Pets as Loving Supporters....
Widespread ownership of pets among people of various ages and the effort and money spent on behalf of pets suggests that a majority of owners derive a significant benefit from their companionship. For families with growing children, pets can be part of the social support system and provide opportunities to educate children and for them to experience nurturing.
There are definite benefits to older people arise from companionship with an animal, one could argue for encouraging pet adoption, just as exercise and nutritious diets are recommended for enhancing health.
Most of the research concerning the effects of interactions with pets for older people has been conducted in nursing homes and other institutional environments. Yet, the vast majority of elderly people live independently.
The need for social contact and support is often not met for older individuals, who may have lost many friends due to death. Also, they generally no longer have employment to structure their daily schedules and provide social interactions. Health or financial constraints may curtail activities that formally kept them socially involved. However, older individuals can remain socially engaged in various ways , through special interests such as a companion animal.
An animal companion can greatly facilitate establishing friends and much work over the past decade has focused on the socialising effects of companion animals. In a recent study of people aged 65-78 years walking their dogs in their neighbourhood, the dog was a major focus of conversations with passers-by . While walking, non-owners spoke very little, whereas dog owners spoke about their dogs even when walking without them. The study further found that dog owners conversation focused on the present or the future, whereas non-owners conversation during walks featured past events. In another study, even a small animal such as a rabbit or turtle , readily attracted unfamiliar passers-by of all ages to converse with a woman sitting in a park.
Unfamiliar passers-by have been shown to respond with friendly interest, smiles and conversations more often to a person using a wheelchair who is accompanied by an assistance dog than when the person is without their dog. Thus we know from observations of human behaviour in a wide range of circumstances that a companion animal elicits friendly responses, even from unfamiliar passers-by.
Over the past 21 months as part of our 'Companion Programme', PAWS have placed just over 40 rescue dogs with elderly people. The ages and circumstances of the people vary greatly from single ladies in their mid-sixties to widowed gentleman in their early nineties. In some cases we re-homed to people who had kept a dog all their lives, in other cases we re-homed to people who had lost a partner and were lonely. In certain situations we re-homed to elderly people who could not otherwise have been left to live alone and did not wish to go into any established sheltered accommodation.
The results of a survey carried out recently by PAWS on a small selection of participants in this programme will show that wherever the geographic location of these people, be it inner city, a small sea-side town, a little rural village or an isolated cottage. All participants had received huge benefits from their companion animal and all the re-homed animals had become a huge part in the lives of these people.
Older people themselves have reported psychological challenges presented by ageing. One of the major contributions made by animals is providing motivation for the constructive use of time. A dog can motivate a person to keep going, get up in the morning and follow a routine. Virtually all owners reported that their dogs enjoy walking, dogs also provide motivation for a wide range of interactive behaviours. As people become older, they may once again come to have few opportunities for nurturing; this is particularly true for men. Animals are effective in stimulating nurturing from many men and women. Among older pet owners in one study, 84% of men and 75% of women often played with their pets.
PAWS will actively continue its policy of homing dogs to the elderly all over Ireland. We believe that this service will grow and prosper and that we will get the necessary funding to help us grow and develop.
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