(PRESS RELEASE) NEW YORK — PetSmart Charities has awarded a three-year, $400,000 grant to three New York City-based organizations as part of its Preserving Families Initiative. The grant will support a new partnership between Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) NY, Animal Haven, and Search and Care. The funding promises to impact the most vulnerable pet guardians at risk of losing their animals due to hospitalizations and other crises.
While most people see their pets as integral family members, few services exist to help pet guardians facing extraordinary crises. As a result, these individuals often have no option but to surrender their beloved animals to local shelters. With this grant, these three organizations will launch and implement the “Preserving Families in Times of Crisis” project, an innovative collaboration that aims to preserve the bond between pets and their people by offering emergency support, as well as engaging healthcare institutions and community-based programs to join them in this work.
“Pets have a profound impact on a family — and for the elderly, can often be their only source of companionship,” said Aimee Gilbreath, president at PetSmart Charities. “New York City is home to 1.7 million older adults, and we estimate about 170,000 of them have pets and need some support. A warm greeting from a beloved pet after a hospital stay can build emotional well-being — and stimulate the healing process. The innovative collaboration among these stellar organizations is exactly the kind of work we’re proud to support.”
PAWS NY, Animal Haven, and Search and Care each have extensive experience combining animal welfare and human welfare. The organizations champion the value of human service agencies proactively engaging clients in emergency planning for the entire family, including pets. The new project’s outreach to a network of New York City agencies will highlight not just the benefit of asking about pets and documenting them, but the cost saving that can also occur by helping pet guardians plan for these emergencies.
Overall, Preserving Families in Times of Crisis will support older adults and other vulnerable populations by helping them prepare for emergencies with their pets and providing emergency and foster care for pets while their guardians recover and are ultimately reunited.
“Thank you to PetSmart Charities for supporting this innovative collaboration between PAWS NY, Animal Haven, and Search and Care,” said Rachel Herman, the founder and executive director of PAWS NY. “Through the dual lens of human services and animal welfare, we will develop and implement a first-of-its-kind program that aims to preserve families in times of crisis. Together, we will do everything we can to maintain the beneficial relationships shared between New Yorkers and their animal companions. We are excited for this amazing opportunity!”
“We are excited to be part of this partnership because we get calls all the time from social workers looking for help for their clients’ animals,” said Tiffany Lacey, Animal Haven’s executive director. “This three-year grant is a true opportunity from PetSmart Charities to develop solutions that will lift barriers experienced by the most vulnerable and help pets and their guardians before a crisis like an unexpected hospitalization. While our goal here is pet retention, we also hope that the services we offer will allow these pets and their people not just to remain together but to thrive.”
“Search and Care helps older people and their pets age in place together, and our collaboration with these two New York City organizations is both exciting and challenging,” said Robin Strashun, outreach, PET and medical escort coordinator. “Together we are encouraging social service, homecare, and healthcare organizations to incorporate vital pet-related information during intakes so that both owners and companion animals have every opportunity to remain together. New Yorkers are devoted to their pets and, with the help of PetSmart Charities, we are united in raising awareness about the importance of advance planning for companion animals as they are an integral part of the family.”