Sketches of Miss Lady the Westie and Mr. Clancy the Cairn
created by Lynne Saintonge, Canadian Painter and Visual Artist
Many of us have experienced pet loss at some point in our lives, whether it’s a turtle when we were 4, the family dog when we were 10, or first chosen pet cat when we still lived with our parents. All those losses were lessons in humaneness and the importance of being kind.
When a senior loses a pet, it’s more than the passing of Fido or Fluffy who was loved and cared for every moment of life. It’s so much more, and caregivers and health care professionals need to be alert to the needs of a senior facing the prospect of a life without their faithful friend. Seniors and others considered ‘at risk’, living on their own with no daily companionship of fellow humans often seek comfort and connection with a pet; a dog or a cat. Caring for a pet develops a daily routine — a series of intimate rituals with another living being.
In 1992-1993, my husband and I coped with the deaths of 5 animals in an 8-month period; the first, was almost 7 year old Mr. Clancy, a Cairn terrier. In the middle of a snowstorm, we drove to our Fredericton veterinarian on Boxing Day of 1992 to get help for our little guy. My husband dropped me off at Luna Pizza where I raised a few glasses to the tenacious one; I couldn’t bring myself to attend at his crossing Rainbow Bridge. When we returned from the vet’s, a cat that had been missing for months and thought dead was sitting on the porch steps. That cat tale another time.
In the summer of 1993, we first bade farewell to Miss Lady, a 20 year old Westhighland White Terrier. A senior Shih-Tzu, Miss Pepper, adopted a few weeks later was only with us for a short time. Unbeknownst to us at adoption was that she had throat cancer; her previous owner died of throat cancer not long after.
Two of the original Charlotte Street cats left us as well; Mr. Basil (the black) walked back to Fredericton weeks after we moved to the country. The vet and we agreed to leave him in the care of his Charlotte Street friends. Mr. Hansel, a klutz of a cat, dropped dead in the kitchen after a massive heart attack. He was a dog’s best friend.
In 1994, we adopted two Cairn terrier brothers, Mr. Alex and Mr. Jake; the house was lively again when they joined 4 resident cats. Sadly Mr. Alex was not long-lived and after 4 years of his company, we then carried on with his brother and the felines. The behaviour of all demonstrated an acknowledgement of his passing. They knew.
Later, at the deaths of the two eldest cats, the former barn cat twin brothers from next door, stepped in to their new role as ‘senior cats of the house’. The circle of life continues.
The last pet to pass away while my husband was still alive was one of the ‘senior fellows’; several months earlier, his littermate had been struck by a car and killed. We were not able to recover his body for burial.
Fast forward to 2007, when we were three — my husband, me, and Mr. Jake, the 16 year old Cairn terrier. In September of that year, my husband passed away. In November, Mr. Jake succumbed to heart disease. In January of 2008, my father, a well-respected physician in Bath, passed away.
Those fortunate enough to have an open communication with their physician that allows them to talk about their pet during an office visit will feel less anxiety about conversations regarding their pet’s health as they age. Knowing what other layers make up the life of a senior patient allows care personnel to act accordingly; a senior stressed about a health crisis of an aging pet will benefit from guidance from their own doctors, who then have opportunity to network with local vet clinics and shelters to create safety nets of service for a patient who needs help. ElderDog Canada, one such service, provides a valuable supports and is a phone call away.
The aging pet poses lots of challenges especially for seniors fixed incomes who often base decisions of care on finances. It’s important for older pet owners to open lines of communication with their veterinarian very early on with any new pet they adopt. Certainly, vet practices have financial obligations of their own but they’re not totally unfeeling when it comes to the needs of their patients and their people. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. It was through my own vet that I adopted Mr. Digby and Miss Lexie.
Conversations about feelings attached to impending pet loss or the passing of a beloved pet must not be minimized by those in our circle who are not pet people, for whom dogs and cats were never part of their daily lives. For so many of us, ‘pets are people, too.’
Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her aging Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca
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