Pet Helpers - Services
Seniors for Seniors
Helping Seniors Stay Young at Heart
Pet Helper’s Seniors for Seniors Adoption Program was developed to help senior humans rediscover the joys of having a cat or dog in their lives. The program places senior cats and dogs (8+ years of age) with senior citizens who are 60 years of age or older.
Pet Helpers Adoption Counselors will help you select a companion animal that fits into your lifestyle and housing situation. Your adoption fee will be waived thanks to a generous grant provided by 100 Women Who Care Charleston.
Benefits of Adopting a Senior Pet
- Research tells us that companion animals, such as cats and dogs, can help improve our physical and mental health. By adopting and spending time with a shelter pet, you can experience the benefits of lowered stress levels and blood pressure.
- Cats and dogs provide friendship for lonely individuals and open opportunities for interacting with others which an older person may miss, particularly if one’s family is far away.
- The company of a beloved pet has been proven to reduce depression.
- The quiet and doting home of a senior citizen is the perfect match for an older animal looking for a new home.
- Senior animals offer gentler, calmer companionship and often are already trained.
How the Program Works
At Pet Helpers, we focus on the importance of human-animal bonding, and we hope you enjoy years of companionship with your adopted furry companion. The Seniors for Seniors program is meant to make it easy for you to make an emotional commitment to a pet in need, without the stress of a financial commitment you may not be able to maintain in your golden years.
Visit the shelter to meet with one of our adoption counselors who will help you pick out the perfect senior pet for you and your lifestyle. Our counselors will provide you with great tips to help you transition your new pet into your home. We want to ensure you and your new cat or dog are doing well, so after you take your new best friend home, we will reach out to learn how your new cat or dog has settled into your home. We love pictures and invite you to share stories!
Pet Helpers Provides Continued Support
If you become unable to take care of your new dog or cat, due to long-term hospitalization or stay in a nursing facility, you or a family member may return the animal to Pet Helpers for foster care, or if requested by you or your family, for re-adoption.
There may come a time when you find that you are having trouble managing the financial commitment of having a pet. Pet Helpers offers resources such as our Community Pet Food Bank to help alleviate some of that expense.
If you find that you have incurred veterinary expenses in caring for your senior companion that you cannot afford, you may qualify for additional financial support through our Levi’s Legacy program.
Ensuring your pet is cared for in the event of your passing is an important step in pet ownership. If you need assistance in preparing a Pet Trust, designating someone to care for your pet should you pass before they do, Lafond Law Group has generously offered a 15% discount when you adopt a senior pet from Pet Helpers.
In order to take advantage of this supplemental reimbursement program, you must submit:
- Receipts for medications prescribed for the senior companion animal adopted through Pet Helpers or receipts of veterinary expenses for services provided to the senior companion animal adopted through Pet Helpers.
- Pet Helpers reserves the right to limit or restrict the amount of any award under this program. Extraordinary expenses will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and any request for financial assistance with veterinary services that have been estimated but not yet incurred may result in direct payment to the veterinarian, rather than reimbursement to you.
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