Animal Partners– A need not a want
Disability Independence Group hosted a wonderful committee of animal advocates for a brainstorming session on how to work together with the GOAL of creating programs, support systems and strategies that will allow the elderly, disabled and those in nursing homes or ALF’s to keep their pets or have the comfort of a pet. Some of the questions raised were: When folks have become elderly, ill, or need to go to a hospital or an ALF/nursing home, what happens to their pets? What if they are still in their home but can’t afford animal care and pet food? What safety nets exist to assist someone in those circumstances? What can we do to create those services when they don’t exist? How do we, as a community of people who care, begin a dialogue that promotes and recognizes the importance of one’s pet to his or her health and well-being?
