‘Pets for the Elderly’ concept benefits both

Eric Leake

Thursday, July 28, 2005 | 9:33 a.m.

Dorothy Rathbone already had decided, for numerous reasons, to adopt a pet before she visited the Lied Animal Shelter.

"I think having an animal around keeps you mentally active and fit, too, rather than just sitting around and watching TV," Rathbone, who is 85, said.

"I think seniors need something alive to take care of and love, and you're getting love in return from the dogs."

It was not until Rathbone went to pay for the adoption that she discovered one more incentive. It was free.

The free adoption was provided by "Pets for the Elderly" in a new partnership with the Animal Foundation. For people over 60 years old, the program provides up to $50 towards the cost of adopting a pet from the shelter.

Animal Foundation President Diane Orgill, who also directs the shelter, said the regular cost for adoption varies from $13 to $150, depending upon the animal. All adopted pets are provided immunizations, microchip identification, spayed or neutered, and sent to their new home with a bag of food.

Orgill said that with the $50 allowance, most adoptions are free for seniors, which benefits them and their pets.

"It's just a companionship that the elderly are often missing," Orgill said. "If they have that pet that they have to get up and care for every day, and they receive that unconditional love from a pet, it adds a lot," she said.

"The animal is helping them as much as they're helping the animal."

Pets for the Elderly, based in Ohio, claims to have provided for the adoption of 4,730 animals last year. It cites the most serious affliction of older people, more so than any disease, as loneliness.

The program partnered in June with the Lied Animal Shelter, one of 55 shelters it works with nationwide, and saw its first local adoption this month.

Viola Schwallier, who adopted a dog Thursday through the program, said many elderly people do suffer from loneliness. They may have raised families, she said, and find themselves with nothing to do.

"I was so used to taking care of my children and everything. Now everyone's grown and I pamper my dogs," she said.

Schwallier adopted Lulu, a brown-faced terrier mix, to keep company with her and her beagle, Bubba, who is also a rescued pet.

"For older people, I think, especially if they live alone, it's just a must to have a pet," Schwallier said. "They're just such a companion. My beagle is like a person in the house. He knows what I'm thinking."

The program's $50 credit did not cover all of Schwallier's adoption expenses, but she said it was much appreciated.

"The program is perfect. Most seniors are on a fixed income. It helps," she said.

Pets for the Elderly also helps to relieve the burden on shelters by placing pets in good homes.

Orgill said an additional benefit is that seniors tend to adopt older animals, which otherwise may be overlooked. The advantage in adopting older animals is that they generally need little training and less attention than younger ones, she said.

"A lot of the animals that do come into the shelter are wonderful, older animals that have lived with a family their whole lives," Orgill said.

But it was a younger dog that caught Dorothy Rathbone's attention as she browsed the pens.

"When I saw her, and, you know, her eyes, the way she looked at me, I knew this is the dog," Rathbone said.

She has had dogs before and values their companionship. Rescuing a dog was also important to her, Rathbone said.

"I think it's wonderful for seniors," she said of the program. "If they feel lonely, a dog's going to cure the loneliness. I know it will."

The dog Rathbone adopted is an 11-month-old female pit bull mix, brindle with a white patch on her chest.

Now, she said, she needs only to decide upon its name.