How Seniors Benefit From Adopting Senior Pets

Seniors adopting senior pets is a win-win situation. There are many beautiful senior dogs and cats in need of a home because their owners are no longer able to take care of them. They may have been their owner’s cherished companions, but have now become homeless. They may be staying with relatives or waiting in a shelter until someone comes along to claim them and take them home again. Being adopted into a senior home is a lucky break for a senior pet, because seniors take good care of their pets and have time and affection to lavish on them. There are many great benefits for a senior to adopt an older pet.

1. Senior pets are easy to live with. Many are already housetrained. Most are trained to walk on a leash. They are accustomed to living in a house and adapting to their human’s ways.
2. Senior pets are experienced and give their senior owners a feeling of security and safety in the home. They feel that they have someone they can trust around when they live with these pets.
3. Living with a senior pet keeps the senior owner on their toes. They have a tendency to take better care of themselves and the pet when they are responsible for its well-being.
4. Seniors who have easy-to-care-for senior pets have been found to have lower blood pressure and less depression than seniors who do not keep pets.
5. Keeping a senior pet healthy requires the owner to exercise daily, taking the pet for walks and outings.
6. Taking their pet for walks and outings encourages seniors to be more involved outside the home and in their community.
7. Senior pets and senior pet owners experience companionship instead of loneliness when they live together.
8. Seniors who suffer from the loss of a spouse or other loved one can find comfort in the company of their pets. Both dogs and cats often have an uncanny sense that tells them when their owner is sad or not feeling well.
9. Just knowing they are providing love, care and a much needed home for a senior pet can make their senior owner feel useful again.
10. Senior pets require less work than puppies or kittens and are more readily adaptable to the home.

If you are a senior, think seriously about adopting a senior dog or cat. They have just as much love to give as kittens or puppies and are far easier to cope with. Spend some time with the pet you are thinking of adopting to see how you relate to each other. If you already have a pet at home, see whether you can take it to visit with the new pet you are thinking of adopting. Having a pet in your home can give you someone to come home to, someone who will greet you at the door and be happy just because you are there.