Many know I have a special affection for senior pets. I love “golden oldies” because by nature they have greater health care needs. As such, senior pet care is where veterinarians have an opportunity to excel and employ their best education and communication abilities.
Perhaps the most essential trait for a veterinarian to possess is indeed exceptional communication skills. A large part of our day after all, is spent talking to and teaching proper pet care to pet owners. I enjoy this part of my job, especially when it comes to senior citizens, for whom I also have a special affection. For me, it doesn’t get any better than a visit with a senior citizen who owns a senior pet.
I love that senior citizens appreciate and experience the benefits of pet ownership. However, I have been troubled by two events that transpired more than once recently.
Because I am growing older with my senior clients, I am also
experiencing their passing. I am
saddened by their departure, for their loved ones, for myself, and for their
pets that are missing them. Many times
there is a surviving significant other who readily steps in to continue the
pet’s care and love. However, it is sometimes
obvious that the survivor was not as active in the pet’s care.
While this may
seem at first like a sad scenario, it tends to turn out well as the significant
other quickly learns the pet’s quirks, routines and needs. A strong bond is readily born out of the
common loss of a loved one. And, grief
seems to be more readily diminished by the distraction of caring for another’s
beloved and needy pet. Veterinarians can
be instrumental in fostering this relationship by assisting the survivor with
knowledge about the pet’s veterinary needs, habits and temperament.
The second
event I have had recently was during visits with senior citizens who commented
that their current pets would be their last. When each verbalized these
sentiments, my heart sank, not only for the potential loss of my relationship
with the pet’s owner, but for the absence of a pet in the aging owner’s
life.
I am an obvious observer of the role pets play in human lives,
especially older pet owners. I have the
ongoing honor and privilege to witness the power of pets as they improve the
health and well-being of their “pet parents.”
Pets make us exercise our mind, body and hearts. They give us purpose, a reason to wake up,
and a routine to carry out. Yet their most powerful role is in the completion
of the human- animal bond, an indescribable phenomenon that I see and enjoy on
a daily basis.So when my senior clients lament that a pet will be their last, my soap box quickly appears and I sharpen my communication skills. Growing older does not need to be the end of pet ownership. On the contrary, it needs to be the beginning. Senior citizens can and should reap the benefits of adopting "older" pets, most of which reside in shelters nearly four times longer than their younger counterparts.
Older pets come
with some important advantages. They are
already housetrained, past the puppy chewing stage, and are usually calmer with
lower energy. Older pet parents become
fully engaged in their pet’s care, too, which results in mood elevation, lower
blood pressure and weight loss through increased exercise.
Part two of my
soapbox speech then addresses the senior citizen’s next concern for “who will
care for my pet when something happens to me.”
I respond to this query by explaining that, like many veterinarians, I
have seen this situation before, and things always have a way of working out.
What tends to happen is friends and family members realize how important
the pet is or was to their loved one and will step up to care for the pet
themselves or place them with someone they know and trust. In the absence of prior arrangements (which I
highly encourage), numerous agencies and breed rescue groups will assist in
expediently placing pets in good homes.
And, yes, sometimes veterinarians and their staff adopt their older
clients’ pets, too!
Aging pet
owners are among the very best pet caregivers.
They deserve the love and happiness that pets bring to them. For me, adopting a pet when you are in your
senior period is a no-brainer. If you
love pets, don’t let growing older be the death of the human-animal bond. Instead, rejoice in it. I promise you will never regret it.
This column, authored by Dr. Bonnie Jones, is in
memory of Bill Henze, Evelyn Schmidt, Joan Frankhouser and Jan Steiner.
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