Senior Citizens and Pets Share Golden Lives Together

                

              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.