Local shelters, already fighting to keep their doors open amid the constantly growing animal populations, are facing another challenge – finding new homes for senior owner surrendered pets.
“The shelter is not ideal for these older animals. It’s loud and busy,” Angelina Saucedo, marketing manager at the Houston Humane Society, said. “We need our senior pets in a comfortable environment to thrive.”
According to current data from the Houston Humane Society, the leading reason why people are returning their pets is the inability to afford care for the animals’ age-related illnesses.
Saucedo said the shelter recently received Claudia, a nine-year-old hound dog, who is blind and deaf and required several eye surgeries that the family who owned her could not cover. Once Claudia was taken in, she got the treatment she needed.
Other pet owners also said they struggled to balance having the time to care for these animals – who are seven years and older – and have certain needs that may require more attention than younger ones.
Julie Kuenstle, VP of marketing and communications at the Houston SPCA, said some of the facility’s owner surrenders come from families moving away or individuals who have recently developed allergies that prevent them from being around their cat or dog.
Kuenstle said others are from cases where the organization’s animal cruelty investigators assist families with elderly parents entering residential care who own pets that these family members don’t have the time to take in.
“The good thing about owner surrenders is that shelters can get each animal’s history,” she said. “That helps those wanting to adopt to determine if the pets are a good fit for their lifestyle.”
However, Cory Stottlemyer, Deputy Shelter Director at BARC, said it is more difficult to find people interested in adopting older pets than it is to find homes for the kittens and puppies in shelters.
Stottlemyer said this is usually because a soon-to-be owner wants a younger animal or may have concerns if they adopt an older one.
“People have this stigma in their minds when it comes to senior dogs,” Stottlemyer said. “They think something might be wrong with the animal because it ended up in the shelter. They think the pet may be hard to train, or they don’t like the idea that the animal doesn’t have many years left.”
“The same goes for cats, too. People associate older cats with having temperament issues, that they’re going to end up with a grumpy old cat,” he said. “When the cat is usually settled into their personality and just wants a nice home to sleep in throughout the day.”
Kuenstle said that while owning older pets can pose problems, there are benefits, too.
“I think people are pleasantly surprised when they come in and see the ages of some pets because they’re still active,” Kuenstle said. “At this age, you’re not going to get the same activity level as a puppy or kitten, but some people also prefer that because it fits their lifestyle much better.”
According to Kuenstle, older animals do not require much training other than accustoming them to new environments or other pets, unlike younger ones who may need to be housebroken or taught how to walk on a leash.
“With a senior pet, you get an animal more set in their ways,” Saucedo said. “You get a clearer picture of their temperament and the type of personality you are dealing with.”
The difficulty of finding those willing to adopt senior pets adds to the capacity issues that local shelters are experiencing as the number of stray intakes, owner surrenders and enforcement rescues continue to rise.
The Houston SPCA has about 162 adoptable animals available, with roughly 300 to 500 animals brought in by animal cruelty investigations, 24-hour rescue ambulance, rehoming and fostering receiving medical care at their facilities at any given time. While BARC, a managed intake shelter, is currently overcapacity with about 300 dogs and 60 cats.
“It’s a tough situation across the board,” Stottlemyer said. “We have a two-fold commitment, as the number of owner surrenders and stray intakes is increasing.”
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
