Woman Building Wall Of Peanut Butter For Shelter Dogs

BROOKHAVEN, NY — For years, Valerie Sanks has devoted her life to giving back to homeless dogs. She's hosted sleepovers for the dogs to shower them with affection, planned birthday parties and car rides, helped a dying dog realize her bucket list of dreams, and organized blanket drives.

And now, she's building a dream wall of peanut butter sure to delight her hungry four-legged friends.

Sanks, of Rocky Point, is a volunteer at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter. "I’m trying to build a wall of peanut butter for my shelter dogs," she said.

"I know how much my shelter dogs at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter love peanut butter, especially when they have their Kong toys filled with them," she said. "And I was starting to see so much sad news, depressing posts, and I said, 'Why not? We've built a wall of blankets, we have built a wall of dog treats. How crazy would it be to try and build a wall of peanut butter?' So last Monday I put out a post asking if anybody would like to be a peanut butter buddy. And the response has been simply amazing."

"Instantly you started to see just how many friends wanted to be 'a peanut butter buddy,'" she said. "Jars started coming in Friday, then Saturday — but Sunday, wow, they really came in!"

A friend for over 30 years wound up sending three five-pound jars of peanut butter; Sanks said; she took a picture to thank the woman publicly, and then received two private messages from former adopters at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter who told Sanks they were also going to send some of the five-pound jars.

"Right now in this scary, uncertain time, it’s nice to know that despite my sometimes crazy ideas, when maybe I reach too high with unrealistic goals, I feel that this goal of 300 jars of peanut butter will be hit. And I know the doggies at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter will be sending peanut butter kisses to their peanut butter buddies from a distance."

Sanks, who had received 140 jars as of Tuesday, has 160 jars to go. She plans on delivering the peanut butter personally the first weekend of November to the shelter.

To donate, message Valerie Sanks on Facebook, mail the peanut butter to P.O. Box 335, Rocky Point, NY 11778, or call the shelter directly at 631-451-6950.

Rosemarie DeMaio reached out to Patch to describe Sanks' dedication to homeless dogs. "During the holidays she has a blanket drive and has collected thousands blankets for homeless animals; she literally drives all over New York to deliver them," she said.

Sanks also spotlights dogs looking for their forever homes, sharing their stories on social media to help spread the word, she said.

She met Sanks when her dog, a 5-pound Shih Tzu, ran away, DeMaio said. "She was a complete stranger but could she the despair in my posts," she said. "Valerie showed up at my house to help me look for her. We got a call of a sighting and Valerie went to the location with a grill at 1 a.m. and cooked bacon in attempt to lure her out of the woods.She didn’t come out but Val didn’t give up. We found her 10 days later. She also helped me emotionally during this period, as I was so distraught," she said. "She is just an amazing person."

If Sanks exceeds her goal of 300 jars, she may donate the additional peanut butter to other shelters, DeMaio added.