how many of you no longer want any pets after you retire ? (relatives, vacation)

[StealthRabbit]

Pet sitting can be a great gig. We met friends in Belgium who for 7 yrs...have done pet sitting on an annual trip to Japan, and one to Italy. One month each destination. Our guest home directory is currently listing 12 pet sitting gigs,

For our own pets... the farm dog and farm cats can survive a month on their own. We have a young couple 'boarding' in our guest house, they water the plants, check the mail and keep an eye on things + set out food every week for our pets. This allowed us to be gone all of 2016. Election years are a great time to be gone from USA. Gives new meaning and draw to international pet sitting.

We actually Farm Sit...so can manage livestock and chores / maint. So farmers can get away!

[twelvepaw]

Originally Posted by longneckone

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I understand your point. However I would be quite lonely without my dogs. My adult kids will take good care of them.

I ended up with an absolutely wonderful beagle/basset mix after her owners both went into a nursing home. I got a call from the rescue I was fostering for at the time; they wanted to know if I could take in an emergency foster. The rescue had a vet on the line asking if we could take this dog in immediately, because otherwise she was being asked to kill her (aka euthanize, but in this case - kill is a better word). The son who was supposed to take his parents' dog into his home had decided they no longer wanted her and had taken her to the vet to be killed.....

I said yes of course, and not 15 minutes later a terrified, grossly overweight, almost bald, epileptic little dog showed up on my doorstep. Enter good diet, exercise, meds, behavioral work, and 6 months later she was sleek, svelte, and happy.

My point is that if you have pets, you need to have some tough conversations with your loved ones, and really listen to what they tell you. In theory your relatives may very well intend to take in your pets, but when it comes down to it, good intentions don't always translate into good actions. You need to have a back up plan for your pets.

As well, given that as we age we become more vulnerable to falling, stroke, or any number of other emergency situations, I would also suggest posting information on what to do with your pets somewhere prominent in your home, like on the 'frig, so that in an emergency, the first responders, neighbors, friends, etc will know who to call to take in your pets. Otherwise it is entirely likely they will end up in an unforgiving shelter system.

[chiluvr1228]

The situation you describe above is how I wound up with Timmy, the 14 year old cat I adopted from our local county shelter. His elderly owner had died and the spouse had a walker and was afraid of tripping over Timmy. He/She asked their son to take him to the shelter to be euthanized because of his age. The shelter asked if they could try and find him a home.


That's where I came in. I wanted the least adoptable cat and they introduced me to Timmy. It was love at first sight. He was a big orange cat who was super friendly and affectionate. Unfortunately I think the stress on this older cat of being uprooted from the only home he had every known for 14 years, thrust into a shelter environment with different food just stressed out his body. I took him home on a Saturday and he only had two bites of food. By Monday he still hadn't eaten although he was drinking, he loved drinking out of the tub when I would let it drip from the faucet for him. Took him to the vet numerous times and I swear, I think they made him worse. In the end he had pancreatitis and, in his case, it probably would have been kinder for him to be euthanized from the get go when he was taken to the shelter. However then I wouldn't have met a cat that stole my heart in 5 days more than any other cat has ever done. Eight months later and I still cry when I think about him.


We must have firm arrangements in place for our pets for when we die so they don't wind up in a bad situation.

[Electrician4you]

I will always have dogs. If I die and still have a dog my family will take care if him or her. My niece rescues animals and I can pretty much guarantee she won't let my dog get rehomed. Just not gonna happen. It's also in our trust that the dog must be taken care of. My family is a pet loving family. They won't let them go to a shelter etc.

If your family is Neil king to take care of your pet after your demise I agree. Don't get a pet or make arrangements.

[TFW46]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

...I wanted the least adoptable cat and they introduced me to Timmy. It was love at first sight...

I always ask my local rescue for the oldest, least adoptable dog too. And I always end up wondering how many potential adopters bypassed each of those amazing companions. If only they knew what a wonderful dog they overlooked. But, of course, I'm so glad because those dogs were waiting for me.

[Wwanderer]

I thought for a long time that we'd get a dog some time into our retirement. We still mourn our dear dog who died more than 15 years ago, so not sure we wanted to go through that again. And we ended up purchasing a condo in Florida that doesn't allow dogs. Hasn't been an issue yet since we've been travelling quite a bit, and we always said we'd wait until we'd slowed down a bit.

And I still have an aged cat. He's 17, and could be around for another couple of years, although his health is not great and he could go at any time. He hates dogs (and other cats), so I would not do that to him.

As long as we love our Florida condo, we're out of luck, and that's probably just as well. I'm not sure I want the work and responsibility. And I wouldn't want to die before my dog. I know my son would look after the cat (or even a new cat), but not a dog--his lifestyle just isn't right for taking care of a dog.

[LittleDolphin]

Originally Posted by kelly237

I would love to start doing this. I had already decided that it would be a perfect way to enjoy dogs without the long term and full time responsibility of a new puppy.
I have to wait until my son returns from overseas and collects his dog that I am keeping.
Did you advertise or just use word of mouth to find clients

The best two ways we've found great clients are:

--word-of-mouth from satisfied clients (humans)

--a local, independent pet store selectively gave out our cards

We did get one long-term client from a Craigslist ad, but others from there proved a bit problematic...

Now, we're at the point where we're not accepting more new clients. Need to keep our work from becoming full-time--or more. Had a couple of 12 hours days of dog-in-home 24/7 plus multiple visits to homes, starting at 6 AM and ending @ 7 PM...it got too frantic and we couldn't devote enough quality time to our charges, so we curtailed adding new clients...and learned to say "sorry, but we're fully booked this week."

Some regular clients plan their vacations around our availability as far as 8 months out. Holidays are in demand.

We love what we do -- found it best to approach it professionally. It's a huge responsibility to care for much loved pets and keep them fully engaged, well-fed, safe, exercised-- and loved.

[HappyDogToday]

Originally Posted by TFW46

I always ask my local rescue for the oldest, least adoptable dog too. And I always end up wondering how many potential adopters bypassed each of those amazing companions. If only they knew what a wonderful dog they overlooked. But, of course, I'm so glad because those dogs were waiting for me.

Yep, this is my way too. Just lost one last year that we only had for 5 years, but got her under these circumstances. I cannot describe the love I felt for her as she blossomed in our household and became a happy dog who knew she was loved.

Losing pets is absolutely oh so painful, but life with them is absolutely oh so sweet. They are my children and I don't care what anyone thinks of that statement. It is real for me and my partner.

I have 3 senior small dogs now. One just turned 16 and the other two are 13 and 12. The latter two were rescues 11 years ago.

I will limit my numbers to 2 from here on out due to apartment living. But if I ever get into a house again I will adopt a few more.

I cannot imagine my life without them and I will be sure to make arrangements for their care should I go first.

[galaxyhi]

Originally Posted by phonelady61

Well I know when these dogs go to the rainbow bridge , I don't want anymore pets . I would like to travel after I retire and you simply cannot travel with pets . I also don't want to leave a pet behind to have my family have to re home . Do any of you feel the same way ? I have already told my adult kids and my husband that these will be our last pets . two are elderly and probably have 5 yrs at the most , the youngest one is 4 which means she will be close to 14 or 15 when my husband wants to retire . So are there any of you already retired or close to retirement who feel the same ? I also want to note that I wish older people would think about it long and hard before they get a pet for company knowing that the pet might outlive them .

I don't want them any more before we retire!

We are a few years from retirement, but I have "laid down the law", and declared when our current 19 year old cat goes, we will NOT get another animal.

MOH says I will be the first one to bring home a "cute stray"...I doubt it. I've had 2 dogs, 8 cats, fish {both fresh and salt water}, an iguana, and I don't want anymore.

All they do is die on you.

The 19 y/o furball is now being a pain on the keyboard as I type this, wanting attention!!!

[Minethatbird]

Will never get an exotic bird again .... last one died when she was 24. Too much of a chance another bird would be a problem for my survivors to deal with. Also, they can be difficult to re-home.