Dog food bank excited to receive donation of treats, then they open the box

Worry and concern were brought to a volunteer-based animal food bank when one of their donations was filled with sharp, used needles.

In 2021, Alison Smith started the United Kingdom-based Your Pet Food Bank when she saw people struggling to make ends meet following job layoffs and inflation. She also noticed animal shelters and rescues overwhelmed with the uptick of surrenders. The thought of people not being able to care for themselves, let alone their pets, helped craft the idea for a pet food bank.

Since then, Your Pet Food Bank has set up several drop-off locations for people to donate pet food. That food is then donated to those struggling and in need, and to food banks, community centers, or homeless shelters.

Last month, Smith’s parents who assist her started opening a box of dog treats and discovered it was not dog treats at all. Instead, Smith told Newsweek it was about five liters of used needles.

Shocked and totally unexpected, Smith shared the discovery in a Reddit post to the subreddit channel r/Wellthatsucks. The unfortunate situation left users equally stunned as the post racked up over 4,200 votes and 60 comments.

Smith and all the volunteers go through each donation to check if it is expired and unopened. They cannot donate it if either is true, but with unopened food and treats, they are sometimes able to donate it to wildlife rescue or sanctuary.

When her parents shook the dog treat box, it sounded like it could be biscuits, she said. But, of course, that was not the case and there is no way for her to trace back where the box came from.

The only positive she found in this situation was that it was her parents who discovered it. Both have worked with needles in their previous jobs as a nurse and a cop. They knew what to do in this situation and were, thankfully, not hurt or poked.

They locked their pets out of the room to avoid them getting hurt. Then they laid the needles on the table and picked them one-by-one to carefully discard them instead of reaching their hands in and grabbing the needles that way.

The team had to pay out of pocket to get hazardous bins and to dispose of the needles properly.

Smith is hopeful that it was a mistake and not malicious, but it seems like the word “sharp” was scribbled out on the box. The person instead wrote, “used.”

“I’ve been doing it for three years,” Smith told Newsweek. “We’re getting busier and fortunately accepting more and more going out, but I never thought we’d get needles.”

Reddit Users React

Reddit users couldn’t believed that Smith received such a donation.

“Sorry, this isn’t supposed to happen,” one user wrote.

Another added: “I really hope someone didn’t do this intentionally.”

A third commented: “Those are insulin needles. I use the same for my cat with diabetes. Still nonsense you received a whole box of them. Sorry you didn’t get your biscuits.”

Others offered advice for those who might need help with disposing of needles, with one Reddit user writing: “For those who don’t know, you can request a sharps bin from your local pharmacy or hospital, this is mainly for people who inject daily like diabetics, etc. My local pharmacy will give them for free they will also take in full bins for disposal.”

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