June 27, 2007 A Nursing Home for Pets?

June 27, 2007

A Nursing Home for Pets?

The Associated Press had a story about Japan getting its first nursing home for dogs, which has round-the-clock monitoring by vets and some puppies to help the aging pooches feel younger. The dogs are fed a special fortified diet. Owners pay $800 a month to keep their pets at this nursing home. Truly, it sounds like a nice place to be, and the dogs will be fed good food, medication, and have socialization with puppies. I don’t know about your dog, but mine had little tolerance for puppies. Actually, that would work two ways, the old dog would be a teacher for the pups. The pups would be taught manners and “disciplined” by the old dogs; my old dogs were always awesome teachers of puppies.
Well this just brings all sorts of questions to my mind.
So the owners are tired of taking care of poor “Poopsie”, are they in effect, abandoning their dogs at this place? Is the $800 like a boarding fee? Could it be that poor old “Poopsie” has become incontinent and the owners don’t want to deal with the mess anymore? What happens when the family gets tired of visiting “Poopsie” in the doggie nursing home? Do they just stop coming, sort of like the relatives of residents in human nursing homes?
I’ve had dogs that I’ve groomed that were old and I wanted to adopt them, because I felt like I could take better care of them than their owners did.
Therefore, I do see the reasoning behind the nursing home idea. However, what about how the dog feels to be separated from his family? I know dogs adapt to new situations well, but that’s just the human in me feeling sorry for them being left. They would probably have a better situation, be regularly medicated, and I’m sure the staff would love them. I would think if someone were paying $800 a month for the dogs care, they would at least go visit.
Although, I do know of a couple of dogs that are in a posh kennel in Rockford, IL, that have an airline pilot for an owner, he pays the kennel extra to play with the dogs. At the time of my visit, it had been over a year and a half and he had never come to see them. He just sent checks. My heart broke for those dogs, thinking it would somehow be better for them to live in a real house, with people who loved them. However, not everyone thinks like me. So often, I see “the family dog” tied up in the backyard. No attention, just food, water and a dog house if it’s lucky. The law says that’s adequate care. You couldn’t do that to a human.
I would imagine that Poopsie’s quality of life would be enhanced at the nursing home, he would get pain relief medications and any other medications he would need. Which is more than most people do for their old dogs now anyway. Pets don’t even complain when they are in pain. You’ll never hear a dog whining about his troubles and expecting you to cater to him. Most dogs are stoic about pain. You have to really “KNOW” your dog, to see if he’s in pain.
If your dog has trouble rising or walking, or starts walking stiff-legged, especially on those rainy days, it could be arthritis. How many of you have arthritis? Don’t you take medication for your pain? Why wouldn’t you give your dog medication for his? Many senior citizens are on heart medications, and many senior dogs have the same heart ailments as people. In fact, one of my dogs is on heart medication now.
Pharmacies always act so surprised when you go there to pick up a prescription for your dog. Why? They take most of the same medications we do and the vets don’t always have a supply in their shops ready for us to buy. Is it so surprising that we give our pets medication?
Now if only dogs would draw Social Security and Medicare benefits to help pay for the nursing home fees and medications, that might make it worth it.
What do you mean dogs don’t work? Dogs do have jobs you know. They just aren’t paid. My dogs have the job of watching the house (home security system), barking when people come (doorbell), playing with the kids (physical education instructor), barking when the boys are roughhousing (referee), in effect, telling on them. They are all therapists, you can tell them anything, and they won’t tell a soul. You can cry on them, laugh at them, play with them, cuddle with them and you get unconditional love. They act as pillows or blankets on the bed or couch. They make great throw rugs on the floor, although you do have to step over them and not on them. They make good babysitters too, now if I could only get them to do laundry they’d be perfect. Dogs are worth so much more than $800 a month, but for all they do for me, I feel it’s MY job to take care of them when they age and begin to have difficulties. Luckily, I can.