Berkeley's New Pet Project Matches Seniors with Sidekicks

The Berkeley Animal Shelter has just launched its new project, a program called the 60-6-60 Plan. Introduced in July of this year, the plan allows seniors, 60 years or older, who adopt a pet 6 years or older, to get a 60 percent discount on their adoption fees. “It’s your basic win-win situation,” espoused Patsy Slater, a shelter volunteer and the program’s brainchild. “The energy level of an older pet matches that of an older person. The older animals don’t need so much direct attention. They’re devoted companions who are just happy to curl up and be with you.”

Slater, a shelter volunteer for three years, was out walking one of the shelter dogs when she conceived of the idea. “I was thinking just how wonderful older animals are, and that if more people realized how great an older pet can be, we wouldn’t have such a difficult time adopting them out,” she recalled. “I think a lot of people assume there are going to be issues with an older pet — medical or behavioral — and that’s really rarely the case. Most of the health issues, if they exist, are straightforward and easily addressed with medicine.”

Kate O’ Connor, the Shelter’s manager for 11 years, championed Slater’s idea when she first heard it. “It sounded great — anything we can do to help the older animals — and I sent it up for approval,” O’Connor recollected. “We have been struggling from day to day to get the older pets adopted out and any plan that helps with that is a good one.”

O’Connor has seen a frightening rise in the number of older animals being abandoned at the shelter. “In general, a lot more animals are coming through owing to the bad economy,” O’Connor said. “Many of them also have health issues because their owners haven’t been able to afford proper care for them.” While the program is still young, O’Connor hopes seniors will find out about it and consider participating themselves. “We had a 90 year old gentleman adopt a 9 year old cat,” O’Connor enthused. “They get on well. It was a perfect match!”

O’Connor understands the reluctance people feel when considering the adoption of older animals but echoes Slater’s sentiments about the reality. “I think many people are afraid that taking on an older pet means taking on a whole lot more responsibility,” O’Connor said. “In truth, they often need less—less training, less exercise, less attention.” Bending down to give an affectionate kiss to one of her charges, O’Connor added, “All they really want is love!”