Pet shop owner donates 25,000 lbs. of food to celebrate anniversary

(WJBK) - The owner of Premier Pet Supply, Mike Palmer, donated to five animal rescues as he celebrated 25 years of business in metro Detroit.

"Someone said 2,500," Palmer said. "I said let's go big, how about 25,000?"

Stacked high outside his Beverly Hills store on Southfield, folks with Detroit Dog Rescue, the Michigan Humane Society, Almost Home, Paws in the D and the Michigan Animal Rescue League were left wide-eyed.

"Twenty-five thousand pounds, that helps a lot of animals," said Kristina Rinaldi, DDR. "So when you look at it mathematically, that's literally tons of food."

"We love these guys, they're amazing," said Marie Skladd from the Michigan Humane Society. "Not just to MHS, but to the rescue community in general."

Each group received 5,000 pounds of dog food each.

"We worry about feeding our dogs every week," said Rinaldi. "So 5,000 that's an amazing gift."

They say Palmer donates to them regularly and all of this will go a long way.

"We are so excited because this is going to help us," said Gail Montgomery, co-founder of Almost Home. "Continue medical care and not have to pay for food."

But Palmer simply says, "The selfless efforts we witness is humbling - and to help them it makes us truly happy."

Jasper, a dog, is just one of the examples saved from hoarding situation.

"Jasper is the most loving dog," said Shawn. "(He) comforted me through chemo. I'm now on the other side and enjoying life."

Stormy, was last seen on FOX 2 last month with stab wounds all over his body.

"All of these are scars from everything done to him," said Gail Montgomery, co-founder of Almost Home. "So resilient and a great dog."

Waiting to be adopted, Stormy watches Palmer and his premier crew pack in the piles of dog food for each rescue.

"You have Premier Pet Supply giving back, we adopt our dogs, come back and shop," Rinaldi said. "That's the way it's supposed to be."

"Support local business, support family-owned," Palmer said. "We can truly keep money local and do things like this."