PetSmart Charities Gives $3 Million to Meals on Wheels in a Partnership to Help Keep Pets in Homes with the Elderly

PetSmart Charities recently announced one of their largest donations to date: $3 million to Meals on Wheels (MOW) to assist and provide support to the elderly served by the organization’s programs. Many seniors have pets and many of them stay isolated and in their homes because they don’t want to part with their pets. The purpose of MOW is to provide nutrition, socialization, and support to elders who may be homebound. According to their website, Meals on Wheels America supports “more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger.”

I spoke with Susan Waldman and Colleen Psomas from Meals on Wheels America to find out more about the grant and about how MOW helps animals. Susan said many of their MOW partners are already supporting animals through food, veterinary care, and even assisting with adoption and placement if needed. In many cases, the MOW volunteer may be the only point of contact a homebound elder and their pet have. There is often an element of trust that has developed there, and so getting assistance for a pet is often much easier when it happens through MOW.

There are two parts to the grant. One part is giving service and another part is doing some research to develop the best process for helping the elders. It will be interesting to see how this develops. I have been a big supporter of organizations that help people and also help their animals, and I would say this is the first large-scale test case to see how a program like this could work to benefit elders and their pets.

What can you do right now? I would recommend reaching out to your local Meals on Wheels organization and developing a relationship with them so you can begin working together and collaborating as potential services come to your community. I know that many might look at this grant and be afraid that PetSmart Charities is moving their funding away from animal welfare organizations. I do still believe that we need much more help and support for spay/neuter in our communities. In other words, we aren’t done yet. I am not sure what PetSmart Charities’ overall vision is, but I do believe that this gift will potentially benefit cats and dogs in your community. Time will tell, as it is a multi-year grant.

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If you’d like to read the full press release on the PetSmart Charities gift, you can find it here.