BATON ROUGE - The Sherwood South Animal Hospital has been stocking a pet food pantry for families in need during the government shutdown.

"Times are tough and they are going to get tougher, and we believe that no one should have to choose between feeding their family members or their pets," Ashley Bodin, the administrator of the Pet Hospital, said.

She says seeing the community come together to support food banks inspired them.

"When we thought about that, everybody in the community was donating to food banks, but our focus is on the pets," she said.

The pantry is located at the entrance of the hospital, and is open for donations or for those in need.

"It's open 24/7 365, you can come in whenever you don't have to buzz in, it's take what you need, no judgment," she said.

"Every few hours, we have some people stop by, grab some stuff; we also have some people who are reaching out to us on social media. We're letting them know their needs, so we are trying to support them if they have a need that needs to be met."

Bodin says the feedback from the community has been supportive.

"The community has really done a lot, they have blown it up honestly, we did not expect it to be a viral post or to reach as many people as it has reached. In the community, they have been showing up and stepping up for us so much so that we're taking donations 24 hours a day, seven days a week," she said.

The South Sherwood Animal Hospital has partnered with Dodge City Veterinary Hospital in Denham Springs, which has also opened up a pet food bank to spread donations across East Baton Rouge and Livingston Parish.