Hundreds lined up outside The Animal Foundation Monday afternoon in east Las Vegas to receive free pet food through an emergency food pantry.

After over three hours, the nonprofit distributed 8,825 pounds of dog and cat food to help feed 1,253 dogs and 512 cats.

The Animal Foundation holds a monthly pet food pantry, but CEO Hilarie Grey said the government shutdown and cuts to SNAP and other food benefits spurred them to hold an emergency pet food giveaway.

“When you’re going through something, having your furry family with you is an important support, and for folks that may have lost their job or have something really awful going on, the thought of also losing their pet is really overwhelming,” Grey said.

Volunteers and Animal Foundation employees assembled the bags of pet food like a

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