Non-profit group will help seniors take care of their dogs

Special to The Okanagan Weekend

Older adults in the Thompson Okanagan can get support to help with the care and well-being of their canine companions as ElderDog Canada has opened a chapter for the Thompson Okanagan.

ElderDog is a non-profit organization whose volunteers help older adults keep their dogs by taking them for walks, driving them to pet appointments and delivering pet food.

“Our goal is to help seniors keep their canine companions as long as possible because we recognize the many benefits for both dogs and humans to stay together,” said Dr. Ardra Cole, the university professor and researcher who founded ElderDog.

For Cole, founding ElderDog was a coming together of both personal and professional experience.

Through her research on seniors and caregiving, Cole came to understand the important role dogs play in seniors’ lives and recognized the need to support that companionship.

According to Cole there are numerous benefits to having a dog, including decreased blood pressure and reduced anxiety, depression and loneliness.

Realizing she needed to take action, Cole created ElderDog.

There is also a social benefit to the older adults who use ElderDog, as they appreciate the contact with the volunteers who come to help with the dog, but also often visit with them.

Cole got to thinking about the importance of providing loving homes for older dogs after her brother died and she adopted his elderly ill dog, so ElderDog can also help with temporary foster care for dogs or find a loving home if an older adult is unable to care for their dog, passes away or goes into long-term care.

Tianna Smidt, leader of the new Thompson Okanagan chapter, was inspired to start a local chapter of ElderDog after seeing how much comfort her mother-in-law received from her dog while sick at home with cancer.

Smidt had taken over walking the dog when her mother-in-law was ill and eventually adopted the 13-year old dog after her mother-in-law died.

She read about ElderDog online after wondering who would have been able to walk her mother-inlaw’s dog had she not been available.

As there was no local chapter for the organization, Smidt along with interested people in Kamloops and Penticton worked together to start up the ElderDog Thompson Okanagan chapter in February, which serves the Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton areas.

ElderDog began operations in 2012 and became a charity in 2016.

The response to ElderDog has been phenomenal, said Cole.

What started with one chapter in Nova Scotia in 2012 has grown to 24 established active chapters across Canada with close to 1,700 volunteers coast to coast.

ElderDog is 100% volunteer run and there are no fees for its services.

ElderDog raise funds primarily through donations along with fundraising, which has been seriously affected by the pandemic.

ElderDog Thompson Okanagan currently has 16 volunteers, but needs more.

“We really need volunteer dog walkers right now,” said Smidt. .

Any amount of time volunteers can commit to ElderDog is welcome. All volunteers are required to complete a police check.

If you are an older adult who needs help caring for your dog or you are interested in volunteering for ElderDog, go online to elderdog.ca, call 1-855-336-4226 or email elderdogthomokanldr@gmail.com.