Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Pets Without Walls is a program that has provided literal warmth to the pets of San Diego’s homeless population each February.
This year, thanks to the support of the Lucky Duck Foundation, the program expands its efforts with even more cold-weather supplies distributed to the people and pets of the city’s unhoused.
Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Pets Without Walls program and Lucky Duck Foundation will be on-site at Father Joe’s Neil Good Day Center on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 9 a.m. with a cozy gift drop-off for both people and pets.
With the knowledge that one in four individuals experiencing homelessness have a pet, Helen Woodward Animal Center launched its Pets Without Walls.
The program that began seven years ago has been honored to join efforts to assist unhoused families by keeping their furry companions fed and healthy. Pets Without Walls makes regular weekly visits to shelters headed by Alpha Project, Father Joe’s, Interfaith, PACE, Meals on Wheels, and PATH in San Diego, providing health checks, microchipping, preventative medical care, important vaccinations, flea and tick medication, and pet food (through an extension of its AniMeals program), as well as human clothing and blanket donations from the Center’s Orphaned Object resale store.
The Lucky Duck Foundation was formed in 2005 by Pat & Stephanie Kilkenny to raise funds and awareness for numerous charitable causes throughout San Diego, including Helen Woodward Animal Center. The co-founders match all donations up to $1.5 million each year. In 2016, noticing a growing and urgent need for action addressing San Diego’s homeless crisis, the Foundation determined they could have an even greater impact if they focused Lucky Duck’s efforts exclusively on homelessness.
Helen Woodward Animal Center is honored to partner with the Lucky Duck Foundation for its 2024 Cozy Critter visit. With San Diego’s brisk evening temperatures in full swing, the Center’s Pets Without Walls program will be providing pet supplies specifically aimed at keeping the beloved pets of the city’s homeless individuals safe and protected from the elements, including pet sweaters, pet blankets, leashes, and pet hygiene products. At the same time, the Lucky Duck Foundation will be on-site distributing sleeping bag coats, food, water, and other essential supplies to human friends in need.
“The love these pets and their owners have for one another is truly heartwarming,” said Helen Woodward Animal Center VP of Development Renee Resko, “It means the world to us to partner with Lucky Duck on this special Cozy Critter event to assist in keeping these individuals and their pets healthy and warm so they can stay focused on getting themselves back on their feet.”
