ElderDog Canada Kings County Pawd work to preserve human-canine bond
Well-being of senior dogs, people the main focus of volunteer group
Have you ever wondered what happens when an elderly dog owner passes away or can no longer care for their pet?
Considering our aging demographics, it's a situation that will undoubtedly arise more often in the years ahead. However, there is a national volunteer organization with an Annapolis Valley presence that is working to address this need.
ElderDog Canada is an organization that is dedicated to the well-being of older people and older dogs, working to honour and preserve the human-canine bond.
Nancy Armstrong of Kingston, ElderDog Canada Kings County Pawd (Pod) co-leader, said she has always had dogs and loved them.
After seeing flyers about the ElderDog pawd in the community and a chance meeting with former pawd leader Elizabeth Deamone, Armstrong started volunteering with the group in 2016. She began taking in foster dogs, which was a good fit for Armstrong, who was boarding dogs at the time.
Armstrong soon took on the role of re-homing coordinator and eventually became pawd co-leader with Donna Smyth, taking over from Deamone.
In fact, Armstrong’s canine companion, 12-year-old Golden Retriever and Pekingese mix Mufasa, is a dog she fostered and ended up adopting four years ago.
“I took him home and I just fell in love with him,” Armstrong said.
She was “going through the motions” trying to get Mufasa adopted when her husband told her to go ahead and adopt him herself because he - and she - knew she wanted to.
Armstrong said Mufasa has sort of become the unofficial mascot for the Kings County pawd. Before the pandemic, when they were able to participate in community parades, he could often be seen marching, carrying his favourite stuffed animal in his mouth.
His original owners had him since he was a puppy but had to move and couldn’t find a new place that was willing to take a dog. Although rather heartbroken to have to give him up, one of his owners had heard about ElderDog and thought this would be a better option than putting him in a kennel and not knowing where he’d end up.
Armstrong said there are several rescue groups for dogs, and the work they do is greatly needed and appreciated, but she sees ElderDog as filling a special niche.
ABOUT ELDERDOG
Founded in 2009 and registered as a charitable organization in 2016, ElderDog Canada grew out of Dr. Ardra Cole’s research on caregiving and Alzheimer’s disease.
The ElderDog mission is to honour and preserve the human-animal bond through care, companionship, education and research. Programs include helping seniors with daily dog care activities. As part of this, Armstrong said, volunteers provide in-home dog care support for seniors.
Of course, ElderDog offers foster care and adoption of older dogs. Armstrong said a senior may need someone to look after their dog for a day while they attend a medical appointment, or they may need longer foster support if they have a hospital stay, for example.
“It’s trying to keep them with their dogs and the dogs with their people for as long as possible,” Armstrong said.
She said ElderDog’s rehoming program is quite busy. If a dog owner passes away or has to go into a nursing home, for example, they’ll assess the dog and find it a foster home. From there, they work to find a new, permanent home for the dog.
“We do try to put the dogs with seniors, if possible, because that’s the goal here,” Armstrong said.
She pointed out that dog ownership can be very beneficial to seniors and they try to fill that need through rehoming. The group also provides long-term care planning for companion dogs.
The Kings Pawd also serves Annapolis, Hants and part of Digby counties. There are eight pawds across Nova Scotia and pawds in P.E.I., New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Armstrong said the organization has grown very quickly considering it began only 12 years ago.
VOLUNTEERS, DONATIONS NEEDED
The organization relies on volunteers, fundraising and donations to carry out its work and there is no fee for any of the services offered.
The Kings County Pawd started in 2014 and currently has approximately 50 volunteers, but there is a need for more. Volunteers must have a police background check and screening completed.
Armstrong said they always get the dogs checked out by a veterinarian and ElderDog’s vet bills are “astronomical.” They greatly appreciate any support or donations to help cover these costs.
For two years, the Kings County pawd’s big annual fundraiser was the “Paws for the Cause” event at the New Minas fire hall. The group was unable to hold the fundraiser last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and this will be the case again in 2021. Armstrong said they hope to revive the event in 2022.
Perhaps the largest national fundraiser for the organization is selling ElderDog Canada calendars, which feature pictures of dogs that come into their care and adoptive families. The calendars cost $20 each.
Every year on the third Saturday in August, the Friends of ElderDog group holds a memorial service and butterfly release to honour dogs that have passed away at the ElderDog Canada national headquarters in Rose Bay, Nova Scotia.
Butterflies can be purchased for $15 each through ElderDog Canada’s online store. Those who buy butterflies are asked to include contact information and the name of the dog or dogs being remembered.
Armstrong said the property features “A Place to Paws”, which features pictures of dogs that have passed away. Some owners are now leaving the ashes of departed canine companions there.
ElderDog accepts donations in memory as a way to remember a beloved companion or to honour a special relationship. People are asked to provide information about who they are remembering through their gesture of commemoration. Short messages of condolence are also welcome.
A notification of the donation in memory and a card of condolence will be sent to the family and a short tribute will be posted on ElderDog’s Donations in Memory page.
GET IN TOUCH
For more information, email info@elderdog.ca or visit www.elderdog.ca. ElderDog is also on Facebook and Twitter. The national office can be reached by phone at 1-855-EDOGCAN (1-855336-4226. The Kings County pawd can be reached by emailing elderdogkingspawdldr@gmail.com.
Donation cheques can be mailed to the ElderDog Canada National Office, 907 Feltzen South Rd., Rose
Bay, N.S., B0J 2X0. Please include your mailing address, as required by the Canada Revenue Agency, and ElderDog will issue an income tax receipt for donations of $20 or more.
E-transfers can be made to info@elderdog.ca.