While Australian households have one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world, this doesn’t carry through to our aged care services, according to a study by the Animal Welfare League of Australia (AWLA).
The 2017 AWLA Pets in Aged Care Study revealed that while 63 per cent of Australian households are pet owners, only 18 per cent of residential aged care facilities allow pets to reside with their owners. Those ageing in their own home can’t always access the support to keep their pets either, with only 9 per cent of in-home services saying that they offer pet friendly services.
Envigor’s Tracey Silvester has been busy with interviews about the benefits of supporting older people to keep their pets as they get older.
Here, she chats to 101.5 FM Moreton Bay about pets in aged care.
She also had an extensive chat with Loretta Ryan on ABC Brisbane Saturday Breakfast, talking about the issues surrounding pets in aged care.