KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Knoxville-Knox County CAC Office on Aging said Knox PAWS, or Knox Placing Animals With Seniors, has an emergent need for dry dog food for their Feed-A-Pet clients.
Knox PAWS (Placing Animals With Seniors) matches eligible seniors with adoptable pets. Research indicates that pets improve seniors’ physical, emotional, and mental health. The Knox PAWS program works with area animal shelters to match senior pets with senior citizens.
The Feed-A-Pet program is for seniors that already own pets, but struggle to buy food. The program is a partnership between the Office on Aging and The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.
Each month, the Knox PAWS and Feed-a-Pet programs provide almost 1,500 pounds of pet food to 152 pets owned by 83 low-income seniors in the Knoxville-Knox County area.
Currently, the supply is critically low. They still are in need of nearly 900 pounds of dry dog food as of Aug. 8. They are looking for donations by Wednesday, August 10 otherwise they say they will not have enough for their clients this month.
Without the assistance of Feed-a-Pet, those enrolled in the program struggle each month to feed their pets and sometimes go without food themselves in order to feed their furry friends.
Below are the acceptable dry dog foods:
- 8lb bag Purina One Smartblend Small Bites
- 4lb bag Pedigree Small Bites
- 4lb bag Kibbles and Bits Small Bites
- 4lb bag Beneful Small Bites
Donations can be dropped off at the CAC Ross Building located at 2247 Western Avenue in Knoxville.
Additional drop-off locations, as well as the programs’ Chewy and Amazon wish lists can be found on their website here.