TORONTO -- A campaign to help Toronto’s homeless pets was interrupted after a person pushed their foot through the front door of a downtown pet food store.
The owners of Pet Food Platters, a small independent pet food store on Spadina Avenue, said they were busy making raw treats overnight for Toronto’s homeless pets when they heard a noise at the front of their store around 4:30 a.m.
When Byard, his partner Rebecca Dabor, and their two dogs went to investigate, he said they realized that it wasn’t a robbery, but a random act of vandalism.
“We thought somebody was going to be breaking in. We know it's a popular thing that happens this time of year,” co-owner Aaron Byard told CTV News Toronto.
"Heartbroken we spent the remainder of the early morning cleaning and repairing our storefront instead of packaging gifts for the homeless dogs of Toronto."
Surveillance video from the store’s camera shows a group of men walking north along the sidewalk on Spadina Avenue. One of the men appears to kick the door of a nearby business, but is unable to break the glass. He then appears to try again at the front door of Pet Food Platters, and this time the glass shatters and his foot goes through. He then is shown running away.
“I think it’s extremely upsetting” Dabor, who is also the store’s co-owner, told CTV News Toronto.
“You can kind of see the attitude of the young men. [They] think it’s funny to see what door they can get into.”'
Byard said he is feels frustrated as a small business owner because it doesn’t impact them.
“They think that it doesn't affect people but it really does,” he said.
The couple said that this is the third time they’ve had to replace their front door this year because of people who have kicked it in overnight.
Byard said that in June they had to replace all their front windows after an overnight shooting on Spadina Avenue sent nine bullets through the glass and into their store.
Two bullet holes are still visible in the store, he said.
The latest incident, he said, is especially problematic because it has delayed the couple’s campaign to help homeless pets over the holidays.
The Pet Food Platters’ campaign for homeless pets collects donations from the store’s customers and matches each donation with one of their own made-in-food.
“We're accepting donations of used and new clothing, toys, collars, leashes, food, and then the goal is that every time someone brings something in we're throwing in something for the shop ourselves,” Dabor said.
They plan to deliver the gifts by driving around the city looking for people who are homeless and their pets.
“We see a lot of dogs with people [who are homeless] that are cold and hungry, and we have an opportunity from the business we have and the food that we have, to help,” Dabor said. “We've rallied our customers and they've been fantastic.”
The pair will try and deliver the Christmas treats tomorrow night because they spent most of their Sunday replacing their door.
The couple said they’re trying their best to keep a positive attitude and focus on their campaign despite the inconvenience.
"Heart-broken we spent the remainder of the early morning [Sunday], cleaning and repairing our store front instead of packaging gifts for the homeless dogs of Toronto," he said.
