It's the season of giving and gratitude, and for many seniors living at Exchange Place Towers in Waterbury, there's no bigger blessing than their pet.

“He gives me hope, and he's always there for me,” Gladys Rivera said as she sat with her dog Brownie on her lap.

“Moty is like a daughter for me,” explained Noemi Roldan about her cat. “She's my company, and I love her a lot.”

Rivera and Roldan are among the over 400 seniors in 59 communities getting a helping hand from the Senior Paw Project. The program is part of the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, a nonprofit created in memory of a six-year-old girl who had a passion for animals.

“The people that we serve are financially insecure seniors. They reside in affordable housing communities, and we help provide basic care for their pets so that they can keep them. So, it's monthly food support. It's veterinary wellness care, and then when needed, respite care,” said Jenny Hubbard, Catherine’s mom.

“It's given me a lot of help, and I appreciate it because, you know, it's very expensive, the food, the veterinary,” Roldan told News 12.

The goal is to keep seniors from having to make some tough decisions.

“’Am I going to feed myself or feed my pet?’ We hear those stories every single time we go out in our communities,” Hubbard explained. “The average income for the people we serve is $12,000 a year, and so when you start figuring out the math, it puts them in a precarious position.”

For Rivera, her dog means everything to her.

“When I go out, and I come back, he’s right there waiting for me with one of the toys in his mouth,” Rivera said petting him.

“What we believe is it’s important to preserve that bond between human and their companion animal, and for the seniors that we serve, this companion animal is their sense of purpose,” Hubbard told News 12. “For some of the folks, it's their last connection to a spouse or we have one senior that we serve, she's taking care of her son who passed away—his pet. And so, it's really important to preserve that bond for these folks. It's the least we can do.”

This week, the Senior Paw Project has made special visits to pass out holiday gift bags to those served by the program. The bags include toys, treats, notes and other items courtesy of community groups and schools.

The effort comes as Sunday marks 13 years since the Sandy Hook tragedy, when Hubbard lost her daughter. Catherine was one of 26 students and educators who died.

“I could easily just curl up in a ball, and people would say, ‘Understandable.’ But to be able to give back in her name and share her love animals I think is probably the most important thing I could be doing this week,” Hubbard stated with a smile.

For her, it’s about putting Catherine's legacy of kindness and compassion into action.

“I love it. I love the program. I love the staff. They're very kind people,” Roldan said.