Trafford and Manchester Pest Control

Adopting a senior pet can be just as rewarding, if not more, as bringing a puppy or kitten home from your local shelter. There are some great benefits to adopting an aging dog or cat and most health issues surrounding senior pets can be easily overcome.

Mike Fry, Executive Director at Animal Ark Shelter in Minneapolis, MN shares his thoughts about adopting senior pets. His shelter has several successful programs to encourage people to take home an older pet.

Q: What are the reasons that older pets do not get adopted as easily as puppies and kittens?

A: I think, primarily, it is due to misconceptions about older animals.  That old myth “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is part of a greater notion on the part of many people that adult or older animals are set in their ways.  Plus, puppies are just so darn cute that they pull at people’s heart strings very easily. People can fall in love with a puppy simply by seeing its picture.  An older animal may take some time to meet and connect with.  They are, however, well worth the time spent!

Q: What are the benefits to adopting senior pets?

A: Very often these dogs and cats come well trained!  That whole phase of chewing, potty training and terrorizing can be bypassed by adopting older animals.  The older animals require less exercise, less energy, less food, and are generally a LOT easier to ease into a home.  Plus, because an animal’s personality is somewhat determined genetically, and is not fully expressed until adulthood, it is often easier to know what personality a dog will have if an adult dog is adopted. Additionally, senior citizens who adopt senior dogs find they have lifestyles that are more consistent with the needs of senior pets. Adopting a very senior pet does not involve making a 20-year commitment, something some seniors are not prepared to do.  However, they may be able to make a 3 – 6 year commitment. And a senior pet is perfect in that case.

Q: Why do senior dogs and cats make good companions for senior citizens?

A: Research has proven that people with pets live longer, happier lives.  The health benefits of owning pets can extend a person’s life and dramatically increase the quality of life.  I have heard many seniors say that a pet gives them something to do each day, which is important if you are retired, have no kids at home, etc.  They provide love, activity and stimulation.

Q: How does a senior dog’s health play into the situation?

A: As a general rule, I don’t think health is a big problem.  The general ailments of older animals are fairly easy to overcome.  The key is to get people to connect with an older pet. When they do, the minor ailments of age usually mean little. An animal in pain can, understandably, be more aloof, or downright cranky.  We have observed, therefore, some general personality changes in dogs when we put them on FlexPet with CM8. This helps them to present their “best side” when meeting perspective new families.

There are lots of misconceptions about adopting older animals and since puppies and kittens are so precious, it’s easy to see why people migrate to them. But Mike suggests taking the time to meet older animals and connect with them.  They are well worth the time spent!

For more information on Animal Ark Shelter and the programs they have available, check out their website.

Flexcin & FlexPet are all-natural Joint Pain Supplements. The primary component of Flexcin & FlexPet is CM8, which relieves joint pain at its source, reduces inflammation and irritation of the joints and tissues. It has been helpful for many sufferers of arthritis, gout, bursitis, sports injuries and fibromyalgia. Flexcin and FlexPet are proudly manufactured in the United States in a state of the art facility under the strict guidelines of the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices.
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Our home is our sanctuary. It is our Shangri-la, our place of rest and of comfort. Our home is something we take pride in, and take great pain and effort to keep it unique and safe from intruders, all kinds of intruders. While there are many companies that offer sophisticated products for home security such as companies that offer biometric door locks, online webcam surveillance software, and even the construction of fortified panic rooms, we often forget about those intruders that if given a chance could fatally poison us: mice and rats.

Mice and rats are a menace to our homes. They are scavengers and as such, they linger in the darkest and dampest of places, feeding on things they can gnaw on. Their bodies are nimble and flexible enough to crawl in between walls, into holes and up to the ceilings. They have the potential to eat through electric wires causing short circuits, if not electrical fires. And if given a chance, they can invade our kitchen and our pantry, feasting on our food stock, perhaps even defecating on them. Such actions may lead us and our family into food poisoning or even worse. The black plague or the bubonic plague in the middle centuries were caused by an infestation of rats and mice and this lead to the deaths of thousands, decimations of neighborhoods and villages, and almost the eradication of cities. If we have learned about this dark past of our history, it is to protect our homes, dwellings and surroundings against this vermin.

The first line of defense is organizing our homes to be free from clutter and to be orderly. Most especially areas like the garage where there is a tendency to store things and keep it untidy. Boxes and boxes of our stored material is a good place for mice and rats to reside. They like to be hidden and love such places that are set up like that. Keeping the garage clean in as much as you can is one way of deterring them from entering your house.

If they are already present, then choose effective mice repellents to entrap or lure them away. In your pantry and cupboards, make sure that you have eucalyptus inside of them. There is a natural aversion of mice and rats to eucalyptus, which gives off this citric smell and is pleasant to humans. This easy form of mice repellent is also natural. There are other ways like non lethal mice traps that do capture mice live and lethal versions as well. But in a worse case scenario when there is the presence of infestation, call your exterminator and have him rid the place of the rodents. It may be costly but it cost more for hospitalization cost for food poisoning.