Seniors Helping Seniors® In-Home Care Offers Advice for Pet Safety This Summer
With more than 100 locations in 30-plus states and international markets, the senior care franchise brand provides important tips for monitoring the well-being of cat and canine companions.
Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home senior care franchise that employs active seniors to help their fellow seniors age in place, is offering advice for keeping furry friends healthy and safe this summer season.
Pets are an important part of many of our seniors’ lives. They are a source of comfort, a barrier against loneliness and can help keep the mind and body active. But it’s important for seniors to recognize where their limitations are in caring for a pet and where they may need help.
Hot weather is one of the biggest dangers for canine friends, whose ability to cool off is much more limited than that of humans. Cats can also suffer from heatstroke — like dogs, breeds with flat faces are more susceptible since they can’t pant as effectively to cool off.
While heatstroke poses a significant threat for pets — especially if they’re overweight, elderly or have pre-existing conditions — it’s not the only risk that warm weather brings. Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home services offers the following advice for seniors and their caregivers to keep their best friends out of harm’s way this summer:
- Schedule an early summer visit with your veterinarian. Besides checking for heartworm disease — which is spread through bites from infected mosquitos and requires medication for treatment — a vet visit is a good time to ask about the symptoms of overheating, whether your particular pet is at greater risk, how to prevent it and what to do if heatstroke occurs.
- Make it a habit to give your pet plenty of fresh, clean water. This is especially important to stay on top of if you have a cat — many don’t like drinking water and dehydration puts them at risk of heatstroke. In order to get your cat to drink more water, you might have to employ a few tricks, like experimenting with bowls, serving wet food and even serving them flavored water.
- Never leave your animals alone in a parked vehicle. According to PETA, even a quick errand can put your pet at risk when they are left in the car. Animals can sustain brain damage or die from heatstroke in just 15 minutes.
- Keep your pet properly groomed. Brushing your cat more frequently can help prevent problems caused by excessive heat, while trimming a dog’s fur — especially double-coated breeds — can help keep them cool in the summer months. But never shave your dog’s fur entirely: The layers of dogs’ coats protect them from overheating and sunburn.
- Don’t leave pets unsupervised around a pool. It’s a myth that all dogs can swim. While some breeds were born to swim, others like Bulldogs and Dachshunds struggle in the water and require a dog life jacket in order to build confidence. And just because cats have an innate ability to swim doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take precautions. Many cats don’t like water and can end up panicking if they fall into a pool.
- Ensure open windows have screens on them. Unscreened windows pose a danger to pets, according to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. From shattered jaws to broken limbs to death, accidental falls from windows sadly can and do happen but are easily preventable.
- Protect your pet from pesticide poisoning. Commonly used rodenticides and lawn and garden insecticides can be harmful to cats and dogs if ingested. Pet owners should use non-toxic products on their own lawns and landscaping, steer clear of grass and other areas potentially treated with pesticides when walking their dogs and wipe down their paws when returning home.
- Don’t bring your pet to the barbeque. Alcoholic beverages and foods served at barbeques can cause severe digestive ailments or even be poisonous to pets. Since it’s easy to be distracted at a party, pets are safest away from it.
- Don’t bring your pet to Fourth of July celebrations. July 4th parties are another outdoor event that might seem pet-friendly but aren’t. Loud fireworks can not only trigger a fight-or-flight response in pets, leading to permanent trauma, they can also cause severe burns if ingested. Experts recommend leaving your furry friend at home during the holiday, ideally in a quiet room.
Seniors Helping Seniors® in- home care provides a variety of services to support seniors so that they can maintain their independence and enjoy life not just in their homes, but also in their neighborhoods. These services include companionship, light housekeeping, cooking, and shopping support, assistance with personal care, dementia care, pet care, light handyman services and repairs, yard work and medication reminders.
ABOUT SENIORS HELPING SENIORS®
Seniors Helping Seniors® franchise system was founded by husband-and-wife duo Kiran and Philip Yocom. Kiran grew up in India and later worked to advance humanitarian efforts alongside Mother Teresa. After Kiran moved to the U.S. in 1995 and married Philip, the Yocoms felt called to provide loving care to seniors and to cultivate an exchange of gifts at every generational level. Together, the Yocoms founded Seniors Helping Seniors® services in 1998 and later began expanding the brand through franchising in 2006. With a mission to be the most respected and rewarding homecare provider in the U.S., Seniors Helping Seniors® offices stand apart from the competition as the only senior-care company that prioritizes hiring active seniors to provide care services to their less-active counterparts. Seniors Helping Seniors® franchises align caregivers and care recipients based on the abilities and needs of both by offering a wide range of care services. Seniors Helping Seniors® system has grown to more than 200 locations in 30-plus states and seven international locations, with 125 franchise partners. For more information on Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home care, visit https://seniorshelpingseniors.com/. To learn Seniors Helping Seniors® franchising opportunities, please visit https://franchise.seniorshelpingseniors.com/.