Q: Can residents bring a pet to live with them?
A: Yes!
That’s the short, quick answer, but you’ll need to know the details so that the ‘yes’ becomes a reality.
We know just how important pets are to some senior citizens. When a senior must leave her home either because of aging or safety, the thing she will miss most from her house is whoever or whatever she’d been sharing the home with. Many times, it will be her pet she’s leaving behind, and not being able to keep it with her is heartbreaking.
Because we know that pets are family, and they can bring love, happiness, and joy to a resident, we want our residents to continue to love and care for their pet. But to make this work better for our staff, we’ve put in place some simple rules.
- There’s a one-time pet fee when the pet first comes to Homeplace.
- The pet must be kept up-to-date on immunizations and recommended veterinary visits.
- The resident who owns the pet must be able to take care of the pet.
Additional regulations to keep in mind include a weight limit for dogs, which hasn’t been set yet. And owners must keep cats’ nails cut short or use some sort of protective covering over a cat’s claws. Dogs must be kept on leashes when out in the facility, and cats must be carried by hand or put in a carrying case. Finally, we must be sure pets out in the facility do not inhibit other residents’ walking.
That’s it for the pet rules. We don’t feel as if it’s overregulated, just enough so that animals aren’t running around in-between legs of residents. And just enough to ensure that pets are safe to be around people who aren’t their owners.
There’s also a sensitive subject that must be addressed here. Most likely there will come a time when the resident can’t take care of her pet anymore. It’s just beyond her capabilities. At that point, the family will need to take the pet, and we hope the pet will return as a frequent visitor. It’s our policy that our staff are here to take care of your elder loved one, and if anything, such as taking care of a pet, gets in the way of that, then we’re not doing our job and your loved one is not getting the care she deserves.
In our experience working in elder care facilities, most residents who bring a pet with them have dogs or cats. We have had little experience with much more than those two types, and more exotic pets would have to be evaluated for safety on an individual basis.
Like everything we do at Homeplace, we’ll do whatever we can to help a resident continue to be happy, and many times that means keeping a pet. We’ll be ready.
Ruff! Meow!
To contact the Homeplace of Henderson, email Jessica Beaven at jessica.beaven@homeplaceofhenderson.com or call at (270) 577-0534.