This month, we were thrilled to work with Dame Esther Ranzten who offered her expertise to raise awareness about the importance of helping elderly people stay with their pets.
Dame Esther talked to multiple radio stations about the distressing situation faced by many when moving into residential care when they are separated from much loved pets. Our survey discovered that over two million people in Britain say they know an elderly person who had to have their cat and/or dog put to sleep because they were moving into a residential care home. The survey also found 20% say elderly people they know with pets would refuse to go into care without their pets.
Live-in homecare offers a great solution to this, since it allows people to be cared for in their own homes with any pets – whether it’s a cat, dog, budgie, chickens or a donkey! In 2012, Dame Esther established The Silver Line, designed to combat loneliness in the elderly. She feels strongly that pet ownership can really help to relieve this loneliness, along with many other positive health benefits. You can listen to the main points of the interviews here: