HOW TO HELP
Partners in Prime is partnering with the local Banfield Pet Hospital, located in the PetSmart at Bridgewater Falls, 3439 Hamilton Princeton Road, Hamilton, for Meals On Wheels and Banfield’s “Season for Suppers” pet food drive. During December, shoppers may purchase and donate pet food, which will be donated to the WALOP program at Partners in Prime.
In addition, pet food or monetary donations can be taken directly to any Partners in Prime location in Hamilton, Fairfield and West Chester Twp., or to Companion Care Animal Hospital in Fairfield.
For more information, call 513-867-1998.
Butler County Meals on Wheels recipients will soon reap the benefits of a new grant to help them feed their faithful companions.
Partners in Prime has been awarded a $1,500 grant from the Banfield Charitable Trust for their pet food distribution program, We All Love Our Pets (WALOP).
WALOP is a national Meals on Wheels Association of America initiative that enables local Meals providers to begin or sustain pet food programs in order to nourish the pets of older adults. Partners in Prime began its program in 2007.
Delivering more than 700 meals a day to older adults, Partners in Prime currently has the largest Meals on Wheels program in Butler County. In many cases, recipients can’t afford pet food or don’t have family members who can get the food for them, said Shari Azbill, Meals on Wheels supervisor.
“Our drivers discovered that many of the meals’ recipients struggled to provide food for their pets and were sharing a portion of their meal with them,” Azbill said. “In doing so, they were not only reducing their amount of daily nutritional value that Meals on Wheels provides, but it could have been harmful to their pets.”
Currently, Partners in Prime is supplying approximately 290 pets with food. They need at least 700 pounds of pet food each month, making the Banfield Charitable Trust grant crucial to maintaining and growing the program, Azbill said.
When the pet food effort began, consideration was given to the value of pets for seniors and shut-ins. For many clients, the drivers are the only people they see for days at a time.
James and Edna Gross of New Miami receive Meals on Wheels daily, Monday through Friday. Their driver, Ken Haas, brings a biscuit treat daily for each of their two rescue dogs, Trouble and Sissy. The Grosses have been able to provide pet food for their dogs, but they know the program is available if they ever need it.
“That pet food gets pretty expensive in order to try to have enough for them,” said James Gross, who was an independent truck driver and is now on disability. “The people that have the animals and don’t have enough money to feed them and are giving them their own meals, that’s a pretty sorrowful thing, in its own way. Thank God, we’re not that bad off.”
The Grosses understand why people would share their food with their beloved pets.
“I imagine we’d get by without them, but they are so entertaining, and a dog just loves you so unconditionally,” Gross said. “You just form such a strong bond and attachment to them. They can really help you get through the everyday things of life.”
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