NORWICH – Myanna Dickey, age 7, of Bainbridge, with the help of her father, Justin Dickey, who is the co-owner/manager of South End Wines and Liquor, helped to organize a local dog and cat food drive.
“I really like animals and I want to be a veterinarian, so I wanted to build my resume. My favorite part was going into the SPCA and seeing all the dogs and cats, they all looked so happy,” said Myanna.
The food drive was named "Give Our Furry Friends a Chance,” and actually had a Facebook page created for the event. The Facebook page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1464644233857941/
In total, Myanna helped Give Our Furry Friends a Chance raise 1,850 pounds of dog a cat food and $81 in cash from her event. All of which was split up between two animal shelters. Myanna gave the Chenango SPCA, 1,030 lbs. of food and $51 in cash. She also donated to the The Delaware Valley Humane Society, the animal shelter located in Sidney, 820 lbs. And $30 cash.
“She decided to do this event because she was told it was difficult to get into Vet. school and good grades and sports isn't enough, she'll need to help her community. She then said let's have a dog and cat food drive. Every Sunday we pass the SPCA in Sidney on our way to church and they are sometimes asking for donations and I think that's where she got the idea,” said Justin.
“Pretty impressive thing coming from a 7-year-old,” said Annette Clark the Executive Director of the Chenango SPCA.
“I had her write down a goal, a name, and ideas for advertising. From there she raised $100, from family and friends of family, to buy balloons and posters and a banner and ingredients to make home made treats to give out to donors. We picked a date, hung up posters all over, set up drop off locations, and before we knew it she crushed her goal of 1,000 pounds. I couldn't be prouder,” said Justin.
This dog and cat food collection marked the first year Myanna has done such a thing. This event is not a one time thing, as Myanna and her father both explained how she would like to continue to do this event for years to come.
“Next year I guess I am going to try to just get more food definitely,” said Myanna.
All of the donations that were collected were done so over several weeks, but Myanna actually sat at out in front of her fathers store all day and personally collected donations.
“This was her first time doing something like this so we set up a table out front with a banner and homemade animal treats, it was nice,” said Justin
The following locations were set up as drop spots for the community to donate in any way they could:
-Newbauers Construction, Bainbridge
-McDowell and Walker, Sidney
-Interstate Battery, Afton
-Clint Consignment/Afton Inn, Afton
-Houndstooth Bakery, Sidney
-South End Wine and Liquor, Norwich

A special thanks was extended to all who helped Myanna reach and exceed her goal.
“She came to deliver the food the other day and then spent time with the cats and even joined our Book Buddies program and spent 25 minutes reading to a black cat named Bobby. She told us she likes dogs and cats but her preference is cats so we gave her a little cat backpack as a thank you,” said Clark.
“We ended up adopting a cat she found at the Sidney SPCA when dropping off at that location, her name is Arya,” said Justin.
The Chenango County SPCA will also be having a Pet Food Pantry day, which is a day to give back to the community and to people in need of animal food, so they would like to try to get Myanna involved in that as well. The Chenango County SPCA is always open to donations of any kind. They are currently seeking paper towel donations, they use them everyday to clean out the pens and cages so they go through them quickly and always need more.
“We can't thank her enough and will have her help distribute food at our next pet food pantry day for those in need,” said Clark.