Sofija Simic says she wouldn’t be here today if a Melbourne charity hadn’t helped her care for her beloved poodle while she received life-saving treatment.

She had no-one to look after him and no way to afford to put him in a kennel.

“I wouldn’t have left him on his own because he means so much to me,” she said.

“I need him.

“He calms me down [and] for companionship and for love.”

One of the charity volunteers fostered Noodle, now 12, for four months while Ms Simic received care.

“If I don’t get the treatment that I need, I don’t know if I’d still be here,” she said.

The charity also paid for Noodle’s vet bills while he was in care and had sudden health issues.

People and pets

Melbourne charity Pets of the Homeless started out helping people experiencing homelessness but now offers its services to anyone in need.

It assists people with vet bills, fosters people’s pets when they have to go into hospital or crisis accommodation, and runs one of Australia’s only pet food banks.

The pet food bank has already provided more than 100,000 pet meals this year.

Founder Yvonne Hong said demand for their services was rapidly increasing in response to rising cost of living pressures.

“We have seen an increase of 40 per cent in food that we’ve actually sent out to people,” she said.

“A lot of people are now struggling to put food on the table for themselves and for their pets.”

rising demands

Ms Hong said some food relief charities were initially reluctant to take on pet food because it was yet another item to distribute.

But when workers saw people sacrificing their own food to feed their pets and going without themselves, they changed their minds.

Volunteer Paul Atkinson, who drives vans full of pet food all over Melbourne and Victoria, said the loads had been getting heavier.

“Demand for the service has gone up quite a bit, when I first started here the van would never be quite as full,” he said.

“Now, probably the last eight months or more it’s been full every time I go out.”

Difficult choices

Mr. Atkinson said he saw the sacrifices owners were making to care for their pets.

“I’ve been to a couple of places and I’ve had old people, you know, they’re struggling and they’re buying food for their pet, their companion and not worrying about food for themselves,” he said.

“It brings a tear to the eye.”

Pet food bank warehouse volunteer Chelsea Nieper said trying to prevent those terrible choices motivated her to keep turning up at the facility in Melbourne’s outer east.

“The one thing we hate and what we try to avoid is people making decisions between them eating or eating their dogs,” she said.

Stay together

Ms Hong said the charity’s mission was to keep vulnerable people together with their pets during times of crisis.

“People who won’t traditionally seek assistance, people who have stable jobs, stable incomes, for example, are now struggling to make ends meet and they’re just needing that extra bit of help from us,” she said.

She said her organization also helped with veterinary care.

“I think that’s the second biggest thing that people would face, pets need food, and the next thing they need is medical attention,” she said.

“So we help them with your vet bills.

“And in some circumstances where people can’t be with their pets, if they need to go into a refuge, for example, or seek medical treatment, we are also able to help them temporarily looking after their pets.”

That was what happened for Ms Simic.

“Noodle gives me love, he gives me companionship,” she said.

“I live on my own.

“So it makes a big difference.

“Having him around because he gives me a purpose.”