Rhoda Kinkade, 97, and her cat, Boots, have been together for four or five years now.

The Rapid City woman lives by herself and treasures the opportunity to have a feline companion.

"I'm way up in years. I've outgrown all my friends, really," Kinkade said. "It gets pretty lonesome sometimes."

Kinkade receives home-delivered meals daily from the Western South Dakota Senior Services Meals Program.

Recently, though, the meal program has been dropping off a little extra something about once a month - a bag of cat food.

"Surprisingly, the cat likes the food," Kinkade said.

The pet food program began last year as a holiday food drive at PetSmart's Banfield Pet Hospital. Now, the collaboration is entering its second year of providing older people who cannot leave their homes with the food they need to feed their pets.

"This way, they're able to buy additional groceries or help pay for heating or telephone," said Marcia Mayer, community resource director for the meals program. "In this economy, everything helps."

Western South Dakota Senior Services delivers human food daily to about 175 homebound people over age 60 and provides noontime meals in 16 West River communities.

Between 30 and 45 of those home delivery clients also receive pet food about once a month, Mayer said.

Being able to offer a bag of free dog or cat food helps ensure the seniors - and the animals - get the nutritious meals they need, Mayer said.

"We do know that seniors will give their pets food from their table," Mayer said. "The nutritional aspect of the meals program is that it needs to go to the seniors."

Banfield in Rapid City collects food and monetary donations year-round for the program, which began during the 2007 holiday season, shortly after the PetSmart opened.

The program is part of a national partnership between Banfield and the Meals on Wheels Association of America. Banfield is the exclusive care provider at more than 650 vet clinics inside PetSmart stores.

"Very often they are in a living circumstance where their one and only constant companion is their pet," said Christine Teets, veterinarian at Rapid City's Banfield. "It's a very integral part of their lives."

Most donations here are made at the end of the year, Teets said. About 1,100 pounds of pet food has been collected so far this holiday season, she said.

Still, the need exists outside the holiday season as well, Teets said.

"Seniors need (the help) all of the time," Teets said. "It's easy for us to be charitable around Christmastime, but sometimes we forget that need exists all year-round."

For those who don't qualify for Meals on Wheels, the Humane Society of the Black Hills also provides free dog food all year, director Melissa Foxworth said.

Foxworth said the shelter currently helps about 10 families a month but could offer more assistance if more people asked.

All people have to do is call or stop by the Humane Society and answer a few questions about their job history, the dogs they have and their needs, Foxworth said.

The food comes from donations the shelter receives, she said. Their dogs only eat certain food; the rest is available to dog owners in need.

"Don't feel embarrassed," Foxworth said. "We all need help right now in this day and time."

How to help

- To help needy homebound elderly people to feed their pets, give monetary and pet food donations to the Banfield Pet Hospital at PetSmart, 925 Disk Drive. Information is available at the store.

- Donate to the Humane Society of the Black Hills, 1820 E. St. Patrick St., to provide free dog food to people who don't qualify for the Meals on Wheels' pet food delivery program.

- The Western South Dakota Senior Services Meals Program asks that you not drop off pet food at its main kitchen.

Contact Emilie Rusch at 394-8453 or emilie.rusch@rapidcityjournal.com.