Rescues help owners find pets’ next home
NEW YORK
Who will take your pet when you die? The question often doesn’t have an easy answer, especially for ill or older people headed to residential nursing care or assisted living. During the pandemic, specialized rescue, advocacy and adoption services run by volunteers are trying to fill the void, one pet at a time.
Leaders in the small movement said the past couple of years have opened the eyes of many.
“The thing about COVID is a lot of people are thinking, I can’t be guaranteed to be around forever. A lot more people are trying to make plans in advance, which is the best thing to do because unfortunately, a lot of people wait until they’re in hospice or there’s a desperate situation,” said Amy Shever, founder and director of 2nd Chance 4 Pets in suburban Sacramento, California.
The number of pets surrendered to shelters due to caretaker health or death is up from 7.3 percent in 2009 to 10.2 percent during the pandemic, according to the Best Friends Network of thousands of public and private shelters, rescue groups and other animal welfare organizations in all 50 states.
Shever’s focus is educating veterinarians and shelters on how they can get involved. Her organization also tries to help pet owners in need of direction. She urges owners to identify a committed caregiver, provide written instructions for a pet’s routine and put a financial plan in place. Her group has distributed thousands of emergency-card door hangers, for instance, to pet food banks and animal welfare organizations so owners can make their wishes known.
Another organization, Pet Peace of Mind, works directly with about 250 hospices around the country to provide and train volunteers who care for pets of the seriously and terminally ill, said Dianne McGill, the president and founder in Salem, Oregon. Most of the hospices are providing home services, where pets are often giving comfort and support.
While providing pet care or adoption services often isn’t top of mind for social workers or nurses, it’s a huge emotional driving force for patients and loved ones living far away, McGill said.
Kathy Reister, 79, adopted a 12-year-old Chihuahua named Jackson with the help of Tyson’s Place Animal Rescue in Holland, Michigan. The nonprofit helps people with terminal illnesses find new homes for their pets. Reister, who has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, had recently lost her own dog and was having a hard time at home alone when she took in Jackson last August.
Soon after, Jackson was also diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and Tyson’s Place stepped in with a grant to help Reister cover his medical bills. She promised to return him to the agency for rehoming should her health take a turn for the worse.
Caitlin Koska, 31, and Michael White, 34, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, included 14-year-old Luna in their May 1 wedding after Koska adopted her through Tyson’s Place around Thanksgiving 2020. Luna, also a Chihuahua, was their ring bearer.
Jill Bannink-Albrecht founded Tyson’s Place about six years ago. It services the entire state of Michigan, working directly with a pet owner before rehoming becomes an urgent matter, or with family members after a death, using a small network of foster homes.
Now, hospices and social workers refer patients to Tyson’s Place. Bannink-Albrecht is struggling to expand her foster reach.
“I just can’t meet the demand for this kind of service, especially when it comes to cats,” she said. “In the last two months, I’ve turned away 40 cats that meet our mission just because we don’t have a place to put them.”
Bannink-Albrecht knows of just a few other rescues like hers. One, in Canada, also needs help.
Angela Rafuse, 27, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, founded My Grandfather’s Cat on May 18, her grandfather’s birthday. He died in 2019 and left behind his grumpy 14-year-old cat, Mackenzie.
“She was my grandmother’s best friend and when she passed away, my grandfather took care of her for the next year before he passed away,” Rafuse said. “He wouldn’t put his name on the list for a nursing home knowing nobody would take the cat, who has the grumpiest meow I’ve ever heard.”
Rafuse promised her grandfather she would take Mackenzie. She began posting TikTok videos of their adventures. One video, of Mackenzie scratching Rafuse’s face as she held her up to the camera, has been viewed nearly a million times.
“Then so many people started sharing stories with us about how their grandparents’ cats ended up in shelters and how their grandparents worry about what will happen to their cats or their dogs because there’s nowhere to take them,” Rafuse said. “I’ve worked at a nonprofit for the past four years so I thought, it should be pretty easy to find resources to help these people. Nothing existed that empowered a senior and helped them arrange this and empowered their family. Everything was just shelters.”
After she launched, emails asking for help and offering donations rolled in, but she didn’t have enough foster homes to meet demand. She’s working to expand. One of Rafuse’s goals is to help keep a pet at home until the final moment.
