ST.MARY PARISH — MORGAN CITY, La. — A pet food donation drive meant to help families in need took an unexpected turn after a break-in at the Morgan City Petting Zoo over the weekend.
Amy Bacon, the zoo’s manager, said she partnered with Deep South Dog, another animal advocacy group to collect dog and cat food for families struggling to afford pet supplies during the holidays.
“We wanted to do something nice for the community,” Bacon said. “We all know how expensive pet food is right now.”
Bacon said she spent much of Friday organizing the donated food and storing it inside an office space ahead of distribution day. By Saturday morning, however, all of it was gone.
According to Bacon, someone broke into the office and stole every donated item — except for one bag of dog food that was still in the trunk of her car.
“My part-timer called me asking where all the food was,” Bacon said. “They stole all of our collected pet food.”
Bacon said a police report has been filed with the Morgan City Police Department and added that this was not an isolated incident, noting a similar break-in occurred a few months ago.
In addition to bags of dry and wet dog and cat food, Bacon said a cat house used to keep animals warm during colder months was also stolen.
Despite the setback, Bacon said the community has stepped up to help replace some of the stolen donations. She said she is grateful for the support and hopes whoever is responsible is caught.
“If anyone saw something, we just want justice,” Bacon said. “But so far, God has been good.”
How to help
If you would like to help the petting zoo, you can call Morgan City hall at (985)-385-1770 and they can direct you to Amy Bacon, the manger of the petting zoo.
You can also contribute to the petting zoo's Amazon wish list here .
