It was recently discovered that seniors receiving Meals On Wheels assistance were sharing those meals with their pets. Homebound seniors do not have the means to shop for pet food and often want to provide the best for their furry family members. Besides that — there is such comfort in sharing food with a loved one!

To remedy the pet food needs of housebound seniors, Meals On Wheels Association of America has teamed up with the Banfield, The Pet Hospital, to raise one million pounds of pet food through a campaign called "Season of Suppers."

Banfield, The Pet Hospital, was founded in Portland, Ore., in 1955, but has since become the largest privately owned veterinary practice in the world, with 575 locations across the U.S., in the United Kingdom and in Mexico. It serves 3.5 million pets each year.

While many Meals On Wheels programs have their own pet food services, the Banfield/MOWAA partnership is the first initiative of its kind on a national level.

After discovering that senior recipients of Meals On Wheels were feeding their delivered meals to their pets, MOWAA created We All Love Our Pets, a new initiative that seeks to unite Meals On Wheels programs nationwide that are providing pet food. Through WALOP, Meals on Wheels is seeking to maintain pet food programs year-round and eventually plans on providing other pet care needs for MOWAA pets, such as annual vaccinations.

In addition to encouraging and collecting pet food donations through the Banfield/MOWAA, "Season of Suppers" campaign, Banfield, The Pet Hospital, will also collect monetary contributions for MOWAA-WALOP, with a goal to raise $100,000. Additionally, they will help connect people interested in volunteering with their local Meals On Wheels organizations.

Meals On Wheels recipients are usually delivered one meal a day by program volunteers. For many seniors or the disabled, this is the only time they have social contact and human interaction. So it's no wonder that they look forward to volunteers dropping off meals with such care and kindness. For the rest of the day, shut-ins depend on their pets for company and comfort.

For MOW participants, often the only family members living in their homes are pets. It is a pet that gives this shut-in a reason to get up each morning with purpose and joy. Living with a pet brightens the human spirits and fills a senior's days with some activity and even entertainment. Pets help those that are homebound to feel loved, useful and important to someone.

Although some MOWAA programs across the country have pet food programs, many still do not. With the food donations raised during the Season of Suppers campaign, Meals on Wheels Association of America hopes to help keep the MOWAA recipients and their pets healthier by ensuring both benefit from all of the nutrition provided in delivered meals.

Ms. Fitzgerald, a MOWAA recipient in the Pacific Northwest, admits she feeds her 9-year-old dachshund, Pongo, her human food. "He just looks at me with those hungry eyes and so I give him some of my food." Fitzgerald is beaming about the idea of Pongo getting his own meals, which will help take care of him, the same way he takes care of her. For the past eight years Pongo has been Fitzgerald's home companion, helping to keep her health needs in check. "I'm a diabetic and if my blood sugar level is low, Pongo knows it," Fitzgerald said. "Pongo will come right over and nudge me. When he does that, I'll remember it's time to take my medicine."

"It's clear that pets are helping our MOWAA seniors live a better quality of life, so it's important that their pets are also kept healthy," said Enid Borden, CEO of Meals On Wheels Association of America. "Our community volunteers are the backbone of our programs. With a few more volunteers, along with a little extra support from communities across America, Season of Suppers will be a great success and WALOP will have four legs to run on."

Banfield and MOWAA hope to collect more than 1 million pounds of pet food in Banfield hospitals nationwide. Season of Suppers pet food and monetary donations are accepted at your local Banfield, The Pet Hospital, through the end of December.

For seniors, their dogs and cats are more than pets. They're best friends, laughter catalysts, compelling reasons to get up in the morning and out of the house on a regular basis, even furry life-support systems. 'Tis the season to be generous and in giving the gift of pet food, you're helping both pets and people to live happier, healthier, fuller lives.