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Pet inclusive retirement home

A caring home for the old, lonely people and animals.
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A common problem, at least in my country, is that of old people who don`t have families to help them with their bills or offer them company, so they walk through the city or just sit in a corner quietly begging for some money and, more important, some attention. They are utterly happy if someone stops and just asks how they are doing, and in some cases, they start a long conversation about their being lonely and their feeling nostalgic about when they were young(er) . Most of these people are not homeless, but they find their home terribly sad and would rather sit out in the cold, just for the chance to talk to somebody.

On the other hand, streets are full of homeless cats and dog, which find tragic death being run over by cars or poisoned, if they don`t kill eachother in fights or die of preventable diseases.

There are no organizations (that i know of) to help the old people in need, but there are plenty which try and work out the homeless animal problem by placing them in shelters, paying for their food, treatments and care. Usually, only kittens and puppies get adopted, while older animals just wait there in cages.

What i had in mind is a shelter, or rather a home, for the old people, in something like a retirement home, obviously financed by the old people coming to live there, through donation of their previous home (as i said, most have one). It wouldn`t be something luxurious, just a place where old people would have their own rooms, but be able to meet eachother in common rooms, and they would have all the usual commodities. In addition, each person in this center would accept to take care of a cat or dog, and accept this as their companion. Large dogs would pe provided to those still in shape, small dogs or cats to those finding trouble in walking around.

There are many articles on how having a pet emproves ones emotional life, and what is more important, all these lonely people would certainly have a topic for a conversation, their pets, and would find it more confortable to relate to eachother.

Of course, both people and animals would receive medical care, and cleaning staff would be also available, even if it would be desirable for every person to be responsable for every detail concerning their pet. This would provide them with a (mostly) pleasent activity and keep them focused on reality.

white_dwarf, Oct 10 2006

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       Many problems spring to mind, but a bun for the sentiment.   

       By the way, geriatric day care centres offer support and company for older people. Many of them do a damn good job, too. Google it.
squeak, Oct 10 2006
  

       I don`t argue that .. i just think this is a way to make both people and animals comfortable, and most of all, to give a sensation of usefulness to people who lack that .. and it`s a partial solution to the problem of stray animals .. and it`s just another kind of company, requiring barely any effort or time from other people than the ones helped.
white_dwarf, Oct 10 2006
  

       Here's one problem : old folks die. What happens to their pets if they outlive them ?
mini_technicus, Oct 11 2006
  

       well .. the first thing that comes to mind when trying to emprove a persons life isn`t their death .. i don`t expect anybody to die like 2 months after coming into the retirement home .. but if they do, pets just get reassigned to suitable owners ..
white_dwarf, Oct 11 2006
  
      
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