The PALS (Pets Assisting the Lives of Seniors) program provides assistance in caring for the pets of seniors and homebound older adults.
Pet Transport TO VETERINARY OR GROOMING APPOINTMENTS
PALS volunteers drive clients’ cats and/or dogs for services at a variety of locations in Austin and the surrounding areas (Pflugerville, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Manor, etc.). PALS tries to match clients with pet services in their part of town to keep volunteer drive time to a minimum. Volunteers can transport on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. Most transports occur Monday - Friday, but there are opportunities on Saturdays as well.
We reguarly accept items for our PALS (Pets Assisting the Lives of Seniors) program. Items currently needed include:
Canned or dry food for cats and dogs
Cat litter
New or gently used litter boxes, pee pads, leashes, beds, toys, and scratching posts.
Gift cards to any store that sells pet food or supplies
START A DONATION DRIVE
Passionate about ensuring our seniors have the supplies they need to take care of their furry friends? You can start a donation drive at your workplace, religious institution, or community center and collect pet food, toys, cat litter, or new/gently used items like beds and scratching posts.
Download our customizable poster for your donation drive by clicking here.
Monthly pet food delivery on 2nd saturdays
PALS volunteers make monthly deliveries of pet food and supplies to more than 200 clients with over 400 cats and dogs. Volunteers with assigned routes are asked to make a monthly commitment; they pick up bags of pet food at the Meals on Wheels offices on the 2nd Saturday morning of every month and usually deliver it to clients directly after. The whole process generally takes 2 hours or less.
ONE-TIME PET FOOD/SUPPLY DELIVERIES
We also need volunteers to make one-time deliveries to help clients that have short-term needs or who are on the waiting list for monthly pet food deliveries. These deliveries may happen any time during the month and can be picked up during business hours Monday-Friday. Since we are only open one Saturday per month, we need volunteers with weekday availability to help in this area. PALS emails volunteers weekly with these delivery requests.
TEmporary foster care of clients' pets
From time to time, we have a client who must enter the hospital and who has no one to care for their pet. In cases like these, we reach out to PALS volunteers to open their home for a set period of time, usually a few days to a few weeks. PALS ensures that these pets are up to date on shots and can provide foster volunteers with pet food and supplies as needed. Volunteers are required to sign a foster agreement when taking any PALS pets into their home.
QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions on supporting PALS by donating or volunteering, please contact our PALS Coordinator at [email protected]
