Donna Jones
For some older Gympie citizens, the like for lots of throughout the nation, their animals help to alleviate sensations of solitude and seclusion as they end up being less active.
A host of research studies show how animals provide a myriad physical and psychological health advantages for individuals, such as minimizing tension, offering friendship, motivating social interactions and more.
According to figures launched by the Companion Animal Network (CAN or CANA) just recently, in spite of 86 percent of older grownups experiencing enhanced psychological and physical health with animals in aged care settings, just 18 percent of aged care centers think about enabling citizens to keep a buddy animal.
And for older grownups with a Home Care Package to help them remain in their own houses for longer, 91 percent of those with animals do not receive assistance to help to look after their buddy animal, according to and continuous study of 1130 individuals.
Trish Ennis, CEO of Australia CAN or CANA says, “While we’ve always recognised the benefits of owning a pet, our survey shows the Australian government and aged care providers have been slow to understand the enduring value of the human-animal bond for older people.”
“There’s often a catastrophic emotional harm caused when older people are forced to give up their pets upon moving into an aged care home, and resulting in their much-loved animals being surrendered to shelters across the country,” said Ms Ennis.
“People are putting their lives on the line when they refuse to move into aged care because they can’t bring their pet with them. If people were allowed to keep their pets, aged care take-up by older people will increase and the number of pets being surrendered to animal shelters will decrease.”
“As our population ages, solutions to maintaining a high quality of life include finding ways to help ageing people retain their pets,” she said.
Gympie RSPCA Manager Vanessa Richardson said the RSPCA is constantly eager to help animals stay with their owners.
“Anything that would allow the pets and their owners to stay together for as long as possible can only be a good thing for everyone involved,” she said.
Emma Lagoon from the RSPCA Qld said individuals need to prepare for their animals in case they require to enter into care.
“We know that pets are wonderful companions for our elderly people, and they should still be allowed to own pets, however it’s important that they also have a plan for lifelong care for their animals, should they pass away or need to go into specialised care,” she said.
“At the RSPCA we also have a program called Home Ever After, where pet owners that leave a gift in their Will to RSPCA Queensland can have peace of mind knowing that should anything ever happen to them and they are unable to care for their pets, RSPCA will care for their pets and find them suitable new, homes.”
