WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Richard Crews couldn't wait to get through the doors of the SPCA Serving Erie County on Friday afternoon. It was just days ago that staff at Catholic Heath surprised the 74-year-old with the news that he was going to be a foster dad to a cat from the SPCA.
Crews was emotional when he got that news, because the last cat he had passed away. He had that cat for 12 years.
"He became my best friend in New York City," said Crews, now of Lackawanna.
Crews moved to Buffalo a couple years ago to get treatment at Roswell Park. He is battling cancer, and chronic kidney disease.
"I knew absolutely no one," said Crews. "I had to start arranging rides, timing on rides, appointments."
That was until he found Catholic Health's LIFE program, a comprehensive care program for adults aged 55 and older who wish to continue living independently at home.
"The mission is to keep people safe in their homes and not in nursing homes," said Ann Marie Moriarty, a Licensed Master Social Worker at Catholic Health. "It's an all inclusive holistic model, which just encompasses all the needs of every...It's accessed through Medicaid, Medicare."
Crews is getting medical treatment, but mentally he has been struggling with loneliness.
"He was at his wits end, and he was alone," explained Moriarty.
That's when Catholic Health and the SPCA Serving Erie County looked to take animal visits with patients one step further, and form a foster animal partnership.
"It's a win-win," said Crews, as he met his new five-year-old cat. Crews named him "V" after the Catholic Health transportation driver who takes him to all his appointments.
"The bond between animals, and humans is one of the most special things we have," said Zak Sprowls, Adoption and Foster Manager at the SPCA Serving Erie County.
The adoption was free, and Sprowls and staff gave Crews a bag of new toys and cat food for "V."
Crews said the two have a lot of upcoming adventures together.
