When walking through an animal shelter, do the gray muzzles and wise faces of the senior pets tug at your heartstrings? No matter the reason a senior pet was brought to an animal shelter, they deserve to spend their final years with a loving family and a forever home. If you’re willing to open your heart and home to a golden oldie from a shelter or rescue, you’ll be rewarded tenfold with love, devotion, and the joy of knowing you’re helping an animal who may have otherwise spent their final days without a family. 

Before rushing to the nearest animal shelter for all the senior pets with sad stories, understand that fostering or adopting a senior pet is a big commitment, especially if the pet has medical issues. However, you can take steps to ensure the pet transitions smoothly to your home, and receives the care they need throughout their golden years. 

Consider your family dynamics before fostering a senior pet

Not all pets are instant best friends, and if your current pet is not a fan of other animals, or is a puppy or kitten likely to pester a tired, arthritic pet, fostering a senior pet may not be possible. However, if your home is empty, or your current pet is laid-back and mellow, a senior pet may be perfect for you and your family. Carefully consider whether your home and family are an ideal fit for a senior pet, or if an older pet will fit in well with your household. For example, small children may not act appropriately around older, stiff, blind, or deaf pets, which may result in an accident or a biting situation if a child falls or tugs on a sleeping pet. 

Evaluate your home before fostering a senior pet

Many senior pets suffer from debilitating medical conditions, which may be the reason why they are in an animal shelter. Osteoarthritis, cancer, intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), and other mobility-related issues may be tough to manage if your home has multiple floors and slick surfaces, while pets disabled by blindness, deafness, or cognitive dysfunction can have different challenges. If you’re able to remodel your home to meet the needs of a senior pet with a mobility problem, or you can ensure a blind or deaf pet’s safety, you can provide the perfect sanctuary for a senior pet. 

Understand the costs of fostering a senior pet

Fostering a senior pet brings not only financial, but also mental, emotional, and physical costs. Falling in love with the kind heart and gentle soul of an appreciative senior pet is easy, but they pass from this world much too soon, and that can be hard. Although you’re providing an incredible service giving homeless senior pets a loving home, coping with continual loss, along with shouldering the physical burden of cleaning, caring, and providing mobility for these pets, can be extremely challenging. However, families who foster senior pets with no other options often find the benefits of caring for these special pets far outweigh the negatives. 

While senior pets tend to have numerous medical issues that can be costly to manage, the expenses may be mitigated. Many animal shelters are desperate to find loving homes where their senior pets can spend their final days, and will often cover their medical costs, so long as you agree to use their preferred veterinarian or services. Some shelters cannot contribute financially to a pet’s medical upkeep, so if that is a concern, ensure you first investigate the shelter’s foster policy.

Although senior pets can require substantial care, they’ll repay your kindness and support with love and devotion a hundred times over. No act is more selfless or rewarding for you than fostering a homeless senior pet through their final days, and receiving end-of-life care is an incredible blessing for these pets.