Purchasing Flowers Can Help Local Pet Shelters

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore area animal shelters are overflowing. Now there's a unique way you can help, especially during the holidays.

Ron Matz reports you can do it with flowers.

Loverboy is just one of the thousands of pets being cared for at Baltimore area animal shelters.

Eddie Wingrat is the owner of Flowers and Fancies, and he started "Petals for Pets." Customers can send a pet bouquet and help the local shelters.

"We bring our dogs, shelter dogs, to work every day and we were sitting around one day wondering how we can help the shelters in our area. We have a line of pets that we make out of flowers and we put the two together and we said why don't we do this for the shelters," said Wingrat.

The shelters welcome the help.

"It's great to have the help of the community. We have a Baltimore alliance--BARCS, Maryland SPCA and Baltimore Humane Society all work together. This is such a great idea Eddie has. We are so grateful," said Aileen Gabbey, Executive Director Maryland SPCA.

Customers will get a special thank you card. Most arrangements are $58.

"The person that purchases the 'Petals for Pets' animal can designate one of three area shelters to which they would like the funds to go to. Twenty percent of the sale price will go either to the Maryland SPCA, BARCS or the Maryland Humane Society. The bouquets run from $58 and 20 percent of that goes directly to the shelter," said Wingrat.

Loverboy is one of the 18,000 homeless pets Baltimore's three nonproft shelters see every year.

"We're all nonprofits, so we need all the help we can get. Helping your local shelter means more animals get saved. The Maryland SPCA, BARCS and the Baltimore Humane Society really need help. There are a lot of unwanted and homeless animals. We want to find them homes and this is a good way to do it," said Gabbey.

The plan is saving them with flowers.

"We have an opportunity to help the shelters out while at the same time people can send gifts for dogs or cat lovers as they deem fit for the occasion," said Wingrat. "We're all pet lovers. The shelters need the money just like any other charitable organization. The joy that the pets give to people and the fact that the shelters are in need of the money, we put the two together and it was easy, an easy mix."

For more information about the "Petals for Pets" program, click here.