Elderly: The Benefits of Owning a Pet

Owning a pet provides a number of benefits for the whole family and more specifically for the elderly. These benefits are scientifically proven.

In fact, more and more specialists, including Elly Kleinman, the owner of Americare, are opting for animal-assisted therapy in cases of patients with physical or intellectual diseases or disabilities.

These therapies seek to create an affective bond between the animal and the patient, to begin the therapeutic process. Therefore, it is not surprising that more families opt for this type of therapy and decide to adopt a four-legged companion to promote the well-being and quality of life of patients.

Here, Elly Kleinman Americare shares some of the benefits of having a pet:

Solution against loneliness: Currently loneliness is still lethal in people over 65 years of age. Animal companionship greatly reduces this feeling, as the elderly person has a new routine of caring for their pet.

Sensation of well-being: The secretion of hormones such as serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin are responsible for the sensation of well-being and stress reduction. Elly Kleinman Americare indicates in his blog articles that these hormones are secreted when interacting with animals and improve the mood of the elderly.

Social development: As it is known, the elderly may have difficulty in the communication with other people or do not have enough mental stimulation. Walking a pet will unconsciously develop social skills.

Promotion of physical exercise: By having this new responsibility, they will find themselves in the need to perform moderate physical exercise several times a day. This will strengthen their muscles and their psychomotor coordination.

Feeling of usefulness: According to Elly Kleinman Americare, the pet will be a motivation for the elderly in cases of depression or anxiety.

Feeling of security: In cases of deafness or some type of limitation, animal companionship can be of great help, when it comes to alerting the elderly person of certain situations that may become dangerous. Elly Kleinman, the owner of Americare, a company that offers the best home care, gives an example: they can warn in case the phone rings, if someone enters the house, etc.

They can detect ailments: Animals have a certain sixth sense. There are cases in which a pet has modified its usual behavior to give an alarm signal to its owner when they have detected that something was not right and have favored the detection of some diseases.

The act of adopting a dog from a kennel will make you feel good about doing a good social action.

Now that you know the general benefits of having a pet, you should consider the idea of buying a pet for your elderly loved one.