Delivering on its mission of “people helping animal and animals helping people,” Helen Woodward Animal Center is partnering to launch a brand new program dedicated to ensuring low-income seniors in our community are able to keep their loving pets. In partnership with Meals on Wheels San Diego County, low-income seniors will begin receiving free veterinary care for their four-legged companions. The Center’s newest program, Lewyt Mobile Pet Health + Wellness, launches this Friday, Feb. 11, at Meals on Wheels San Diego County, North County Services at 9 a.m. The media is invited to capture the program’s launch.
The Center’s partnership with Meals on Wheels San Diego County dates back to 1984, with the launch of the AniMeals program. AniMeals delivers pet food to the pets of homebound seniors, Wounded Warriors and those experiencing homelessness. It began after a Meals on Wheels volunteer noticed that seniors were sharing their food deliveries with their beloved pets, jeopardizing their own nutritional needs in order to care for their furry companions.
Now, the Center is teaming up once again with Meals on Wheels San Diego County to further assist local seniors with the launch of a brand new program called Lewyt Mobile Pet Health + Wellness. The program will provide critical veterinary services on board a fully equipped mobile medical unit to the pets of low-income seniors at no cost to them including wellness exams, preventative care like vaccinations and flea/tick medication, spay and neuter surgeries, microchipping and more.
According to Meals on Wheels San Diego County, one in 10 seniors in San Diego experience hunger and nearly half live alone. Coupled with the isolation that has come about due to the pandemic, it is more important than ever that furry family members remain healthy and at home with the seniors who need them.
“The Lewyt Mobile Pet Health + Wellness program is another important way that we can ensure seniors in our community are able to keep their beloved pets in their care,” explained Renee Resko, Center Vice President of Development. “We know that pets provide endless joy, comfort and unconditional love to their people and are at times seniors’ only source of companionship. By offering free veterinary care, we lower the chances of a senior needing to give up their furry friend to a shelter because they can’t afford the associated costs.”
The new Lewyt Mobile Pet Health + Wellness program is made possible thanks to funding from the Alex and Elisabeth Lewyt Charity Trust. The Center extends its deepest gratitude to the foundation which has generously supported the Center in a variety of ways including funding for the Center’s lifesaving pet transfer program and emergency response team.
In the coming months, the Center aims to expand the Lewyt Mobile Pet Health + Wellness program’s reach to more low-income pet parents in our community regardless of age.
The Center is excited to launch the new program at Meals on Wheels San Diego County, North County Service Center (930 Boardwalk Street, Unit C, San Marcos, CA 92078). The media is invited capture the program’s initial visit and interview representatives from Helen Woodward Animal Center and Meals on Wheels San Diego County between 9 and 11 a.m on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022.
For more information about Helen Woodward Animal Center, please visit animalcenter.org.
