Imagine you are a pet that has lived your whole life with a family you love and trust. Now imagine your family is facing financial problems and can no longer afford to keep you.
You can’t understand why you are in a cage surrounded by loud noises and unfamiliar faces. Your soft bed is gone, as well as your well-loved toys and occasional treats from your person’s plate.
Many area cats and dogs face that scenario each week after being turned out of the only homes they have ever known by people they love.
Seeing that happen to an elderly animal is even worse.
Each week, Summit County Animal Control takes in many senior animals that have been placed there by their owners.
A local area nonprofit has decided to play matchmaker for these animals and older residents who want to give them a home.
Think of it as a dating service for older pets and their human counterparts.
Pay It Forward for Pets recently launched the Seniors to Seniors program that matches dogs and cats over the age of 5 with people ages 55 and older.
The program is funded and administrated by PIFFP under the guidance of founder and president Georjette Thomas of Bath Township.
The organization has raised more than $35,000 in four months to exclusively fund programs through Animal Control, including Seniors to Seniors, and other programs that improve the lives of people and pets.
People rarely think of a county agency when they decide where to send their donor dollars, but they should, said Thomas.
“They have nearly three times the burden of any rescues in the county,” Thomas said.
In the Seniors to Seniors program, PIFFP purchases a fully vetted, spayed or neutered dog or cat for an approved adopter. The applicant need only be able to feed the animal and continue giving it medical care with a licensed veterinarian to qualify, said Thomas.
She expects the funding donated through grants and private donor dollars may allow PIFFP to place as many as 250 animals through the program.
“This is the first time an outside organization has filed for a grant on our behalf and we are very grateful to them for funding these programs,” said Craig Stanley, director of Administrative Services for county administrator Russ Pry. Animal Control is a self-funded county agency.
PIFFP also recently launched a canine behavioral assessment and enrichment program to help a fearful animal put its best paw forward when meeting new people looking for a pet — but more on that later.
“These programs maximize resources and collaboration in a complicated economic environment to advance animal welfare in our community,” Thomas said.
Animal Control is happy the program will benefit some very deserving — albeit a bit gray — residents at the shelter, said Stanley
“We are very excited about this support. Senior animals can be more difficult to place and this program will expedite the process and get them into loving homes,” he said.
The benefits of owning a pet are well documented by the medical field, Thomas said.
“The known benefits of pet ownership, especially in the elderly, include a lowering of blood pressure, fewer visits to the doctor, combating loneliness and depression and enhancing social opportunities,” she said.
To learn more about the program or to apply to adopt a pet, contact PIFFP at www.payitforwardforpets.org (click the link at the bottom of the page) or call 330-760-0763.
Other animals in the news:
A Night of Hope and Inspiration — Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary’s largest fundraiser of the year will feature stories from area leaders of how rescued farm animals have impacted and changed their lives at 5:30 p.m. March 22 at Todaro’s Party Center, 1820 Akron Peninsula Road, Akron. Guest speakers include Trina Cutter, president and CEO of Western Reserve PBS, best-selling author and journalist Thrity Umrigar and Portage County Commissioner Maureen Frederick. Vegan hors d’oeuvres and desserts will be served. Tickets are $55 per person or $440 for a table of eight and may be purchased through PayPal at www.happytrailsfarm.org or by credit card at 330-296-5914.
Caring Therapy Canines Meet and Greet — Leslie Pearche-Keating, author of Hannah’s Memory Box: The Story of a Therapy Dog, will sign books from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and proceeds from a self pet wash will benefit the Caring Therapy Canines organization at Lola, Cheech & Mooey’s Natural Pet Market, 133 N. Vine St., Orrville. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/LolaCheechandMooeys or call 330-682-6820.
Kathy Antoniotti writes about pets for the Akron Beacon Journal. She is unable to help locate, place or provide medical attention for an individual animal. If you have an idea or question about pets, write her at the Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640; call 330-996-3565; or send an email to kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.