Why Pets Belong in Aged Care: From Personal Experience to Advocacy

As President of Pets and Positive Ageing Inc. (PAPA), a voluntary community organisation committed to supporting ageing pet owners, I’ve long been passionate about ensuring older Australians can keep their beloved pets as they age. I have been involved with PAPA since its founding in 2014, and before that, with the 2012 Community Conversation that eventually led to its establishment.

In November 2024, I moved to LDK (Love, Decency and Kindness) Amberfield, a pet friendly retirement and aged care community in Weston Creek, ACT with my dear little Buddy. He adapted very well to the new home! We walked almost every day around the village, sometime twice a day, and when the two dog parks were completed, we made great use of both!

Buddy loved the dog parks,  as there were so many new and exciting smells each time we went, and he made new friends. Of course, I enjoyed the dogs parks, too – they were beautiful places to spend time with other dog owners.

Being pet-friendly was a fundamental reason why I moved to LDK Amberfield. There are many other benefits including 24hr care on site, but a new home where I could bring my little Buddy was the most critical requirement. I was very impressed, too, that Amberfield actively and genuinely welcomed pet owners, and that I could stay in my home till end of life so my pet could stay with me even as my care needs increased.

While here I have found the village and staff very pet friendly and compassionate. When I returned home after being hospitalised following a major fall, my carers helped to look after Buddy – to feed and medicate him – when I could not.

Many benefits of pet ownership in aged care

There is a great deal of published evidence about the benefits of pet ownership to older people – better health, happiness, well-being.  Pet owners fundamentally know about this. Pets ARE part of our family.  If we live alone, our pets may be closer to us than our human families. They are our comforting daily companions.

Our pets can be a reason for us to face the world each day. They engage our attention and require our daily care.  They give structure to our lives. At a lonelier time, they also require us to interact with others. When we take a dog for a walk they connect us with our neighbours and nature.

In my village the dog owners know each other.  Other people stop and talk because of the dog. In an otherwise silent world, we also talk to our pets. And I once had a cat that talked back – constantly!  Wherever we live, pets are our beloved companions, who we love and intimately share our lives. Many of us can’t bear to imagine living without them.

What keeps older people and their pets apart

One issue is when people want to travel and worry about care arrangements for their pet. These days in Australia there are many places you can take a pet, and this includes on airlines, at hotels, beaches, cafes etc. You just need to plan carefully.

There are also concerns about the fate of the pet if something happens to them. There are ways of dealing with this especially by planning for a pet: making a pet care plan that family or volunteers can readily access in an emergency; carrying a pet emergency card that shows who would look after your pet in an emergency; putting your wishes for your pet in your Advance Care Directive and Power of Attorney; putting your pet in your Will and taking advantage of the RSPCA's Home Ever After Program if there are no other options.

A major issue for those entering nursing homes is that most do not allow the owner to bring a pet. This is not an issue in Amberfield, as we stay till end of life in our homes and care comes to us. But others face this and it is very traumatic for the pet and the owner. Many of these animals will end up sadly in pounds and shelters, or worse.

However, some residential facilities in Victoria are leading the way, showing how to make this work successfully and they are an exemplar that others should follow.

My experience has shaped my advocacy.
I came to PAPA having seen, as a shelter volunteer, the trauma of older pet owners having to give up a beloved pet companion because they could not take them into aged care settings — and the often tragic consequences for their pets. I thought we could do better for older owners and for pet welfare.

Over the years there have been many issues for the rapidly growing number of older pet owners, for whom pets bring much-needed companionship as well as many other health and welfare benefits. It is a privilege to work with our passionate PAPA members, Patrons and supporters at the forefront of advocating for older pet owners and their pets.