The Pima Animal Care Center received an unexpected grant of $250,000 from the Petco Foundation this past Saturday. This was a complete surprise, according to PACC Director of Animal Services Kristen Auerbach.
The money will go towards a PACC foster care program designed to help at-risk kittens that was created last year.
At-risk kittens are in need of constant care in order to survive. They are paired with Alzheimer's patients at a few memory care facilities in town, who will nurse them and make sure they will be healthy enough to adopt.
"What we didn't realize is, what an impact it would have on both the animals and the people who helped," Auerbach said. "The kittens bring so much joy to the residents."
Morgan Hartford with the Alzheimer's Association is thrilled with the program's impact and to see where it will go.
"Any kind of improvement in quality of life is really critical throughout the course of the disease," Hartford said.
Auerbach is excited to strengthen the program and expand its capacity.
"Two hundred fifty thousand dollars is enough not to just help us continue and grow this current program, but to launch also new foster partnerships in the community," Auerbach said.
