Pangel™ is Your Guardian Companion: Ensuring Pet Safety for Single Seniors
As we age, our mental, physical, and emotional states change. Many of these changes are due to the physiological factors of aging, while others are due to sociological aspects of our lives.
Seniors can experience challenges with physical activity and often deal with increased health issues. There's also a higher chance of loved ones and friends passing or family moving away.
For some, these events can affect the level of support, comfort, and even enjoyment in life.
Pets can contribute to an improved quality of life as we age. For many seniors, companionship in the form of a pet helps alleviate difficult or unpleasant moments associated with age-related issues. We recognize seniors as a significant part of the pet owner population!
Pangel™ wants to serve seniors and help them enjoy all the benefits that come with owning a pet. Here are some of those benefits, along with specific challenges that senior pet owners may face and how Pangel™ can help.
The Positives of Senior Pet Ownership
Pets bring an element of happiness and joy to all our lives. There are perks of owning a pet that surpasses any age or group. However, as a senior pet owner, they can be especially impactful on quality of life.
Here are some reasons why owning a pet as a senior makes sense.
Improved Physical Health
Overall, pet owners tend to experience positive impacts on their health. No matter your age, you stand to gain physically from owning a pet.
Some physical factors affected by pet ownership include:
Cholesterol levels
Blood pressure
Anxiety
Stress levels
Pets also promote increased physical activity and exercise. According to Global Health Aging, the elderly who take their dog for a walk have improved mobility, more social interactions, and enjoy their daily exercise routine. (1)
Research has shown that older pet owners walk significantly farther when they walk with a dog, which can contribute to the fact that pet owners require fewer doctor visits and experience improved overall cardiovascular health.
Companionship
Pets can be wonderful companions for seniors. They offer unconditional love and affection without judgment and can help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. Simply spending time with a pet can provide a sense of comfort and contentment.
The companionship of a pet can also provide a sense of security and comfort and can help seniors develop a sense of purpose, meaning, and responsibility in life.
Additionally, having a companion can lead to increased cognition, allowing seniors to maintain good mental health as they age.
Socialization
Owning a pet can provide opportunities for seniors to connect with others who share their love of animals, whether it be through dog parks, pet-friendly community events, or simply chatting with fellow pet owners on the street. Pets can also serve as a conversation starter, giving seniors an easy way to interact with others and make new friends.
Pets can also help seniors feel more comfortable in social situations, as they provide a sense of familiarity and can help ease feelings of anxiety or nervousness.
Mood Booster
Simply being around a pet can help reduce stress and anxiety and increase feelings of happiness and contentment. Studies have shown that petting a dog or cat can release endorphins, the "feel-good" hormones such as serotonin, prolactin, and oxytocin (2), that can help improve our mood and reduce feelings of discomfort, depression, and loneliness.
While Pangel™ prefers to celebrate these positives of owning a pet, we recognize that, for some, pet ownership can pose particular challenges.
The following are obstacles for some seniors who own pets.
Challenges Single Senior Pet Owners Face
Although there are incredible benefits to having a furry friend in your life, caring for a pet can pose a certain challenge as we age.
Mobility Issues
Taking care of a pet often requires physical activity and movement. For example, walking a dog or cleaning a litter box can be difficult tasks for seniors with limited mobility or health conditions. This can result in the pet not receiving the necessary care and attention, which can negatively impact both the pet and the owner.
Additionally, transportation to veterinary appointments or to purchase pet supplies can also be a challenge for seniors who have limited mobility.
Financial Costs
The cost of pet food, toys, grooming, and veterinary care can quickly add up, especially for those on a fixed income. In addition, if a senior has a medical emergency and needs to be hospitalized, they may need to find temporary care for their pet, which can be costly.
Downsizing
It's common for single seniors to find themselves in a home that has extra space. Changes to the family dynamic over time often mean a home no longer suits the needs of seniors. Many times, that means moving into a new space.
While a new location can make financial sense, it might not be conducive to owning a pet as a senior. Downsizing can come with a lack of space for pets to roam or restrictions in senior neighborhoods or assisted living facilities.
Emergency Pet Care
Emergency pet care can be a challenge, especially for single seniors. What if a circumstance arises that requires someone to step in and care for a single senior's pet? In some cases, there may not be anyone at the ready to help. That's where Pangel™ becomes an important tool.
Pangel™ is the app that allows pet owners the flexibility and comfort of knowing their pets will be cared for under any circumstance.
Senior-Friendly Technology
Pangel™ puts pet care at your fingertips, and it does so in a straightforward way that makes it easy to manage.
Using Pangel is as simple as:
Downloading the app.
Setting up a profile.
Designating a guardian.
Once these three steps are complete, Pangel™ takes care of the rest! If a senior pet owner ever finds themselves unable to return home to their pet, their chosen guardian will be notified. With Pangel™, help is always a notification away.
Support for Single Seniors
The Pangel™ app is the perfect addition to a senior pet owner's care plan. Pangel™ provides a safeguard that ensures no pet will be left neglected in the absence of their owner.
Despite the challenges, seniors stand to gain an incredible improvement in quality of life through pet ownership, and at Pangel™, we strive to lend our support! Everyone, especially seniors, deserves the positive impact of pet ownership.
If you have a beloved senior in your life who needs supplemental pet care, try our Pangel™14-day trial. It's the perfect way to discover the level of comfort and security seniors can experience when they have Pangel™ working to protect their pets.
1-2. Lesperance, Martina. "Health Benefits of Pet Ownership for Seniors." Global Health Aging, globalhealthaging.org/.
