Overwhelming,” was how Lynne Snierson, standing beside a mountain of dog chow, bird seed and cat food, described the response to the Fourth of July weekend pet food drive at Rockingham Park.

“The outpouring of love and compassion is spectacular. People were amazing and we were blown away. Car after car kept driving up. It was staggering,” said Snierson, director of communications and marketing at the racetrack. “In this very tough economy it is more difficult for families to feed their companion animals. We’re hoping people will be able to keep their best friends in their homes.”

Organizers raised about 3,000 pounds of pet food during last year’s pet food drive. This year, Snierson estimates the racetrack has received around 5,000 pounds of pet food, with donations trickling in even before the weekendlong animal welfare event began last Friday.

Snierson, who led the effort to organize the racetrack’s first pet food drive, said there had been concerns that the recession would take a bite out of potential donations leading up to the Fourth of July event.

Despite the gloomy economic forecast, there were no signs that the downturn had put a damper on the willingness of people to give, she said.

“With so many people out of work and so many people laid off and had hours and benefits cut back, to think that they’ll still rally … it’s amazing,” Snierson said. “It’s amazing to the extent that people opened their hearts and wallets to help innocent and defenseless animals and help those who couldn’t help themselves.”

All of the food donated during the three-day event benefits the New Hampshire Food Bank. According to Anne Dalton, director of development, pet supplies are distributed about as quickly as they come into the food bank.

“If you think about it, a lot of people can’t buy their pets food with their food stamps. When we get (pet food) it’s easier for them because they don’t have to use money to buy pet food,” she said. “Whenever we get (pet food) in it goes out.”

Snierson attributed the success of the event to the efforts made by members of the community and racetrack staff to give as much as they could. Local stores, like Dodge Grain, PetSmart, Sea World Pet Center, Target, Shaw’s Supermarkets and Woof It Down, pitched in and donated as well, she said.

The Salem Animal Rescue League (SARL) also benefitted from the pet food drive, finding a home for Sal, an energetic 2-year-old Black Labrador Retriever and Great Dane.

“He spent two months in the shelter. He’s very energetic, needs a lot of training, but fortunately he was very well-behaved at the drive and the next day there were people waiting for us to open to meet him in person and they finalized the adoption,” said Valorie Hayes, SARL’s spokesman. “It was wonderful to get out and meet the people and have them come to shelter to do follow up visits, but the best thing that happened was that this dog got adopted.”

A self-described animal lover, Snierson said the drive has become an annual event for the racetrack. She hopes to see more people come out and donate when the Fourth of July rolls around again next year.

“I’d like to do it again and I’d like to get more people involved,” she said. “I just can’t get over how generous, kind and compassionate people are.”