Helping Nevinka were her parents, Rotary Club of Awapuni members and StarLight supporters.
Donated items, including food, toys, treats, collars, blankets and beds, were sorted into gift bags for puppies, small, medium, large and senior dogs, and kittens and cats.
Some pooches were getting a Santa coat; others, cleansing spritz.
In 2009, Kathy Simpson and her friend Cathy Barker asked staff at Palmerston North Hospital's mental health unit if they would like Christmas gifts for the patients.
StarLight grew from there, and started gifting the pet packs about five years ago.
Simpson's daughter is a specialist vet, and told Kathy dog and cat owners were giving up their pets at Christmas due to financial pressures.
Pet food on top of festive food and presents was too much for some overwhelmed owners who felt they couldn't cope.
StarLight aims to bring joy and hope to mental health patients.
"We want them to know their community cares about them."
In 1990, Simpson spent time in a now-closed mental health unit after seeking treatment for headaches. ACC later ruled her treatment was medically negligent.
Simpson says pets are the most wonderful help for recovering one's mental health. Sitting with a pet on your knee is calming. Taking a dog for a walk in the fresh air and noting how it responds to you is good for your mental health.
Often when someone feels suicidal, they believe the world would be better off without them - but if a dog is wagging its tail, people are less likely to take their own lives because they think about who will look after their pet.
"It gives them a reason to hang on when they are really struggling," Simpson says.
StarLight is one of the few organisations trying to help people keep pets by providing food at a financially stressful time, she says.
Her daughter used her contacts to seek donations, as did Rotarian Mark Buxton, with Nestlé Purina in Marton donating a ute-load of product.
The pet packs are distributed through Mash Trust, Luck Venue, Horowhenua Community Mental Health Services, Mana o te Tangata, Agape Fellowship and Manawatū Supporting Families.
Monday was the first of three packing days, with children's and adults packs to come. Simpson says they are planning on providing 750 packs for adults, 650 for children and 350 for pets for Christmas. They also provide 760 amenity packs for Ward 21 patients at Palmerston North Hospital during the year.
Founded in Palmerston North, StarLight is now fully operational in Te Whatu Ora - Capital, Coast & Hutt Valley area, operates in Hawke's Bay, and has just started providing packs to mental health units in Auckland.
Simpson is in the process of handing over the reins to Rotary clubs.
Back to Sticker, who was found by Nevinka's mother. The abandoned kitten got her name as she used to hang on Nevinka's mother's clothes. Sticker would wait for Nevinka to come home, and always knew when she needed comforting.
"I just miss her so much after coming here."
This is a Public Interest Journalism funded role through NZ On Air
