Petco Foundation Invests in Caregiver Canines® Life-Changing Work

Toms River, January 2018 – Caregiver Canines® of Ocean County, New Jersey today announced it has been awarded a $3500 grant investment from the Petco Foundation to support its pet therapy programs for homebound senior citizens.

Caregiver Canines® is a nonprofit organization providing in-home therapy dog visitation to homebound senior citizens. The organization serves Ocean County, NJ and has partnered with the National Caregiver Volunteer Network to provide program guidance nationwide. Since 2009, Caregiver Canines® has served over 100 care receivers with its corps of over 50 therapy dog teams.

This grant was made possible through the Petco Foundation’s annual Helping Heroes fundraising campaign, in partnership with Natural Balance Pet Foods. Each October during the campaign, Petco customers are invited to donate online and in Petco stores across the country to support the life-changing work of service, therapy and working animals.

The Petco Foundation investment will allow certified therapy dog teams to provide comfort, affection, connection and joy to senior citizens that can no longer care for a pet.

According to Lynette Whiteman, CVCJ Executive Director, “Losing the love and companionship of a pet is a devastating loss at any age. Especially hard hit are the elderly who often can no longer provide the level of care needed or afford all the associated costs with getting a new pet. Providing weekly visits with a caring volunteer and loving therapy dog brings an incredible amount of joy and creates wonderful long-lasting bonds of friendship and affection. We are very grateful to the Petco Foundation and Natural Balance for honoring and supporting the elderly in our community through this generous grant and on-going support.”

For more information about Caregiver Canines® or the Petco Foundation, visit www.caregivercanines.org or www.petcofoundation.org. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or by using the hashtag #HelpingHeroes.

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About Caregiver Canines®

Caregiver Canines^® began in 2009 as a service offered through the nonprofit organization, Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey. This unique Therapy Dog Program visits homebound seniors, veterans, the elderly disabled, individuals with dementia, and family caregivers to loved ones with chronic illness, right in their own homes. The Therapy Dog and handler teams are all volunteers whose weekly visits bring great joy to those who are lonely and love dogs, but are no longer able to care for a pet. All Caregiver Canines^® therapy dog visits are provided free of charge to recipients. For more information about the program call 732-505-2273, visit CaregiverCanines.org or find us on Facebook @caregivercanines.

About the Petco Foundation

At the Petco Foundation, we believe that every animal deserves to live its best life. Since 1999, we’ve invested more than $200 million in lifesaving animal welfare work to make that happen. With our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners, we inspire and empower communities to make a difference by investing in adoption and medical care programs, spay and neuter services, pet cancer research, service and therapy animals, and numerous other lifesaving initiatives. Through our Think Adoption First program, we partner with Petco stores and animal welfare organizations across the country to increase pet adoptions. So far, we’ve helped more than 5.5 million pets find their new loving families, and we’re just getting started. Visit petcofoundation.org to learn more about how you can get involved.