New dog for elderly lady?

[jodie3]

This morning my Mother had to have her elderly terrier pts. She is obviously very upset but I know that once things have settled down she would like another dog. She has never been without a dog and she will find the house very empty and lonely without a dog.

But she is 86 and has a very small but secure garden. She is still fairly mobile and could take a dog out for short lead walks but had a dog walker three times a week to take Jasmine out for decent walks so I imagine that would still happen. So my question is where do we start looking for another dog and would any of the rescues be likely to rehome to her?

 

[Red-1]

My mum is 76 and has a retired racing greyhound. I was concerned that Lucy would need a lot of exercise, but that is not so.

Lucy does the horses on the yard and is not interested in anything else other than sleeping. Bonus too, you don't trip over her as she is tall enough to see.

The charity that gave us Lucy knew which of their dogs liked a lively life and which liked to sleep a lot. Lucy is very affectionate, travels well, is good on the lead. I think she would be happy with a small garden and 3 good walks a week.

Double bonus, the charity we used will take the dog back if the owner cannot cope. It was a rather exclusive charity, only take dogs raced at one track, only has 20 at a time. It was more like a huge home. Some of the charities we rang up seemed less "nice".

 

[lori ann]

I run a dog home boarding business and I would second the retired greyhound the ones which have stayed with me have been gentle and not required a lot of exercise preferred snuggling up on a bed in the kitchen !

 

[jodie3]

Mum would love that as she has had greyhounds before!

 

[{97702}]

No home is complete without a retired greyhound Make sure you go to a good charity who will find the right dog for your mum

 

[Alec Swan]

Elderly owners need equally elderly dogs. I agree that greyhounds make excellent pets, but selection is VITAL, I'd say!

Alec.

 

[dollyanna]

A lot of the smaller charities will rehome elderly dogs with elderly owners, or sometimes younger dogs if there is a plan in place for the dog should the worst happen. I would imagine some of the bigger ones would also be willing to rehome elderly dogs who come in from losing their previous owners, I bet these little fellows would love another retired home to go to, and everything is already in place for walking etc. Just get in touch with all the local rescues and see what they say!

 

[Goldenstar]

The cinnamon trust seeks to rehome dogs whose owners have passed away to gone into care homes .

 

[dogatemysalad]

My elderly mother fostered an elderly dog from a rescue charity, which meant that if she was unable to keep him any longer, the rescue would find another foster home.
Have to agree with the grey hound suggestion, my neighbours greyhound was a couch potato and needed less exercise than my dogs.

 

[Alec Swan]

The cinnamon trust seeks to rehome dogs whose owners have passed away to gone into care homes .

There's an underlying and sinister aspect to the cinnamon trust.

Alec.

 

[Leo Walker]

I was about to suggest a whippet, but actually a retired grey hound would be even better!

 

[springtime1331]

There's an underlying and sinister aspect to the cinnamon trust.

Alec.

Really? Tell us more! I always thought it seemed like a lovely idea

 

[Patchworkpony]

There's an underlying and sinister aspect to the cinnamon trust.

Alec.

That sounds scary - what are you hinting at?

 

[twiggy2]

The cinnamon trust seeks to rehome dogs whose owners have passed away to gone into care homes .

I second the cinnamon trust-most of the dogs have come from elderly owners and the trust pay for medical care for the animals life, your
mum will be giving a home to a dog that is in need

 

[jodie3]

There's an underlying and sinister aspect to the cinnamon trust.

Alec.

Come on Alec, you can't keep us in suspense - please tell us more!

 

[twiggy2]

There's an underlying and sinister aspect to the cinnamon trust.

Alec.

if you believe that then I think you have to make us all aware of it

 

[Alec Swan]

That sounds scary - what are you hinting at?

Create a fictitious old lady and then 'phone them and ask for their Terms and Conditions.

Alec.

 

[MurphysMinder]

As already stated, there are lots of charities/rescues with older dogs who would hopefully be happy to place an older dog with your mum OP.
I don't know about a sinister aspect to Cinnamon Trust, but the only experience I have of them was disappointing. A friend in his 60s had a major stroke, and was totally unable to care for his elderly GSD bitch (some may remember my appeal for help for Saffie from a few years ago). His family contacted Cinnamon Trust but they would not help in anyway because my friend was not already a paid up member. I asked about their criteria for helping the elderly and their dogs on their stall at Crufts a couple of years ago, and the lady I spoke to confirmed that unless someone had signed up as a member (which I think is quite costly) then the CT would not help.

 

[Alec Swan]

…….. the lady I spoke to confirmed that unless someone had signed up as a member (which I think is quite costly) then the CT would not help.

Costly? Costly can often include the elderly signing over their entire Estates. There have been those occasions, when having 'signed-up', the owner's death precedes their beloved pet's, by a week, …….. or so!

Alec.

 

[Patchworkpony]

Costly? Costly can often include the elderly signing over their entire Estates. There have been those occasions, when having 'signed-up', the owner's death precedes their beloved pet's, by a week, …….. or so!

Alec.

I can well believe it there are always people willing and able to prey on the elderly' starting with our own government - 'Got your own house dear well we'll have that to pay for your care!'

 

[misst]

Alec I am quite taken aback by your comment I will definitely look into them more - I have a CT dog! She is an angel. She came to us when we were looking for a small terrier to keep our JRT company and I wanted a quiet older dog rather than a puppy this time. They only offered us one dog and I wasn't sure from the photo if I was at all interested as she looked big and not my kind of dog at all. However the pulled my heart strings and said she had been in foster care for 6 weeks following the death of her owner and was quite unsettled. We agreed to meet her and try her with our dog and there was no going back. We are now the proud owners of a beautiful mongrel which looks like a dingo x lab x ???? She is a darling.
She is about 12 now so we know we won't have her forever but she is so rewarding.

I would certainly recommend the idea of a larger older dog for an older person. Our girl is great with my 79 year old mum. As someone else said she is large enough not to trip someone up unlike my JRT. She loves her walks but will sleep all day too. She came ready house trained, has lovely manners and does not pull on the lead. She would suit any age but having lived with an older person she seems to know to be gentle around my mum. There is an 82 year old lady who I see on my walks every day and she has a medium sized lurcher which came from a rescue and they are devoted to each other and again this dog seems to understand that the lady can only walk slowly and never pulls or runs around her feet. On the other hand one of my elderly neighbours has the biggest strongest staffie I have ever met. Lovely dog but has pulled her over twice and is totally out of control on walks..... so horses for courses really.

 

[jodie3]

Thank you everyone for your replies, she is very keen on the idea of a greyhound but I think it is just a case of finding out what is available.

I did offer her the calmest of my spotties on long term loan but she turned him down.....................