Brenda Baker

Stuart Animal Hospital’s resident adopted cat, “Spokeskitty Gateway,” assisted with collecting food for the dogs and cats of seniors for the Council on Aging of Martin County.

STUART — The Council on Aging of Martin County, Inc. wishes to thank the Stuart Animal Hospital for its role in collecting $1,500 worth of pet food and vaccines to assist the cats and dogs of low-income seniors. And, in addition, the Council wishes to thank everyone who dropped off a donation for our Pet Fund.

Our initial plan was to collect $1,000 worth of dog and cat food for the Pet Fund for the Council on Aging," noted Shani Snyder, Office Administrator at Stuart Animal Hospital, "but thanks to the generosity of so many we exceeded our original goal by $500!"

Shani especially wanted to thank the Merkin Family, Slater Family and Krivanek Family for their generous donations along with the efforts of Hill's Pet Nutrition. In addition, Dr. Robert Katz, who owns the Stuart Animal Hospital, very generously donated eight 1-year vaccines for four dogs and four cats.

More than 120 bags of dog and cat dry food, along with multitudes of canned food and treats were donated.

Some of the food has already been distributed to our low-income seniors. Here are a few seniors who genuinely appreciate help for their pets.

Eula lives alone with her dog. Eula cried when the Meals on Wheels volunteer delivered food for her dog, along with her noontime meal. Anita also lives alone and has two cats. She'll tell you that her cats are one of the reasons she has to live. The McGee brothers have one dog and one cat. They are homebound seniors who are not able to get out to buy pet food. Without assistance through the Pet Fund, these seniors could not afford to keep their loving companions.

Stuart Animal Hospital is now collecting new, unwrapped items for Toys for Tots. However, they will continue to accept any donations for the Council on Aging's Pet Fund.

"We received nothing but positive feedback from everyone who learned about our pet food drive," noted Shani. Everyone who made a donation to the Pet Fund through Stuart Animal Hospital helped to touch the lives and hearts of many seniors.