MEALS ON WHEELS FOR PETS
Applications are being accepted for new clients for Senior Services North Fulton Meals on Wheels for Pets.
Eligibility requirements:
- At least 60 years of age.
- Have a financial need or physical limitation that keeps you from purchasing food for your pet.
- Must be a resident of Fulton County and reside in the one of the following cities: Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell or Sandy Springs.
There are no limitations on the number or type of pets. A month’s supply of food and treats is home-delivered on the first Friday at no charge. Volunteers are also needed as substitutes for delivery routes.
For more information on Meals on Wheels for Pets, call Senior Services North Fulton at 770-993-1906.
Source: ssnorthfulton.org
Edna Blackmon, 82, of Johns Creek is rather fond of her pets: two turtles — Speedy and Spacey — and a Rottweiler mix.
Once, the aptly named Speedy escaped from her yard on a day that Blackmon was busy tending to her flowers. Neighbors turned out to help look for him, but to no avail. Then two months later, to Blackmon’s amazement and joy, he wandered back home.
“I’m just an animal-crazy person,” said Blackmon, who added that she would like more pets, and a greater variety, if only she could persuade her daughter with whom she lives.
On the first Friday of every month, her pets get free food and snacks to last a month, all delivered by a volunteer with Senior Services North Fulton, gifts Blackmon calls "a blessing."
Blackmon is one of 46 clients with Meals on Wheels for Pets, a program started by the agency in 2013 as an extension of its Meals on Wheels food assistance program for older adults. To participate, pet owners must be 60 or older and have a need, either financial or physical.
Many of the Meals on Wheels for Pets clients also receive weekly meal deliveries for themselves. Administrators said they started making the pet food runs because some seniors were sharing their own food with their pets instead of eating it themselves.
“It wasn’t good for them, and it wasn’t good for their pets either,” said Roswell resident Len Tinnan, 88, the program’s volunteer coordinator. Now, seniors and their pets each have the right food, he added.
It takes a small army of volunteers — mostly seniors themselves — to make the program successful. Tinnan orchestrates it all, working what amounts to a full week and then some each month to get the food distributed. There are route lists, shopping lists and volunteer lists to keep up with. He has to pick up and inventory numerous boxes of donated food and supplies — mostly for dogs and cats, but also turtles, geckos and fish. About 75 percent of the food is donated, and the rest is purchased using grant money and other cash donations.
A variety of food, both canned and dry, ensures that even the most finicky pets are satisfied. There’s grain-free for the glucose intolerant, and special meals for a dog on a veterinarian-prescribed diet. In general, cats are the pickiest eaters, Tinnan said.
Tinnan, an animal lover and owner himself, understands the bond between seniors and their pets. His late wife also loved animals, and volunteering with the meals program keeps her memory close to his heart.
The day before delivery, another group of volunteers comes into the senior services office in Alpharetta to sort food, cat litter and other items for the six delivery routes throughout north Fulton. Other volunteers will call each client to remind them about the deliveries.
Christa Cristo, 75, of Johns Creek handles one of the routes. As a dog lover herself, Cristo says she gets a lot of joy in distributing the pet food once a month. It takes her most of a morning to load up and take the food to clients in Johns Creek and Alpharetta, and Cristo said the seniors on her route are very grateful.
“I love my dog, and I know how important pets are for the elderly,” she said. Cristo has a rescue Yorkie mix who accompanies her on trips back home to Long Island, and to Florida and other places to visit family and friends.
After dropping off Blackmon’s supplies, she leaves pet food for Eduardo Gomez to feed his miniature greyhound, Karissma. Gomez has no vehicle but gets around by running, with Karissma and a neighbor’s dog by his side.
Cristo next delivers to a lady whose bad back makes it difficult for her to pick up even the lightest of food bags for her little dogs, Triscuit and Dixie. Last on her route, a disabled senior with several cats and dogs gets a full load of goodies. The owner is not at home, but is expecting the delivery. Cristo leaves a phone message then makes several trips to unload cat litter, treats and food.
“Her pets are everything to her,” Cristo said, nodding as if to say she is a kindred soul.
