It’s been more than a decade since the Hock Shop in Orillia started an annual donation program to aid the Ontario SPCA Orillia Animal Centre. For 2024, the sum of $5,035 brought the total since 2012 to $34,417.
The local SPCA’s community outreach co-ordinator, Natalie Harris, said the greatest impact these consistent donations have is helping with day-to-day operations at the West Street North animal centre.
As a charity organization, the centre relies on donations. Although Royal Canin provides it with food, the Hock Shop’s donations allow it to obtain specialty items like weighted jackets and inflatable collars, and meet the dietary needs of some of the animals.
“It’s non-stop. We’re always buying toys, food, accommodations, because we do treat each animal for their specific needs,” said Harris.
The Hock Shop accepts monetary donations as well as items for the charity.
“Items that we generally don’t buy, we offer to try and sell it for the donation, instead of going to the landfill,” said Hock Shop owner Dave Macneall.
A section at the front of the store displays a variety of items for donation to the SPCA. Larger items in the store have a sticker on them. After more than a decade of running the program, it can still be surprising how many people are unaware of it, Macneall noted.
“Once they know it’s for the SPCA, they’re very generous,” he said, specifically about the donations of costume jewelry.
Harris described the “amazing relationship” as a “community partnership” between the SPCA and the Hock Shop. She noted the impact it has on the wider Orillia community as well.
“People know where to bring items, and it gives them options. Maybe they can’t adopt but want to help, so they know the value of their donation made through the Hock Shop,” she said.
Harris has worked at the animal centre for a year-and-a-half and said she looks forward to going to the Hock Shop.
“They have such compassion for animals; you can feel it,” she said.
Some of the Hock Shop funds from 2024 purchased items for animals experiencing high levels of anxiety, Harris explained — for example, soft, inflatable collars as opposed to plastic ones and weighted jackets, which also help animals after they are spayed or neutered.
Charah, a 10-year-old dog, came into the Orillia Animal Centre’s care last year. She had a difficult time adjusting. The team was able to provide Charah with the attention and items necessary before she was adopted later in the year.
“Charah is an example of a dog who really found this helpful,” Harris said.
When Macneall and his team found out about Charah, he said, “Good. That’s all we can hope for. We do what we can.”
The photos that line a shelf at the Hock Shop are memories of past years when SPCA employees would bring animals with them to collect the donations. Macneall pointed to a little dog that needed surgery and benefited because of a donation.
“It just takes people finding out that we have this,” he said, noting the hardest part is getting the word out.
Once people find out, generally, “they’re very excited,” he said.