A new pet food pantry located at the Richmond nonprofit Senior Connections is geared toward helping older adults who benefit from owning pets, but struggle to keep them due to costs.
“It really makes a difference around their health; it mitigates social isolation and loneliness,” Senior Connections Executive Director Amy Strite said. “It means that older adults are not having to make a choice between eating themselves or feeding their pets.”
Tuesday’s dedication displayed the variety of free pet food and supplies available for older pet owners. The pantry is the creation of Furbish Thrift, which has supported animal welfare organizations in the Richmond area since February 2023.
Furbish Thrift is a program of the William A. Harrison Jr. Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization that serves the Greater Richmond community.
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Since opening, Furbish Thrift has given away more than 36,000 pounds of pet food — adding up to 200,000 meals for pets.
The partnership between the organizations stemmed from a shared love of animals and the desire to provide owners with the resources to keep them.
“The thought of having to relinquish one of our pets because we simply cannot afford to keep them any longer is something that we don’t have any patience for,” said Bill Harrison, CEO of the William A. Harrison Jr. Foundation. “We want to establish a city where that never ever has to happen again.”
The pantry at Senior Connections is Furbish Thrift’s first satellite pet food pantry, with additional ones to be established down the road.
Senior Connections, located at 1300 Semmes Ave., serves older adults, caregivers and people with disabilities. The organization is part of the national Area Agencies on Aging network.
For seniors with low incomes, some are faced with giving away their pets or sacrificing their own well-being to care for them.
“If they have limited funds, they’ll feed their pets before themselves, many times feeding their pets their food,” said Laura Cotterman, board chair for the William A. Harrison Jr. Foundation. “So providing pet food goes straight to the heart.”
The pantry was supported with a grant from the Abby Bolger Fund, run by Kim Bolger.
Abby was the family dog that Kim Bolger inherited from her parents. Bolger said Abby helped her dad get through her mother’s death in 2015 and helped her get through her dad’s death in 2018.
Harrison and Cotterman, both friends of Bolger’s, spoke with her about the problems older pet owners faced, which compelled her to contribute.
With the new pet food pantry, Bolger hopes that senior pet owners will be able to have similar experiences that her family had with Abby.
“She was magnificent; the most elegant, lovely dog you could imagine,” Bolger said. “What a wonderful way to memorialize what happened in our lives and let other people have that and keep that in their lives as well.”
From the Archives: Sharp's Island in the James River and its residents
In March 1963, the roiling waters of the James River surrounded a dwelling on Sharp's Island near the 14th Street bridge. While the rain-swollen river didn’t crest as high as originally feared, it did reach more than 4 feet above flood stage at Westham and about 5 feet above flood stage at the City Locks.
02-25-1953 (cutline): Stepping out for a stroll, by boat, from home on Sharp's Island, west of Mayo Island on the James River.
02-25-1953: J.F. Hastings and family member inside home on Sharp's Island.
02-25-1953 (cutline): Approaching the front of the island house.
02-25-1953: J.F. Hastings stands by residence on Sharp's Island in the James River.
02-25-1953 (cutline): J.F. Hastings and support rod for his porch.
02-24-1953 (cutline): River, Stay ‘Way from my Door. The James River, swollen by rains upstream, edges up on Sharp's Island, west of Mayo Island. The rive was due to crest at 12 feet here this afternoon. More rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
07-14-1950: Sharp's Island in the James.
02-25-1953 (cutline): Room with a view of the river from Sharp's Island.
The fate of the Sharp's Island house.
