"Hospice RN Tracy Holtz noticed an overwhelming smell of cat urine in one of her patients’ homes and learned that the people could not afford to buy new litter. She told me (the PPOM program manager) and I contacted the patient to assess her needs. The patient referred to her two cats as her “babies.” She told me that her husband became ill and can no longer work so they can’t afford both cat food and litter. As we talked, I found there were other needs, too. The cats would only eat certain foods and, of course, those were expensive. Also, the cats had fleas and it had been over a year since their last Advantage treatment. In talking with this patient, I could tell that these cats are dearly loved and it was breaking the patient’s heart that she couldn’t do better by them.
One morning, a few days later, the patient told Tracy that they’d just spent the last of their money on groceries and were upset that they hadn’t been able to buy cat food. Tracy was able to reply, “Don’t worry, I’m on my way.” A few hours later, she arrived with a large bag of scoopable cat litter, a month’s supply of the cats’ favorite dry and canned food, and flea medication. The patient was overcome with gratitude, thanking Tracy and saying, “I can’t believe you would do this for us.” Cost of food and supplies to our program: $51. Value to patient: priceless!"
It's important for you to know that many of the people served by our hospices are low-income families with no insurance. Add to their financial situation the cost of medical bills from past treatments and it's easy to see how someone could no longer afford litter or food for their pets. Our program takes care of all of that for them, so they can just enjoy being with their pets. If the day comes when this patient can no longer take care of them, hospice volunteers will come to the home and change litter boxes and feed them. If they need homes, the hospice will work with local pet groups to place them.
Please vote for our Pepsi Refresh Project, "Help Hospice Patients Keep Their Pets" every day in April by clicking HERE or on Facebook by becoming a fan of the Pepsi Refresh Voting App, then clicking "Go to Application" and typing in our project name. Click on "vote for this project" and you are done!!
