Project PUP needs help bagging food for pets of seniors - Ocala

About three years ago, several of the volunteer drivers for the Marion Senior Services Meals on Wheels program noticed that seniors were sharing their delivered meal with a beloved pet. This concerned the agency’s nutrition manager, Julie Forehand, who observed, “Neither the owner nor the pet was getting proper nutrition.”

One former driver is Robert M. "Bob" Echols, founder and president of For Our Friends the Animals. Under a grant supplied by Echols, Project PUP (Pets Uplifting People) has since been helping Marion Senior Services provide dog and cat food to some of the Meals on Wheel recipients. Another provider of pet food is the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Echols, of Ocala, is a retired U.S. Army attorney. When asked why he founded For Our Friends the Animals, he said, “My wife and I are both lovers of animals. I consider myself a champion for the underdog, a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves but deserve our love and compassion.”

He said he founded his organization based on a Reverence for Life statement by Albert Schweitzer: “A man is ethical, only where life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellowmen, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.”

Project PUP started in 1987 as a pet visitation program to area nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Group members meet every other month, on the fourth Tuesday, at the Ocala Public Library.

The volunteers also help take 55-pounds bags of Pedigree dog food and transfer the kibble to a manageable size for delivery. The bag filling process takes place at StoreRight Self Storage off State Road 200 in Ocala every other week. On the alternate weeks, the bags of food are put together by residents of On Top of the World.

Ivette Mercado, Meals on Wheels program assistant, said special soft food is provided for special needs animals. The pet food is delivered each Thursday.

According to Project PUP president Pam Peltonen, flea and tick collars also are provided, every 10 months. Debbie Gibson, vice president, also makes up decorative birthday baskets for the recipients.

One hundred clients currently receive pet food assistance, for 50 cats and 50 dogs.

Project PUP is in need of more volunteers to help with pet food bagging. To volunteer, call Peltonen at 236-0454.

To learn more about the organization, visit http://ift.tt/2cAhQKy.