Animal aid group says majority of supplies lost after theft

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A week ago, they were readying to do one of their largest distributions of aid for the holiday.

Now the Eastern NC Equine Assistance is picking up the pieces. This after they say thieves ransacked their donation center overnight.

“The next day we came back and everything was gone. There was maybe one or two bags on each pallet,” said group director Jennifer Witkowski. “Everything that does have a bar code is gone. Every in tact bag is gone. We lost 95% of everything we had.”

The emergency assistance group says thousands of pounds of dog food, cat food, and other animal supplies were stolen. The group has operated since Florence hit providing animal feed and supplies to families all over the Cape Fear.

“We thought it was going to be a three-month program but seeing the needs of the animals in Pender County, it’s going to be for a very long time at this point,” Witkowski said.

These donations were destined to help families over the holiday, but now it is the service group in need of help. They’ve had small thefts in the past, but nothing like this.

“We’re not able to do our last distribution day and we’re really struggling to figure out how we’re going to feed the community at this point,” said Witkowski.

This theft also comes as the group has to move out of their location at the old Burton Steel mill. They plan to begin a mobile distribution effort in the new year.

“We’re going to be operating out of Pender County and we are in the process of looking at what the rebuild is going to look like,” Witkowski said.

Witkowski says they plan to go to local law enforcement to report the thefts, however, all of the items were donated and not itemized, so she thinks there is little that can be done to recover what was lost.

If you would like the help, the Eastern NC Equine Emergency Assistance is actively accepting donations of animal food as well as supplies. You can reach them online through their email EasternNCEEA@gmail.com or on social media.