Attitudes and arrangements: owner predictions of growing older with an assistance dog

Abstract

Assistance dog ownership is beneficial for older adults, but also involves unique age-related challenges, particularly changes in independent living status. How younger assistance dog owners see their future playing out with their assistance dog, particularly on relocating to an aged care facility, has received little focus. Most younger assistance dog owners have considered their future with their assistance dog, and while retirement of the dog may become necessary, most intend to retain them into older age. Understanding the future needs of assistance dog owners creates the opportunity to influence key future planning and supports, policies, procedures, and infrastructure through dog owners, aged care facilities, assistance dog organisations, animal welfare organisations and government bodies.

Keywords:

• Aging
• animals
• dogs
• retirement
• service animals

Background

Assistance dogs, including guide dogs and hearing dogs, support those experiencing disabilities or other illnesses, and as a sentient aid their benefits extend beyond utility, across domains of mental, physical, and social health (Salmon and Pachana 2023). As owners age, there are many considerations around sustaining this relationship, yet there has been little focus on whether younger assistance dog owners have planned for future possibilities, particularly on relocation to aged care. This is a Current Issue because without sufficient planning and support, continued ownership of an assistance dog into older age may not be viable, significantly impacting both the owner and their dog.

What relatively younger people plan to do on relocation to an aged care facility is particularly important given most facilities do not allow animal ownership (Harpur and Pachana 2018; Salmon et al. 2022). Furthermore, where residents are allowed to retain their animal, there are many considerations to ensure the ongoing support of owner and dog. This includes monitoring and supporting ongoing safety and welfare, and ensuring sufficient infrastructure, planning, and procedures are in place where the owner becomes unable to care for their animal (Pachana and Salmon 2023). The views on future planning by younger owners could be used to guide such planning to achieve the best outcomes in aged care facilities. Ideally, forward planning would not only support the owner and dog, but other key stakeholders, such as aged care facility staff, assistance dog organisations, and the broader community.

Current issues and beliefs

To examine the issue, assistance dog owners under the age of 65 years were invited to share their views on (1) how they see things playing out with their assistance dog as they get older, and (2) what they would do with their assistance dog if they relocated into an aged care facility. Most had previously considered their future with their assistance dog, with some noting that the work completed by the dog may change as their needs change with age, justifying re-training of their dog. Alternatively, some considered whether the working relationship could feasibly continue based on being able to provide sufficient ongoing care and stimulation for the dog in older age. Some also considered how their specific dog’s needs may change based on their own changing needs as they age in the context of breed or behaviours, which should similarly be taken into account.

I imagine we will enjoy walking less as we age together. She is 2 years old. By the time she is 10 I’ll be 65. My next assistance dog will be matched to the 65-year-old version of me which will need a slower dog. The matching process will take into consideration my needs, slower pace, wonkier gait, etc.

This highlights the importance of considering ongoing changes to needs and care abilities across the lifespan for both dog and owner. In particular, a focus on re-assessment of these areas could be beneficial by assistance animal providers, or information provided to owners to make sufficient educated decisions. This would not only ensure the welfare of the owner and animal, but potentially allow for adjustments, such as re-training. Further, many owners acknowledged that they may need to eventually re-home their dog, which primarily involved re-homing with a trusted person, such as a dog trainer or family. By providing ongoing support and education to owners, this adjustment can be facilitated with greater care to best manage any associated grief.

My family have offered to take her should something happen to me. If that does not work, I know her trainer and [Guide Dogs Queensland] will help re-home her to the right place.

On considering the possibility of relocating to aged care, the majority of owners referred in some way to hoping to be allowed to bring their dog with them to the aged care facility, potentially with re-training. Given the ageing population, this is a significant future population that will need to be considered by aged care facilities now to allow for sufficient support, policies, procedures and infrastructure moving into the future.

I would attempt to identify an aged care facility that would allow me to keep my dog with me if we were still a functional team, if not I would hope a friend or family nearby would be able to take the dog when it retires and bring me/the dog together for visits.

Alternately, several owners indicated that they may retire their dog if they were not allowed to retain their dog in aged care or no longer needed the dog for assistance. As such, they reported they would find an alternative new home (re-home) their dog, such as re-homing with friends, family, or another trusted person. Thus, owners should be encouraged to have this conversation early with their trusted person to allow for a smoother transition when needed.

If I could not find a place, I would return my dog to the program, trainers to be placed with another handler, and or retired and give them to someone like Puppy Raisers as a pet.

Discussion

On exploring how younger assistance dog owners see their future playing out with their assistance dog and what they would do if they relocated to an aged care facility, the majority of owners indicated they had already previously considered this. Most indicated they intended to keep their assistance dog as long as they were able, only re-homing the dog if necessary. Given our ageing population, this highlights the need to ensure sufficient support of future older adult assistance dog owners. Whether through legislation, policies, procedures, or infrastructure to best allow for this, addressing previously identified key barriers for this age group is crucial, including funding and accommodation support (Salmon and Pachana 2022). Adjusting to the changing needs of owners could also be achieved through ongoing assessment of the same and retraining for the dog’s tasks to change in line with these changes.

Providing sufficient ongoing care for the dog was a key issue, with burden including physical and financial support. For those eligible in Australia, funding such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for training and maintenance costs (such as cleaning, vet services, and dog food) is available (National Disability Insurance Scheme 2022). However, the NDIS has age restrictions and other criteria; thus, financial burden should be considered not only by the individual, but by government agencies or charities to assist going forward.

Where the owner cannot keep their dog, re-homing was a valid consideration raised. Many owners had not only considered this scenario but had already identified where the dog could be re-homed. This decision requires minimal support, though discussions around this process or suggestions on where to re-home are needed. The separation of dog and owner is a difficult adjustment, with grief for both the owner and the dog (Yamamoto and Hart 2019). As such, future considerations should be made around the provision of emotional support or counselling.

Most owners indicated that they intended to keep their assistance dog on relocation to a facility, only re-homing if necessary. This is a notable issue as few aged care facilities allow animals, despite protective legislation specifically addressing accommodation discrimination (Australian Government 1992; Queensland Government 2009; Salmon et al. 2022). This highlights how the aged care system must work towards implementing sufficient policies, procedures, training, and infrastructure to allow assistance animals to remain with their owner (Pachana and Salmon 2023). Alternatively, additional supports may be sought to be able to age with their dog within their own home.

Retiring or re-homing an assistance dog may become an eventuality, requiring support around any associated grief and emotional adjustment. However, it is crucial that aged care facilities make the decision of separation based on objective data (Pachana and Salmon 2023). Tools such as the Safe Animal Friendly Environments tool (SAFE; Young 2020) would be highly beneficial; this tool aims to facilitate the ability of older adults to keep their animal on relocation into aged care by assessing and managing multi-species risk. Ongoing assessment may also be relevant, as owners who relocate with their animal may experience a change in circumstances, such as health decline, leading to the dog needing to be re-homed.

Overall, this highlighted key current issues that require future planning around assistance dog retention for the ageing population. At an individual level, future plans should be established and communicated with those who may need assist in the dog’s relocation. At a broader level, while assistance dog users have considered their future with their dog, residential aged care facilities have not, and the involvement at a government level through protective policies and funding is also clearly required. As such, this is an area that needs urgent attention, and given the wide range of stakeholders and differing opinions, this is a challenging issue. By considering the future of assistance animal ownership at all levels, barriers can be overcome, and owners will be in the best position to maintain long term ownership, continuing to reap the many benefits this entails into older age.

Ethics statement

Approved by the Research Ethics and Integrity Board at the University of Queensland (2023/HE000642), and informed consent was received from all respondents.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).