25K pounds of animal food delivered to SPCA

Cal Fire Tulare Unit employees, along with the Walmart Distribution Center in Porterville, teamed up to answer a call regarding a food shortage at the Valley Oak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Visalia.

Nine pallets of cat and dog food, which amounted to about 25,000 pounds, were delivered at 10 a.m. Wednesday to Valley Oak SPCA. Twelve Cal Fire employees and three Walmart Distribution Center employees — Sultan Alfarah, Kent Delperdang and Deena Inman — were on hand.

“Cal Fire has built a bridge between Walmart Distribution Center and SPCA,” Cal Fire Public Information Officer Larry Pendarvis said.

Cal Fire employees learned through the local media that Valley Oak SPCA was running out of animal food for the 1,000-plus that the facility cares for each month.

One hundred twenty Cal Fire employees, both sworn and civilian, spearheaded a donation drive to collect as much food as possible.

Multiple bags of food were brought in to the station by department personnel, and major assistance was offered by Walmart Distribution Center employees.