What is the Whole Families Program?

PFA employs an on-staff Social Worker to work with a pet’s human companion when they are experiencing a crisis, and feel they have no other recourse than to surrender their furry family member.  These clients obviously love their pets, but their challenges feel so insurmountable that they no longer believe they can safely provide for their animals.  Through our WFP, we’re able to intervene in those moments and support them through their turbulent times.

PFA embraces the One Health approach, which recognizes that the health of people, animals, and our shared environment are interconnected.  This philosophy informed the creation of our Whole Families Program, which expands the traditional veterinary focus on the animal to include their human family members and life circumstances.

This includes: having a network of volunteer foster homes, contracts with boarding kennels, and one-on-one consultation which connects them to human social services, in order to resolve challenges including (but not limited to): housing insecurity, mental health issues, domestic violence, and/or food insecurity.  By talking to pet parents about their family’s needs and worries, we can prevent negative outcomes and help keep whole families together.

June 2025 Update

We have to make a difficult change to our Whole Families Program. The number of applicants has increased significantly, but the donations we rely on to run the program have not increased to match this need.  We are now limiting enrollment in the program to people who are bonded with their pet and are experiencing a life crisis. Specifically being homeless and needing to enter a homeless or domestic violence transitional shelter, rehabilitation facility or hospital. We know this is difficult to hear and that this does not help everyone. We appreciate you understanding and working with us.

If you are struggling to pay for your pet’s veterinary care and food, we encourage you to contact your your local food pantry and/or animal shelter to see if they provide free pet food.

Click here to review a list of free grants for specialized veterinary care that may be able to help your pet!

If you feel like your situation qualifies for assistance from PFA and would like to speak to our staff Social Worker, please contact Lori McGahan, Director of the Whole Families Program, MSW, LCSW:

Contact Lori

Keep scrolling to learn how you can support the Whole Families Program with donations, & volunteering, and meet some of the animals that have been helped!

Pet Pantries

PFA hosts pet food & supply pantries at all three clinic locations, stocked with a variety of food for dogs & cats of all ages, along with essential supplies like: collars, leashes, carriers, and kitty litter.  Each pantry is open to clients who are enrolled in the WFP.  

We rely on the generous support of our community to help keep pantry shelves stocked, in order to meet the growing demand for our services.  You can help donate food & supplies to your nearby PFA clinic through several convenient options!

Click here to learn more & donate supplies

 

Volunteer - Foster a Pet

 

FOSTER HOMES

People participating in our WFP are facing a major crisis in their life and some of them need us to care for their pets while they resolve the issues in their life that could lead to the surrender of their beloved pet.  People and their pets form a lasting bond and keeping them together is imperative for their physical and mental health.

We need foster homes located throughout New Jersey that are able to take in a pet, and care for them for one (1) to six (6) months* until their parent is able to take them back.  PFA will provide pet food, supplies, and veterinary care while you provide a loving home and attention.

YOU can help keep them together!

Apply to be a Foster Home

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FOSTER COORDINATOR

Do you love animals and enjoy helping others? Are you a good organizer and multi-tasker? If so, we need you to help coordinate our foster care program! We have foster pets in homes throughout the state and we need help:

  • Transporting animals
  • Picking up pet food and supply donations
  • Matching foster pets with foster homes
  • Ensuring foster families have enough pet food and supplies
  • Additional as-needed assistance

Apply Here

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PET FOOD PANTRY COORDINATOR

Pet Food Pantry Coordinators are needed in Hillside, Robbinsville and Millville. If you live locally and are a good organizer we need your help!  Some tasks include:

  • Canvassing local stores for donations of pet food and supplies
  • Informing the WFP director when donations are needed
  • Helping pick up donations
  • Keeping the pantry stocked and organized
  • Helping WFP clients and foster families pick up their pet food and supplies as needed

Apply Here

Launching WFP

We launched our Whole Families Program on the first Saturday in June 2021 with a free vaccination clinic for the town of Millville. 104 families and 188 pets were served! Volunteers surveyed families to help us learn how the Millville community views their pets and discover any unmet needs or challenges that they were facing. Every single family stated that they consider their pets to be part of the family, and that they depend on their pets for love and emotional support. This was not a surprise for us since we see every day how much our clients love their pets!

Unfortunately, we also learned that three out of every five pets were not spayed or neutered, and 40% had never seen a veterinarian before. Two out of every three families stated that they were unable to afford veterinary care. Others were facing housing- or food-insecurity, while some had pressing pet health needs. We were gratified to be able to offer assistance either directly through PFA or by having our Social Worker connect these clients to traditional social services.

“Three out of every five pets were not spayed or neutered, and 40% had never seen a veterinarian before.”

In this way, PFA is forging novel relationships with human social services providers to resolve human crisis and preserve the human-animal bond.

Success Stories

Experience the heartwarming stories of transformation and triumph in our collection of inspiring success stories.

While Kevin was experiencing homelessness, PFA's social worker assisted Kevin through social service programs and PFA's vets provided veterinary care for his three beloved dogs.

Kevin and Deuce, Bobby & Stella

Read story
"I couldn't ask for a better turnout to keeping my cat in a safe and loving environment. As I transition to find stable housing, it relieves me to know my fur baby is safe, loved and cared for properly."

Kim and Phoebe

Read story

Resources

Explore a curated list of valuable resources to empower you with knowledge, guidance, and support on your journey towards better pet care and animal welfare.

More Programs

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Our Programs

Sweet Pea Fund

Inspired by the sweet senior dog who did not let her past damper her capacity for love and now provides a life-saving legacy to other animals.

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Public Policy Advocacy

PFA offers expert consultation to promote humane public policy to elected officials at every level of government. We have successfully advocated for Humane Feral Cat Population Control (TNR) in many NJ counties and municipalities. We also actively advocate for humane legislation in our State Legislature.

Learn More

Humane Education

The goal of PFA’s Humane Education Program is to engage school-age youths in age-appropriate discussions on topics that relate to how we interact with each other, with animals, and with our environment.

Learn More

Pet Pantries

PFA hosts pet food & supply pantries at all three clinic locations, stocked with a variety of food for dogs & cats of all ages, along with essential supplies like: collars, leashes, carriers, and kitty litter.

Learn More