Dear Miss Paws: How can pets benefit the elderly? A. Sometimes elderly people find themselves alone because they have outlived loved ones or because they live far from any family. This is not unusual because many Americans are living longer lives these days. By adopting a pet through PAWS the elderly can find new meaning in their lives and rediscover what it means to be “young at heart”. It is well known that pets confer physical benefits and that works for people from eight to eighty. If you’re older, a pet can offer you a sense of well being, encouragement and even a reason for living. Having the responsibility for another life can add new meaning to your own life and having to care for and provide a loving home to a companion animal can also help you remain active and healthy. Many older animals are available for adoption and can provide the perfect companion for you. They are more likely to be calm, already housebroken and less susceptible to unpredictable behavior. Older animals are also more easily managed, physically, by elderly persons than stronger, younger, more excitable animals. Older animals give the same medical and emotional benefits to their owners as younger animals do.
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