2026 Summer Spotlight
Featured Nonprofit
Supporting senior companionship through the adoption of shelter animals across the United States.
The Power of Companionship
For many seniors, companionship becomes harder to find with age. Yet the presence of an animal can restore routine, purpose, and connection.
Pets for the Elderly helps make that connection possible by supporting adoption programs that place companion animals with older adults living on fixed incomes.
About Pets for the Elderly Foundation
Pets for the Elderly is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping older adults experience the companionship of a pet by reducing the financial barriers to adoption.
Through partnerships with participating animal shelters across the United States, the organization provides financial assistance that helps cover adoption fees for seniors age 60 and over who adopt a companion dog or cat. These adoption programs often include pre-adoption veterinary exams, spay or neuter services, and other essential care that make welcoming a new pet both affordable and accessible.
In recent years, the program has expanded beyond adoption assistance. Today, Pets for the Elderly also supports partner shelters in providing services that help seniors successfully care for their pets — including veterinary care, food support, grooming, home visits, and retention services designed to keep pets and their owners together.
The organization was founded in 1992 by Avrum “Avvy” Katz, who began the program while in his seventies. Having experienced first hand the comfort and joy that his dogs Caesar and Sammy brought to his life, Katz believed more seniors deserved the same companionship. His vision was simple but powerful: connect older adults living alone with animals in shelters who need loving homes.
More than three decades later, that vision has helped create over 100,000 successful adoptions between seniors and shelter animals across the United States.
The work of Pets for the Elderly is rooted in a simple truth: for many older adults, the most serious health risk is not disease, but loneliness. Companion animals offer affection, unconditional love, daily routine, and emotional support — helping seniors maintain connection, purpose, and wellbeing throughout their later years.
Quick Facts
Founded: 1992
Type: Nonprofit organization
Focus: Senior pet adoption
Reach: Nationwide
Mission: Helping seniors adopt companion animals
“Pets offer affection, unconditional love, fight loneliness, and can help ease the loss of a loved one.”
~ Pets for the Elderly
Why We Chose Them
At The Benevolent Wolf, we spotlight organizations creating practical and measurable change for both people and animals.
Pets for the Elderly addresses two challenges at once: loneliness among seniors and the need for loving homes for adoptable animals.
Their work restores dignity, connection, and purpose through a simple but powerful idea — helping seniors and shelter animals find each other.
Our Selection Standards
At The Benevolent Wolf, we prioritize organizations that demonstrate:
Measurable impact
Mission transparency
A proven history of program success
Meaningful benefit to both people and animals
How You Can Support
The work of Pets for the Elderly is made possible through community support. If their mission resonates with you, there are several ways to help continue connecting seniors and shelter animals.
Donate
Support their adoption assistance program directly through a financial contribution.
Adopt
Consider adopting a companion animal from your local shelter.
Spread the Word
Share their mission and help raise awareness for senior pet adoption.
