Written by Diane Pierce
Senior Dogs 4 Seniors is a foster-based rescue that primarily places senior dogs in the homes of older people in the St. Louis area of Missouri. A grant from The Grey Muzzle Organization helps them with their veterinary bills. This post was written by Senior Dogs 4 Seniors founder and president, Diane Pierce.
We found that these senior dogs were the best behaved dogs – as they are potty trained and not as demanding for exercise. All they want is someone to love them and to be with them.
Of course, the dogs benefit from finding their own forever home. But the senior adopters benefit just as much. Here is a list of some of the benefits found for older people who have dogs.
1. Pets Lower Blood Pressure. A study of health patients showed that people over 40 who own pets have lower blood pressure than people who do not have pets. Another study showed that talking to pets decreased blood pressure.
2. Fewer Trips to the Doctor. Seniors who own dogs go to the doctor less often than those who do not. In a study of 1,000 Medicare patients, even the most highly stressed dog owner/guardians in the study had 21 percent fewer physician contacts than non-dog owner/guardians.
3. Less Depression. Studies show that seniors with pets do not become depressed as often as those without pets.
4. Easier to Make Friends. Seniors with pets meet more people and like to talk about their pets.
5. Seniors Become More Active. Seniors with pets go for more walks and are generally more active than those without pets.
6. Pets are Friends. Most everyone, but especially seniors, will say that pets are their friends.
7. Pets Fight Loneliness. You are less likely to be lonely with a canine friend around.
8. Seniors Take Better Care of Themselves. Seniors take good care of their pets and better care of themselves when they own a pet.
9. Sense of Security. Pets help seniors to feel that someone they trust is always around.
I received another call from a senior lady who had adopted a darling Shih Tzu from us. She called me to tell me that she had lived in her apartment building for two years and had never met any of her neighbors. Now that she was outside walking her darling little dog, she had met all of her neighbors.
This service to me feels similar to a pen pal, in the sense that it’s a contribution from two different entities. This is important to my research because I am very curious how social interaction shapes humans feelings and health. Even though these interactions are not with another human, it is still clear that taking care of a dog can bring great health, social, and emotional benefits to seniors.
I think this article helps shape this business research section because it is grassroots and locally run. It is interesting to consider if something like this could be done on a larger scale. Also, what other ways can I envision this service running? Even though a dog can be a financial and time burden, it is clear that this company cares by subsidizing the costs and even taking some of the care on themselves. This struck me in a positive way because I’ve been focusing on ways to show care, and attentive service is one of them.
Overall, I like the concept that this article portrays: it is always meaningful to care for something/one and be cared for back.
Source: https://www.greymuzzle.org/grey-matters/grantee-stories-grantees-rescue/senior-dogs-4-seniors-bringing-senior-dogs-and-people
