Faithful companion

Nonprofit makes it easier for pets to ‘stay’ with seniors

BY KERRY FIRTH

“Serving others” has always been a big part of Ted Pankiewicz’ job descriptions. After one year of college, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he served as a Morse code interpreter from 1965 through 1968. Then he joined the Irvington Police Department, in New Jersey, as a patrolman, serving as a K-9 handler and trainer until he retired in 1994.

“I served as a street cop for 28 years and 3 days, and had three faithful canine partners in that timeframe,” Pankiewicz reminisced. “Arie, Creole and Ben were with me 24 hours a day and would give their lives for me.” 

Pankiewicz and his wife, Cookie, moved to Florida in 2003 to be close to their daughter and grandsons. Their son and daughter in law, Ted Jr. and Jessica, moved to Florida in 2011 to join the family and bought five acres in Fellsmere. It seemed every stray dog and cat recognized their passion for animals and found their way onto the property. The Pankiewicz family aspired to have a rescue pet sanctuary; Jessica even chose the name: For the Love of Paws. Sadly, she passed away suddenly from a rare immune disorder called Devic’s disease in 2013 before her dream came to fruition.

“After her passing, I discussed continuing on with her dream in her honor with my son and we opened For the Love of Paws in 2014,” Pankiewicz, who serves as the charity’s executive director, said. “We started in our garage, bagging food for pets that seniors could no longer care for, and we’ve continued to grow through the past decade.”

For the Love of Paws’ mission is to provide peace of mind to senior citizens who are facing hospice care or memory care, a stay in a rehabilitation facility or a move into an assisted living facility — any situation where they can no longer care for their beloved pets. 

Pankiewicz first recognized this need when he worked as a general manager at a manufactured-home community for seniors in Sebastian. Residents on tight budgets didn’t have the funds to feed their pets. Some would surrender their pets to shelters. Others would spend what little they had on pet food — even if it meant they didn’t eat.

The nonprofit group’s Paws on Wheels program provides more than 150,000 pounds of free pet food to seniors and veterans who need help feeding their cherished companions. Volunteers meet each Monday to bag dog and cat food for delivery to 18 local food pantries in Indian River and Brevard counties, as well as the group’s own pet food pantries in Fellsmere and on 12th Street in Vero Beach. They’ve also partnered with the Senior Resource Association Meals on Wheels program to have pet food delivered, along with meals for homebound seniors.

SAFE HAVEN

For pets whose lives have been disrupted by their owners’ deaths or a move to an assisted living facility, For the Love of Paws Senior Pet Sanctuary acts as a safe home for them to live out the remainder of their lives, or serves as a temporary home until they find forever adoptive homes. The five-acre property has two eclectic cat cottages, where cats can cozy up on a sofa in front of a fireplace or climb up to an open attic to survey the cats below. The cottages are bright and colorful and decorated in Alice in Wonderland and Nightmare Before Christmas decor, with all kinds of cat toys and scratchable furniture. Each cottage has access to a screened-in play yard.

“We currently have seven cats in foster care, five ready for adoption and eight cats who will live on the sanctuary for the rest of their lives,” Pankiewicz said. “There are also four dogs who live in the sanctuary. Our security is handled by Handsome, a great Dane mix dog who wandered up on the property, and his feline sidekick, Ellie. We’ve adopted out more than 100 pets since we started. For now, the pets available for adoption are showcased on the charity’s website but soon there will be an adoption center next to our thrift store in Vero Beach.”

Since the dogs live in the Pankiewicz’ home, there is only a limited number they can keep. Plans are in the works to build a dog bungalow — a sheltered sleep area with an outside fenced yard — that will make room for more dogs to be housed and cared for.

“We’ve also developed a program called Fur Real Pet Companions, which provides Fur Real [robotic] Kitty Companions to nursing homes and assisted living facilities,” Pankiewicz explained. “These robotic cats purr, clean their faces, roll over and look exactly like a real cat. They are so realistic that one senior care resident thought the cat had died when its battery ran down.”

For the Love of Paws has provided emergency pet oxygen masks to local fire rescues and first responders; it subsidizes free spay and neutering services for the pets of seniors and veterans; and has a program where low-income seniors can apply for help with other veterinary bills. Its new Paws Therapy Dog Program has a dozen nationally certified therapy-dog teams that visit local nursing homes, hospitals, schools and senior day care centers. The nonprofit is also there for pets whose owners signed them up for the Legacy program, which ensures that an orphaned pet will be cared for after the owner’s death. 

For the Love of Paws is able to address all these important needs, thanks to their dedicated — and selfless — staff.

“This program wouldn’t work without the countless hours that our volunteers contribute,” Pankiewicz said. “We have about 40 volunteers who donate their time for the love of animals. There are only four paid employees who work out of our thrift store in Vero Beach. Everyone else, including myself and Ted Jr. who runs the sanctuary, are volunteers.”

Visit the organization’s website at pawspetsanctuary.org for more information.

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TED PANKIEWICZ 

Age: 77

Occupation: Executive director, For the Love of Paws Senior Pet Sanctuary Inc.

Lives In: Sebastian

Family: Was married to Cookie for 52 years, before she passed away in 2013; one son and one daughter

Education: Attended Rutgers University; Naval cytological tech

Hobbies: Cats and dogs

What inspires me: “Helping other people.”

Something people don’t know about me: “My family had a horse boarding farm in Missouri.”