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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.
I'm only in my 50s but for the last 10 years, I've always made arrangements with the rescue organization I adopted from to be able to take any dog or dogs if something should happen to me. A portion of my life insurance will be going to them as well so my dogs are not a financial burden in any way. My one and only dog right now still has his micro chip location as the rescue just in case he finds himself at the pound and I'm dead or incapacitated.
Of course you have to fully trust any rescue organization you have a history with and I do. I don't worry about what will happen to him. They are an awesome organization.
Please consider fostering a dog temporarily in your home during retirement. Not all rescue agencies have brick-and-mortar kennel buildings; many rely on a team of off-site volunteers to house the incoming animals.
Fostering can give you the best of both worlds - canine companionship without the long-term commitment and expense. Most foster organizations will pay for food, vet bills and other expenses. All they ask is that you help socialize the dog, maybe provide feedback to them regarding training and/or temperament issues, etc. that will be helpful in placing the dog permanently with its adoptive family.
By fostering, you can control when you want a dog in your home and when you don't (i.e., vacation, etc.). You will be helping to save the lives of two dogs - the one you take into your home, and the one that that act of kindness makes room for in the rescue. You may fall so in love with your foster dog that you become a "foster fail" and decide to keep your foster forever. Or you may acknowledge the temporary arrangement and simply take great satisfaction in knowing that you provided a safe, positive transitional period for your foster on his/her road to a forever home.
Contact your local rescue groups and ask about foster opportunities in your area. :-)
I have two cats. They give a lot of pleasure with their playfulness and silly antics. Very affectionate, too. But I have to admit as much as I love them, they do keep me from doing what I might otherwise want to do.
In my older age, I can't bring myself to leave them alone for a day or two or more. It just seems kind of cruel to me. So I am their "slave."
I think there are worse things I could be doing. The pluses outweigh the negatives.
Have you thought of "kitty day care" try leaving them 2 days and then work up to a week. I do get what posters are saying, that they want to travel. Perhaps when they are done, they might want a pet in their home again.
Please consider fostering a dog temporarily in your home during retirement. Not all rescue agencies have brick-and-mortar kennel buildings; many rely on a team of off-site volunteers to house the incoming animals.
Fostering can give you the best of both worlds - canine companionship without the long-term commitment and expense. Most foster organizations will pay for food, vet bills and other expenses. All they ask is that you help socialize the dog, maybe provide feedback to them regarding training and/or temperament issues, etc. that will be helpful in placing the dog permanently with its adoptive family.
By fostering, you can control when you want a dog in your home and when you don't (i.e., vacation, etc.). You will be helping to save the lives of two dogs - the one you take into your home, and the one that that act of kindness makes room for in the rescue. You may fall so in love with your foster dog that you become a "foster fail" and decide to keep your foster forever. Or you may acknowledge the temporary arrangement and simply take great satisfaction in knowing that you provided a safe, positive transitional period for your foster on his/her road to a forever home.
Contact your local rescue groups and ask about foster opportunities in your area. :-)
This is so true. My current dog who is a rescue isn't great with other dogs or I would consider it right now. When I do retire in about 4 years, there's a decent chance he'll no longer be with me because of his age. That will for me, be a good time to foster. Without fosters, many rescues could not exist.
What some people continue to fail to understand is that many dogs find themselves in rescue through no fault of their own and are in no way damaged pets. They are absolutely wonderful companions, many times already house trained and ready to give you as much love as you can handle.
Have you thought of "kitty day care" try leaving them 2 days and then work up to a week. I do get what posters are saying, that they want to travel. Perhaps when they are done, they might want a pet in their home again.
Kitty daycare is more expensive than I could pay.
But in reality, at this point in life, travel is not that important to me. If I decide to go somewhere, I'll board them at the vet's. They can share one of the larger cages.
Have you thought of "kitty day care" try leaving them 2 days and then work up to a week. I do get what posters are saying, that they want to travel. Perhaps when they are done, they might want a pet in their home again.
Most of my pets have come from people of this sort, irresponsible pet owners.
We just put our 14 yr old beagle Phoebe down on Monday. For the 1st time in 30 years we do not have a dog. I am fine with it and don't wish to have another dog. We aren't retired yet but still do a lot of traveling. Even being at work all day, I would worry about getting home and walking the dog. We do have some stray cats that adopted us. They just had kittens so there are 9 total. And since they are outside we are not chained to them.
We will be pet free from here on out.
If you are regularly feeding them they will become dependent on you for their food, therefore, you are chained to them. And for sure you cannot have them reproducing all over the place! I lived on 12 acres in my past and had 4 house cats and 2 dogs. Whenever a stray cat showed up, usually crying because it was hungry, I fed it. If it stayed, I continued to feed it and provide a warm place in the garage to stay in bad weather. I also went to our small, local Humane Society for assistance in paying to get them spayed or neutered. I did not have a problem paying the affiliated HS vet $20.00, the Humane Society paid whatever difference there was. I also got them basic shots, as I did not want the FIV or rabies viruses hanging around the area where my house cats could possibly breathe it and get sick. Plus, I always loved any stray that "adopted" me and did not want to see them get sick.
I do not believe in letting dogs or cats reproduce, there are enough that are without homes now, I certainly don't want more homeless animals living miserable lives. It was more important to me to get these strays fixed than the money it cost me.
We don't have pets. DH really doesn't want any, and even though I would like to have a living creature in our house meeting us as we walk in, I think our lives are much easier without an animal to take care of, and board when we travel.
I do like dogs and cats though. If he was more into it, I think I would enjoy having a couple of cats, or a dog.
But in reality, at this point in life, travel is not that important to me. If I decide to go somewhere, I'll board them at the vet's. They can share one of the larger cages.
My kitty day care was another word for boarding at the vets. $12-14 a day is the average here. This might be out of your range. Do you have a family member that can come over once a day and spend time with your cats? Or can a family/friend keep your kitties if you need to go out of town?
We went for about 5 years after retirement without a pet, for the same reasons as everyone else, until I weakened and got a small rescue dog. My husband was still not sold on the idea, but I was feeling bereft without something to fuss over, and now both of us enjoy having the dog. It feels good to have something to care for.
We were not really traveling as much as we thought we would, and if we do, we can leave the dog at our son's house. Hubby would like a cat, but I am adamant about no more cats. I've never had one who didn't eventually pee on stuff in the house, so I'm never putting up with that again.
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