cistaro. As do the grateful pet owners who come for food. They include the homeless and those that lost their house, even state workers experiencing financial difficulty due to California’s forced unpaid three-day-a-month furlough.

“They’re just plain thankful that they’re here,” says Cistaro. “They can’t believe we won’t make them do something to do for the food. When people come in for help, it’s a humbling experience and it’s a good thing to offer.”

Watch the segment on the local TV news about the donation and the shelter.

“We were tickled pink, to say the least,” says the Humane Society of Tampa Bay’s Pam Backer of their Halo, Purely For Pets 10,000 meal donation. “This is outstanding for us to be able to not purchase any food, it was absolutely just a wonderful gift.”

And the animals were tickled pink too. “They gobble it up, real simply,” says Backer of the 150 cats and 125 dogs. “In a shelter setting we typically use a shelter mix, and alot of them snuff their noses at it. With the Halo they just jump right in. We all know the quality is outstanding.”

The shelter takes in some 7,000 animals a year, many from owners who give them up due to job and home losses. “The economy is very bad in the Tampa area,” says Backer. “People that are losing their jobs or their homes are being forced to move in with family, friends in homes that don’t allow pets or they don’t want them there. It’s very sad, and it doesn’t seem like it’s ending anytime soon.”

So for the moment, at least these homeless pets can dine like kings and queens on the June donation. “On any given day there is someone who is finicky,” says Backer. “But I have not noticed that any of the animals don’t want to eat the Halo.”

Last year, Zachary Wilson visited his local shelter to find a second dog to adopt. He saw cages filled with dogs, most with three or four. It shocked Zach, then 9. It was quite different from when he had visited just five months before, when the cages were nearly empty. A shelter worker explained to Zach that people are losing their jobs and their homes and dumping their dogs to save money. “When I saw how many dogs there were I got really sad,” says Zach, who later told his mom “We have to feed the dogs. And she said, ‘He is fed’ and I said, “No mom, ALL the dogs.”

So Zach, now 10, thought of starting a food pantry near their home in an Orlando suburb for dogs and cats, with help from his mom, Erica Wilson. Called The Animal Pantry of Central Florida, they recently received 5,000 meals from Halo, Purely For Pets — thanks to a promise Halo part-owner Ellen DeGeneres made while visiting Orlando — as well as from pet stores and neighbors. A local shopping center donated a storefront for storage and distribution. Since April of 2009, Zachary, with the help of his Erica and other volunteers, has donated over 75,000 pounds of food, helping some 10,000 different animals (and hopefully keeping them with their families). “I feel very happy that I know all those dogs and cats aren’t let go in parks or being put in the shelters,” says Zach. “And I am very happy they stay with their owners.”

Halo’s donation last month came just at the right time. “I was really happy because when we got the Halo food, I was very relieved,” says Zach. “We were running low on cat food, it really helps.” Adds Erica: “Because the food is high end, we saved that for special needs dogs, or dogs who used to be on holistic food.”

Zach, a cub scout, is particularly drawn to animals who have special needs. Erica believes it’s due to his sister Lexi, 13, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy. “We think one of the reasons that Zach sees the world as he does is that he’s spent his entire world in and out of hospitals,” says Erica. “So when he hears that a dog has to be put down because it has a gimpy leg, to him that means his sister is unacceptable, just because anyone has a disability doesn’t make them any less.”

The economy around the Orlando area continues to struggle, with no unemployment found anywhere, says Erica. “What we are finding is that people are still not finding new jobs, many times people pull up (to the pet food pantry) in trucks,” she says. “They have gotten rid of their house, their clothes, their jewelry and all they have is their dog.”

The overabundance of dogs and cats in shelters due owners’ financial hardships hit Zach hard recently. A few weeks ago, Erica says a local shelter put down 500 animals, mostly purebred dogs whose owners gave them up for financial reasons. “Zach was just flabbergasted,” says Erica. “He burst out in tears and said we have to work harder.”
Here is a clip from NBC TV in Orlando about Zach and the Halo donation.

The ASPCA put out a great guide to helping homeless cats, even if you can’t adopt one right now:

From assisting in the care and placement of shelter felines to educating the public on feral cat issues—here are a few easy ways you can make a difference for homeless cats in your community.

Show Your Virtual Support
Dedicate your MySpace page, Facebook status, Tweet or blog to an adoptable cat and help spread the word about Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month! You can also join our cause on Facebook or put an ASPCA donation widget on your personal web page.

Volunteer at Your Local Shelter
Volunteering at your local shelter is a great way to make a difference in the lives of homeless cats. From playing with kittens and organizing fundraising events to fostering abused or frightened felines, shelters across the country are in desperate need of volunteers. Be sure to visit our Ten Ways to Help Your Local Shelter for more suggestions.

Click over to the ASPCA page for eight more tips!