As seniors age in place, pets could encourage health and friendship

Older homeowners have an overwhelming preference to age in place, but these circumstances can also come with unique challenges. Feelings of isolation and loneliness rank highly among these issues, but a recent study suggests that aging in place with a pet can make a big difference.

The study, highlighted in Psychology Today, also noted that having pets in later life can come with its own set of unique challenges, according to Ann Toohey, one of the authors of the study who is based at the University of Calgary.

The study followed initial interviews conducted in 2015 by examining how owning a pet impacted the lives of older people aging in place in their homes. According to the study, several takeaways emerged, including that the companionship of a pet makes a difference in their owners’ lives. While the companionship provided is understandably different from what is offered by another person, it also came with other potential social benefits for the seniors who owned pets.

“As it happened, most of the people in this study were single,” the report in Psychology Today noted. “Having a dog, in particular, was a good way to get to know other people, so pets could also increase the size of participants’ social networks.”

Finding pet-friendly housing can be an issue, according to the respondents. While the subjects were committed to keeping their pets, the housing challenges that pets can present made for a unique challenge.

“Because people did not want to give up their pets, they sometimes had to accept housing that was less than ideal or even not safe due to other people in the home,” the report explained.

Pets can also have other impacts on an older person’s mental well being, the study found, particularly if an older pet owner endured certain health-related challenges.

“As people got older, they sometimes had difficult circumstances to deal with, such as serious issues with their own health,” the report said. “Caring for their pet provided meaning through these hard times, and a sense of things continuing to be the same, at least in some regards. In this way, the pet helped them to cope with the challenges.”

Toohey added that while the seniors profiled in the study were generally committed to keeping their pets, the potential housing challenges that pet ownership can present for some older people seeking housing need to be addressed.

There is a lot of potential for what she calls “companion animal relationships” to promote health in “many ways that are salient to aging.” These include spurring physical activity by walking a pet, companionship and potential involvement in pet-centric social activities with other pet owners. But certain challenges are also a factor, including the cost of pet supplies, a lack of affordable support if a pet owner becomes ill, and the need for veterinary care.

There are also housing-related challenges, which could include “the prevalence of no pet rules to size restrictions to extra fees,” she said.

In terms of housing policies tied to aging in place, these barriers could have the most impact, according to the report.

“Greater availability of seniors’ housing that allows pets would be very beneficial and would make it easier for people to age in place with their pet,” the report said. “This would benefit those who aren’t seniors too, as more pet-friendly housing would help a wide range of people.”

This is on top of other well-documented challenges older people can face when trying to age in place. These include the high cost of long-term care, a need to create more walkable communities and housing supply issues that impact prospective homebuyers of all ages.