Older People and Pets

Countless studies have shown that owning a pet is good for your health, particularly as people get older. Pet owners have lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels and for those who own dogs, tend to be more active. Also, the elderly who are pet owners spend less time in hospitals and survive longer after heart attacks. Animals provide invaluable companionship for those on their own or who can´t get out much, combating the loneliness which can be a distressing part of being older. However, as people age, it can become progressively more difficult for them to care for their pets and they often worry what will happen to their beloved companions after they are gone.

Obviously family support is invaluable in helping older people to continue to have pets but not everybody has this network to rely on. There are several charities which can provide assistance and the most active of these is the Cinnamon Trust. The Cinnamon Trust is a wonderful organisation which covers the whole of the UK and offers extensive help for elderly people with pets. They can arrange for local volunteers to walk a dog regularly, organise regular house visits to help with the care and up-keep of a pet and they provide a fostering service if an owner has to have an extended hospital stay. They can also agree to take on pets after the death of their owner and will find them new homes, or look after them in one of several animal sanctuaries they own. The RSPCA also runs a similar scheme.

Pets can bring a huge amount of companionship and joy to older peoples lives but they often worry about looking after them properly. One option which really is a win-win situation is to consider rescuing an older animal looking for a home. There are many older dogs and cats living in kennels, over-looked by people set on owning a cute puppy or kitten. However, these more mature pets can make excellent companions and require far less input that younger animals. They will already be house trained and most will know how to obey simple commands. Older cats love nothing more than curling up on a lap and sleeping for hours and older dogs benefit far more from a few short walks a day rather than tramping for miles over hills. The Oldies Club is a dog rescue which specialises in re-homing older dogs and the Cats Protection League always has older cats looking for homes.

Often, when elderly people move into homes, they have to leave beloved companions behind, which can be very distressing. Some care homes will now accept pets and a bill was recently discussed in parliament supporting the move to ensure care homes make provisions for resident´s animals. It highlighted the fact that in the most recent year for which statistics are available 38,000 animals were euthanased and 100,000 were re-homed as a result of their owners going into care. This adds unnecessary stress, guilt and upset to people already going though a significant upheaval in their lives. The UK is one of the only countries in Europe without a coherent policy on pets in care homes. Germany, France, Switzerland and Greece, amongst others, all have legislation which ensures elderly people have the right to keep their pets with them when they move into homes. If you or a relative are going into sheltered accommodation, do check their policy on taking on animals as well. Given the well established health benefits of contact with animals, it makes a huge amount of sense to allow people to keep pets with them. That is not to say that those in homes have no contact with pets, many will have visiting cats and dogs that can provide much needed relaxation and relief. Pets As Therapy (PAT) is a well established charity which provides well behaved dogs and cats who, with their volunteer owners, visit residential homes and provide much needed animal contact.

Pets provide much needed companionship and unconditional love to older people. Not only do they have proven health benefits but they also give the elderly an important sense of still being useful in their need to care for their pets. Striving to maintain this contact is important and while family support is vital there are also numerous charities and schemes which can help.