A Campaign Born of Love

Advocacy for the Animals, Inc. | Memorial Legacy Senior Campaign

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As Mother’s Day arrives, I am feeling the weight of a loss that is still very new. Two months ago, I lost my mother to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. And as I sit with that grief, I find myself thinking about who she was — not just to me, but to the animals whose lives she touched across a lifetime of caring.

My mother was an animal advocate from as far back as I can remember. Growing up in California, she introduced me to rescues and advocacy groups before I was old enough to fully understand what advocacy meant. She was a lifelong vegetarian. She loved animals completely and without condition — and that love never left her, even as dementia slowly took everything else.

In her later years, living on a fixed income, it became increasingly difficult for her to afford veterinary care or special food for her aging animals. Toward the end, she could no longer reliably recognize whether she herself — or her animals — needed to eat or needed care. That is the quiet tragedy that so many families are navigating right now, in silence, without help.

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This Is Not a Rare Story

I receive calls regularly from elderly individuals — and from their adult children — who are in crisis. A surgery is scheduled, a hospitalization is coming, and there is no one to take the animal. Or there is no money for the vet. Or the senior can no longer walk the dog or manage the litter box. These calls do not come to me alone. Municipal pounds, rescues, and social media are filled with them every single day.

What strikes me every time is this: seniors and their animals are often aging together. They are each other’s constant companions — sometimes the only living presence in an otherwise quiet home. This should be a season of comfort. It too often becomes a season of impossible choices.

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What I Want to Build

A close childhood friend told me, when my mother died, that I should create something in her honor — a campaign that reflects who she was and addresses what she cared about most.

The **Memorial Legacy Senior Campaign** is that something.

The goal is straightforward: **keep animals in their homes for as long as possible, and ensure that when they cannot remain, they land on a couch — not in a pound.**

Specifically, this program will work toward:

- **Emergency and transitional support** for seniors who are hospitalized, in rehabilitation, or in crisis — temporary foster care through a vetted, relationship-based network

- **Veterinary and nutritional assistance** for senior pets whose owners are on fixed incomes

- **A foster network built for this population** — people who understand that these animals may be older, may have needs, and deserve to spend their remaining time in a home

- **Coordination support** for families navigating what to do when a loved one can no longer care for an animal

This is not about intake. It is not about the pound. It is about keeping a bond intact — or, when that is no longer possible, honoring it.

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Why This Matters to Me

My mother’s love of animals shaped who I am. It is the thread that connects the little girl working with rescues in California to the woman who founded Advocacy for the Animals.

I cannot give her back the help she needed at the end of her life. But I can make sure that other families — and other animals — have somewhere to turn.

This program will be built on your generosity, because I cannot do it alone. No one changes the world alone.

**If this resonates with you, please consider making a donation or becoming a program sponsor.**

Every dollar goes directly toward building the network, the resources, and the relationships that make this possible.

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*Advocacy for the Animals, Inc. is a Connecticut 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN: 39-2852017. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.*

*To donate or inquire about sponsorship, contact us at cheshire32advocate@outlook.com