Paws Pantry has helped its first slithering stipendiary.

While volunteering last weekend at the Madison Food Pantry and Trinity Lutheran Church, Paws Pantry founder Cindy Hardwick and her husband dropped a Paws Pantry flyer into each box of food.

Before dinner time Saturday, Cindy had already received four messages and one e-mail.

"But the most unusual request was from a Madison gal calling looking for help with feeding her snake," she said. "I had to find out about snakes and the mice they eat - fresh vs. frozen, little vs. big - way more information than I ever wanted to know.

"I went to Petco and talked to a lovely girl about the mice. We both decided that the colored ones were way too cute to feed to anything, so we decided on the plain old white ones.

"So Paws Pantry made its first mice delivery this weekend. I hope that means I don't have to change the name to Paws-and-anything-non-human Pantry."

Paws Pantry is currently applying for nonprofit status so it can provide necessary pet food to anyone who finds themselves financially unable to feed their pets - dogs, cats, fish, gerbils, whatever. For more on the group and its upcoming casino bus trip fundraiser, click here.

Cindy can be reached at 440-298-1530 week days after 5 p.m. and weekends, or at cmhardwick@windstream.net or pawspantry@windstream.net.

-- Sandra M. Klepach, SKlepach@News-Herald.com