Updates from Petey's Promise

Those who received the food said they were grateful and expressed a desire to either donate what they could on Saturday to Petey’s Promise or promised to help in the future. “I’ve never heard of anybody giving away food for pets,” said Bernetta Wright, of Kannapolis. “As soon as I’m able, I’m going to give back to these people.” …

Organizers of a drive to provide pet food for owners who can’t afford to feed their dogs and cats have announced four sites where the food can be picked up.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control Services are teaming in this effort, which also includes an effort to get pet food and financial contributions from the public.

In addition, Harrisburg-based Petey’s Promise offers help to pet owners who are facing the same problem.

Petey’s Promise has been operating less than a year, and Mellott said creating a nonprofit from scratch is a daunting task. But once she completed the paperwork, Mellott and co-worker Sara Barkman launched a Web site to help get the word out.

It didn’t take long to realize how much need there was.

“We had to jump right in,” Mellott said. “We knew there were animals starving. We didn’t want people to have to return animals to the shelter because they couldn’t feed them.”

National Speed Sport News staffer Liz Mellott saw a need and started a new charity, “Petey’s Promise,” a pet-food pantry that is intent on helping pet owners who are struggling financially care for their pets…

Standing in the lobby of National Speed Sport News on Hudspeth Road, Liz Mellott can’t help but smile as her dog Petey nestles at her side.

Mellott loves Petey, and considers him a part of her family.

In October 2004, when her son’s gymnastics team was returning from a competition, a driver noticed five dogs on the side of Interstate 85. The driver loaded the dogs into the van and continued home, where he asked parents if they would be willing to foster the dogs until permanent homes could be found.

“I got down on my knees and he came and laid right across my lap,” Mellott recalled. “Of course I took him home. He’s actually a foster dog that I’ve never given back.”

Mellott, who admits to involving herself in a number of different charities, recently started pondering the idea of creating her own nonprofit to help animals.