BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The holidays are a time to be with loved ones. For many of the residents at Plaza Towers, that means their pets. But caring for an animal is expensive and without the support of the Bakersfield Pet Food Pantry, would be nearly impossible for some of these seniors.
Freda Banks is a resident at the Plaza Towers, an apartment complex that works with low-income seniors to provide housing and other resources. Banks lived at the towers for seven years with her husband and his support dog Dallas.
“Everybody knows Dallas," Banks said.
Recently banks lost her husband and now it’s just her and Dallas.
“He’s my best friend, and when I cry, he comes up and supports me,” she said.
Since her husband’s death, Banks hasn’t been able to work, which makes buying items like pet food difficult. But Thanks to the Bakersfield Pet Food Pantry and the Housing Authority of Kern, the only thing Banks and Dallas have to worry about is supporting each other during this time of mourning.
“He’ll sit in his chair so I put his shirt and blanket and he’ll ball himself up in them," Banks said. "He used to support my husband, he used to sit by his side while he was sick so, I guess now he sees that I can’t really take it so he supports me.”
This month, the pantry decided to do even more for the residents at Plaza Towers. They asked the community to pick an ornament off of their Senior Giving Christmas Tree and bring a present back for the residents. On Monday, volunteers from the housing authority delivered the presents to the seniors along with their pet food packages.
This will be Bank’s first holiday without her husband but thanks to the generosity of the community, she and Dallas will both have a gift to open this Christmas.
“To know that there is a lot of considerate persons," she said. "If it weren’t for them, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
WATCH: Ornaments for seniors at the Bakersfield Pet Food Pantry
