Nearly 3 in 4 Australians support pets in aged care

The majority of Australians support older people's rights to own pets while living in residential care homes, according to the results of a major online survey.

A 2-minute questionnaire was conducted by Companion Animal Network Australia (CANA) and received over 1,100 responses.

Nearly 70 per cent of the respondents strongly supported allowing aged care residents to have pets. 

Surprisingly, only 18 per cent of facilities across Australia currently permit residents to keep companion animals.

CANA chief Trish Ennis said the findings underscored that the government and providers were not maximising the health benefits of pets in aged care.

"Often, it causes catastrophic emotional harm when older people are forced to give up their pets when moving into an aged care home," Ms Ennis said.

"The health and wellbeing benefits of pet ownership are measurable and indisputable.

"There must be a more practical way forward to improve support for our animal-loving older people."

The survey found that, of the older respondents living alone, 74 per cent said their animals provided companionship and alleviated loneliness.

Overall, improved mental and physical health, companionship and maintaining the existing owner-pet bond emerged as the top three benefits of allowing pets into aged care.

Participants shared their experiences, with one remarking, "The gentle, loving presence of a dog is simply irreplaceable," while another said, "Having animals that depend on me keeps me active."

Ms Ennis stressed the importance of preserving the bond between ageing individuals and their pets as long as it benefits both parties' health.

"As our population ages, solutions to maintaining a high quality of life include finding ways to help ageing people retain their pets," she said.

Over 90 per cent of older people living at home with pets and receiving government-funded Home Care Packages (HCP) did not receive support for pet care.

But over 64 per cent of respondents said they required help walking their dogs, and 62 with taking their pets to the vet.

Ms Ennis said the survey showed an urgent need to support pet ownership for older Australians living independently.

She recommended extending the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) and HCP to provide pet assistance.

"Increasing the number of pet-friendly in-home aged care support will also help to prevent animals from being euthanised or surrendered to shelters.

"It'll also maximise the physical and emotional health of animal-loving older people."

Over 60 per cent of respondents believed there was a significant lack of education and funding for aged-care facility owners regarding the benefits of pet ownership.

They also identified a shortage of staff and volunteers dedicated to delivering pet programs, along with existing health and safety protocols concerns.

"Much work is to be done to increase awareness of the physical and emotional benefits to residents derived from pet ownership," Ms Ennis said.

"Supportive funding models are also needed to reduce the burden of design changes to accommodate pets."

She hoped the survey's findings would encourage facility owners to embrace pets and influence community attitudes around lifelong pet ownership.

The organisation continues working closely with residential facilities that allow people to bring their pets.

They also offer free resources, including pet-related policies, guidelines and documents for aged-care providers to manage and care for pets in aged-care settings. 

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