A Senior Living Dilemma: To Move Or Not To Move With Fido
Americans love their pets. The American Pet Products Association* estimates 78.2 million dogs and 86.4 million cats grace homes in the United States. For senior citizens, pets provide companionship, unconditional love and a sense of feeling needed.
Despite these positive attributes, as the country’s population ages, a dilemma is occurring—what happens to beloved pets when their owners move to retirement communities?
Benefits of Pet Ownership
For Maxine Bayer, 87, the answer was simple. Bring Daisy, a beautiful, sweet-tempered apricot poodle-terrier with her to Mirage Inn, a Brookdale Senior Living community in Rancho Mirage, CA. Mrs. Bayer, who uses a wheelchair, and friendly Daisy, who often sits on Bayer’s lap, enjoy life in their comfortable, safe environment.
“I am blessed that Daisy is everyone’s pet,” says Mrs. Bayer. “At first, it was a novelty for people to see me in the chair with a dog in my lap. Now Daisy is part of the residents’ family.”
Col. Larry Schaeffer, 93, and his black, white and yellow Calico cat Missy also share life together at the Rancho Mirage residence. Schaeffer and Missy first moved into Mirage Inn, but as Schaeffer’s needs changed, he and Missy moved to the adjacent Alzheimer’s and dementia section, Clare Bridge Place.
“Missy means so much in Dad’s life,” says Schaeffer’s daughter Monique. “Missy’s been with him so long. She sleeps with him, cuddles next to him, and gives him complete devotion. I think Dad’s done so well because Missy is with him.”
Mirage Inn Executive Director Christopher Finn counts six cats and eight dogs as residents. Clare Bridge Place has one cat.
Finding the Right Place for Fido
According to Finn, allowing pets to live at Brookdale Senior Living communities is part of the company’s Optimum Life program, which features a holistic approach to health, life, fulfillment and aging.
With more than 559 senior retirement communities throughout the United States, Brookdale’s pet policies vary. At Mirage Inn, pet owners and their families follow a policy designed for resident and pet safety and well-being. For a fee, assistance is available for pet care.
Daisy and Missy are examples of healthy, tame pets compatible with senior living communities. Col. Schaeffer and Mrs. Bayer illustrate owners capable of providing proper care and companionship for their pets.
Things to Consider Before Moving
For seniors exploring retirement housing options, moving with or without their pets is a difficult decision. Considerations include:
- Health - Is the senior physically healthy enough to care for the pet? Is the pet physically healthy enough for the new environment?
- Well-being - Is the pet owner mentally able to provide appropriate kindness and compassion for the pet? Is the pet’s personality appropriate for the new environment?
- Upkeep/Expense - Is the pet owner or family capable of providing food, grooming, medical care and daily maintenance, such as exercise?
- Environment - What senior living environments are under consideration? What are their pet policies?
- Future - What happens if the owner dies or is no longer able to care for the pet? What is “Plan B?”
“When we moved Dad to Clare Bridge Place, it was traumatic,” says Col. Schaeffer’s daughter Monique. “We didn’t want him to feel everything was taken from him, so Missy moved with him. If Missy, 14, dies before Dad, I would get him a kitten!”
*Dog and Cat statistics cited from the 2011-2012 National Pet Owners Survey, conducted by the American Pet Products Association.
Written by Joan London, a freelance writer from Baltimore, MD. London lives in a 55+ condominium with Mia, a beautiful, sweet Russian Blue rescue cat. The intelligent, regal feline, whose name stands for “Mi Amigo,” Spanish for “My Friend,” earns her keep by sitting on the printer and inspecting the copy as it prints.
