Guideposts – August 2019

60 GUIDEPOSTS (^) | August 2019
Edwina Perkins, Donna deNobriga
Winningham and Monica Morris
found that their family pets brought
their senior loved ones comfort,
companionship and joy. Research on
the websites of the Human Animal
Bond Research Institute and the
therapy animal organization Pet
Partners supports that spending
time with animals gives older adults
a physical, emotional and mental
boost—reducing depression and pain,
enhancing mobility and decreasing
dementia-related agitation. In a
survey conducted by Home Instead,
Inc., franchisor of the Home Instead
Senior Care network, people 65
and older who regularly interacted
with a pet—their own or someone
else’s—scored highest on happiness
scales and lowest on loneliness
scales. Here’s how seniors can enjoy
the benefits of pet interaction without
the responsibility of ownership:
Hang out at the dog park. You don’t
have to own a dog to socialize there.
Just introduce yourself to the people
and their furry friends.
Visit a cat or dog café. These cafés,
where people can cuddle and play
with pets looking for a home, are
springing up in many large cities.
Foster a pet. Need a short-term
animal fix? Try fostering. Pet rescue
organizations rely on fosters to pro-
vide a temporary home for animals
until they are adopted. If you live near
a military base, you can offer to care
for a pet while its owner is deployed.
Volunteer at an animal group or
shelter. Help give pets waiting for
homes the feeding, walking and
socializing they need. Getting the ani-
mals used to people improves their
chances of getting adopted.
Get to know your neighbors’ pets.
If you see neighbors walking their
dogs, why not ask to join them? It’s
a good way to get better acquainted
with pets and their owners. Once
you know them well, you might even
be asked to pet-sit.
Connect with a therapy animal.
Reach out to a therapy animal group.
“Animals alleviate loneliness. Even
a weekly half-hour visit can make a
difference,” says Elisabeth Van Every,
communications and outreach co-
ordi nator for Pet Partners. Its therapy
teams, made up of a pet owner and
the registered animal, offer one-on-
one interaction for seniors in hospi-
tals, hospices and other settings. Care
community residents can sign up to
take a walk with a therapy animal
and its handler through Pet Partners’
Walk With Me program. Visit pet
partners.org for more information.
To learn more about the connection
between seniors and pets, go to
petsandseniors.com.
6 Ways Seniors Can Interact With Pets
CAREGIVERS