'Hospets' project keeps people & pets together!

When Lisa Zimmerman discovered how many people don't have a place for their pets when they are sick or go on hospice, she decided to find a way to ensure their furry friends are always loved and cared for

- Bill Holton

Your dogs really love your dad,” the hospice nurse told Lisa Zimmerman as her pups cuddled with her father, Larry, who was sadly dying of lung disease.

“He's always been a real dog lover,” said Lisa, and so had she.

For years, she'd run a Marysville, Ohio, pit bull rescue, arranging adoptions and fostering unwanted pups.

Lisa was startled by what the nurse told her next: “Most of my patients with pets can’t get out to take them for walks or to the vets and groomers,” she said.

“And they live alone with no one around to help them or take in the animals after they're gone.”

Surely there are groups that can help out, Lisa thought, but after she did some research, nothing turned up. When her dad died in December 2011, Lisa channeled her grief into action.