Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome
back to the Aging in Place
podcast, where we talk abouteverything related to aging well
and living independently.
I'm your host, esther Kane, andtoday we'll be discussing a
topic that brings me so much joy, and I'm sure it does for many
of you as well, and that isabout the companionship of pets,
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the joys and challenges of petownership for older adults.
Whether you already have a petor if you're thinking about
getting a pet, we'll explore themany ways that pets obviously,
I think if you've ever owned oneenhance our lives, but some of
the challenges that come withthem and the solutions for these
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challenges that can help tomake pet ownership easier for
you.
I mean, I'm also going to sharemy personal experience with my
two pets and how much comfortthey've given me, especially
after my husband passed away.
All right, so let's get to it.
So why do I think and why do somany studies show that pets are
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wonderful companions for olderadults?
Well, there's a reason so manyof us consider pets actual
family, and here are some of thekey benefits of having a pet as
we grow older.
Number one companionship andemotional support.
Pets provide unconditional love, most of them, I know some can
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be more rambunctious than others.
They can help to reduceloneliness and ease depression
and anxiety.
Number two the physical healthbenefits.
Many studies show that petowners tend to have lower blood
pressure, reduce stress and evenbetter heart health.
Number three they encouragedaily activity.
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Walking a dog or playing with acat or your bird or your rabbit
keeps you moving and helps tomaintain mobility, and it also
can help to increase yourbalance, which, of course, helps
to prevent falls.
Number four is routine andpurpose.
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Having a pet to care for addsstructure to your day and adds
purpose to your day, which canbe beneficial for mental as well
as physical well-being.
And finally, number five asocial connection.
Pets help to createopportunities for conversation
and social interaction,especially dogs.
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Because you have to walk them,you meet other people.
Because you have to walk them,you meet other people, other
people, especially with dogs.
I can go to a dog park and insome parts of the country there
are.
They are very the towns thatyou live in or can be very pet
friendly.
I know mine is here in Georgiaand you can take your pet almost
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you know, anywhere, outdoorseating at restaurants and I see
all the beautiful parks thatare here.
It's very common to see peoplewalking with their pets well,
dogs, sometimes a cat.
So my own personal story is thecomfort of my two cats.
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After my husband passed away,obviously my home felt quite
empty.
The silence was very difficult.
I often felt quite lonely.
But my two cats, they became mygreatest source of comfort.
They seemed to know when Ineeded them, curling up beside
me, offering their quietcompanionship sometimes not so
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quiet companionship.
Their purring, their playfulmoments, their daily routines
gave me something to lookforward to each day and some
purpose to my days.
I know I'm not alone in thisexperience.
Obviously Many older adultsfind that a pet can fill a space
in their hearts and in theirhomes in ways that nothing else
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really can, because the lovethey give you is so
unconditional.
But there are challenges of petownership for older adults.
So and of course,responsibilities.
So here are some of the commonchallenges that seniors face.
Physical limitations is numberone.
You know, things like bendingdown to clean the litter box,
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lifting heavy pet food, walkinga strong dog can really become
difficult.
Veterinary and health care costsare nothing to be shy about.
Routine checkups, vaccinations,emergency medical care can
definitely become a financialburden.
You know I've had a total of, Ithink five or six dogs, nine
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cats, you know, in my lifetime,or six dogs, nine cats, you know
, in my lifetime.
And yes, all of these candefinitely add up as far as
health care and vet costs.
Finding care when traveling orif you're feeling unwell and
unable to care for your pet, youknow, arranging pet care if
you're in the hospital or you'reaway on vacation.
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It can be difficult if youdon't have a backup plan already
in place.
And just the energy and timecommitment you know even a low
maintenance pet requires dailyfeeding, attention, grooming,
bathing, all of those things.
I don't really see them as aburden, but they can be a
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challenge depending on you knowyour physical capabilities.
So we're going to talk aboutsome solutions for these.
So the first one is I want totalk about solutions for
managing veterinary and healthcare costs.
These expenses can add upquickly, as some of you may know
, if you already have a pet, andhere are some ways to make it a
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bit more affordable.
Look into pet insurance orwellness plans.
You know it can help to coverunexpected vet bills and many
vet clinics offer monthlywellness plans that cover things
like checkups, vaccinations.
Look for low-cost vet clinicsand assistance programs in your
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local area.
A lot of animal shelters,nonprofits, veterinary schools
provide discounted service forolder adults and use.
Talk to your vet about genericmedications and home remedies.
You know if they're safe whenthey can be safe.
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You know some pet medicationsyou can get a cheaper version.
Sometimes you may even be ableto get a sample from the vet,
and many human pharmacies offerpet prescriptions at lower costs
.
So check out that and there aresome places, especially animal
shelters, that may offer, youknow, once a year very low cost
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spade and neutering services andperhaps other vet services as
well.
So you know, keep an eye outfor those.
Let your vet know that you arealways looking for that.
Solutions for seniors withphysical limitations I myself
have lower back issues from thedays of lifting older adults
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when I was an occupationaltherapist and as a result of
that there are times that I havea very difficult time getting
things from the floor level.
So what I did with my cats isthe room that the litter box is
in.
I had a carpenter, build somesteps and an elevated shelf and
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I put the litter box on thatshelf and then my cats can walk
up the steps to the shelf.
The reason I had the steps isbecause I had a 19 year old cat
and she couldn't jump up to theshelf, which most cats can, but
she wasn't able to.
So that's why I incorporatedthe steps.
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But it does make it a loteasier for them, as the two cats
I have now are only seven yearsold, but at some point, if they
live to 19, they may need thosesteps quite easily.
But that's one thing that I didto make it a little easier.
And if, for whatever reason, Icannot reach their food bowls
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down although I do have elevatedfood food bowls, which makes a
little easier, but if there aretimes then I use a grabber, one
of those extended grabbers, tograb the bowl and put it up on
the counter.
So there are tools that you canuse and there are ways that you
can change it.
But there are three things Ican talk about is to use
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adaptive pet care products.
You like, like, like what Isaid elevated food bowls,
rolling pet.
You know food dispensers thatwell, they don't actually roll,
they just let out the food atcertain times.
Some people talk about theself-cleaning litter boxes.
I am not a big fan of theself-cleaning litter boxes.
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Yes, they'll clean the litterfor the time, but every now and
then you do have to go in andclean the entire box and taking
it apart and cleaning thoseseparate components is not an
easy task.
So for older adults I would notrecommend a self-cleaning
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litter box.
Just I would recommendsomething that's much easier to
empty and clean.
You can also hire pet assistanceservices services like Rover or
Wag.
They offer dog walking.
Some companies provide in-homepet care.
The company I use is calledMeowtel the sitter.
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The pet sitter that I foundthrough Meowtel is absolutely
excellent.
I've used her several times andshe's wonderful.
She comes in and she can evenstay overnight.
So look for any of these typesof services in your area and, of
course, ask your friends youknow, family, anybody nearby,
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people in your clubs, yourchurch, for anyone that you can
trust to come into your home andtake care of your pet.
You want to train pets foreasier handling.
A no-pull harness can make dogwalking safer, especially if you
happen to have a larger dog,and training pets to use an
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indoor potty area can evenreduce the need for frequent,
frequent walks.
If that's an issue for you,definitely looking for a school
nearby, in your area, fortraining your pet can be a
wonderful thing that you wouldneed to look for or should look
for if you're planning to adopta pet, especially a dog, all
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right, so what about finding petcare when traveling or if
you're unwell, have to go to ahospital or just need time to
recoup One?
You know finding a trusted petsitter or a boarding service in
advance?
You want to have them in yourRolodex to call.
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Actually, I would recommend twoor three, in case you know one
is simply unable to accommodateyour time.
You want to have that already,you know available.
You know already to call.
Websites like Rover, carecom,local animal shelters, can
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connect you with reliable petsitters and consider a pet
boarding facility thatspecializes in pet care.
I have several family memberswho have dogs and their dogs
love going to the boardingfacilities because they get to
play with all the other dogs.
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Now, not every single dog isgoing to love that.
Of course it has to be.
Not all dogs get along withother dogs, but if your dog is
very friendly with other dogs,they may actually end up loving
a pet boarding situation.
You can also set up a backup petcare plan with friends, family,
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neighbors.
You know I have my pet sitterfrom Meowtel but I also have a
friend and I also have aneighbor.
So I have three people in myRolodex that I can call to take
care of my pets.
You know, when I'm away or ifanything were to happen to me,
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you can obviously always have apet care instruction sheet,
feeding schedules, medications.
You know the vet informationcontacts.
You know for the meow tell petsitter I have all the
information for my neighbors andthe vet and little habits that
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the cats my cats like to do andlittle habits that my cats like
to do, what times they like toeat, that kind of thing.
It's always good to have thatout on the counter for when
you're away.
Some animal shelters and rescuecenters offer short-term foster
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programs for pet owners who arein the hospital or recovering
from surgery.
Organizations like Pets forLife and PACT, p-a-c-t for
animals also provide temporaryfoster care.
But if you travel frequentlyyou definitely want to look into
a pet share kind of programwhere multiple owners co-care
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for pets when one person in thegroup is away.
That's an excellent way to doit because then the pets become
very familiar with the otherhouse and the other person
caring for them.
So what about some products?
There's some wonderful productsthese days to make pet
ownership easier for olderadults Automatic pet feeders
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those are wonderful and I'mgoing to have links to these
products in the show notes below.
But automatic pet feeders can beexcellent, especially if you
tend to be away from home.
You know work during the day.
You want to have somethingthere for them.
No, pull dog harnesses, as Imentioned before, helps to
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control dogs without the strainon them, on you.
Pet stairs and ramps, so thatyou don't have to pick up your
animal you know for them to getup on the sofa or onto your bed.
Pet cameras are a great way foryou to keep an eye on your pet,
to see what they're doingduring the day hopefully not
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tearing apart the sofa oranything like that and, of
course, treat dispensers, whichis very similar to the automatic
pet feeders.
The closing thoughts on thisentire topic of pet ownership is
that owning a pet, of course,is a personal decision.
As someone who's almost alwaysowned a pet, I can't imagine a
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household without one, althoughthere are times that I wonder if
it would be better to just geta robotic.
Pet would be easier, lessexpensive, but at the same time,
the love and affection thatthey give you, the comfort that
they give you at least for me isjust invaluable.
At most times I'm sitting righthere doing my podcast and I've
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got one cat on one side and oneon the other side, so I can't
imagine being without them.
But if a full-time pet doesn'tnecessarily fit your lifestyle,
consider other ways.
Consider volunteering at ashelter, considering fostering
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an animal or just spending timewith a friend's pet, you know,
becoming a friend's sitter, asitter for their pet.
I think that if you are a petlover, if you whether you have a
dog, a cat, a bird, a turtle, arabbit fish, anything at all I
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just think caring for anotherliving thing is such a wonderful
way to spend time, especiallyif you're retired and you have
that extra time.
All right, if you enjoyedtoday's episode, be sure to
subscribe to our podcast.
Visit our website,aginginplacedirectorycom.
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Give us your thoughts, yourcomments.
If you have a pet that bringsyou joy, what solutions or
products have you found thathelp to make pet care easier for
you?
I'd love to hear what yourexperiences are and what your
comments are.
Thanks for listening andremember Aging in Place is all
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about creating a life that worksfor you.
Until next time, take care.