Finding Joy in Aging Pets: Angela Dinsmoor’s Advocacy for Senior Dogs

Julie Marty-Pearson 0:00

Hello, my friends and fellow animal lovers. Welcome to another new episode of the Story of my pet podcast. I am your host, Julie Marty Pearson, and I am very happy to welcome to the podcast Angela Densmore thank you so much for being here.

Angela Dinsmoor 0:17

Thank you. Thanks for having me today. I'm really excited to be with you. I am very excited for us to talk about senior dogs.

Julie Marty-Pearson 0:24

I, elderly pets are near and dear to my heart. We currently have a 16-year-old cat that is a little raspy and a little slow and moving around, so I'm living the older pet experience right now, so I know we will have plenty to talk about when it comes to that. But I always like to ask my guests, kinda start from the beginning. Did you grow up with pets? If you always loved animals?

Angela Dinsmoor 0:51

I did grow up with pets. In fact, the very first word I ever said, according to my mother, was Kitty. So I think it was written in the stars at that point that I would end up working with animals eventually. But yeah, I've had dogs and cats since I was little. I'm a huge animal lover. I'm a huge animal rescue advocate too. So anything that I do in my life is pretty much all centered around helping pets.

Julie Marty-Pearson 1:17

I love that. Yeah. All of us animal lovers come to it in different ways, but many of us, have those pets growing up that just meant so much to us. It's like how it opened our heart to want to help more animals as we, we got older and went out into the world. And so I always love to ask because it's an interesting journey. I've had guests who've never had a pet until they were an adult, and so our experiences are. Are varied, but there's a reason we're all, here to support animals for so you know, in one way or another, right? Yes. Agreed. Definitely. So did you have what you would call a soul dog or kitty in your life that really impacted you in the work that you do now?

Angela Dinsmoor 1:59

I'm unique. I know a lot of people have soul pets, but I think my heart just works in a little bit of a different way that I connect so quickly and so deeply with every pet that I have that I feel like I don't have any one in particular. I have some that I've learned more things from than others. I have some who were just better teachers and some where maybe I was at a point in my life where I was more receptive. I don't have any one because I love each one of them for their own thing. I couldn't pick it out if you made me,

Julie Marty-Pearson 2:34

it's okay. I, I get, I totally get what you're saying. As you were talking, I was thinking about as an adult, the pets I've had, and I wouldn't necessarily say one of them was more important or connect. Did you know each of them came to me at the time I needed them to or my husband needed them, whatever it may be. But I think, I always talk about soul dogs. 'cause I had such a deep connection as a child with my dogs that I thought, that must be what people talk about because that's what I felt. But for right. Some of us that happens in every animal we come across,

Angela Dinsmoor 3:07

right? Yes, that's true. And I will say like many people have one dog and then another or two dogs, and then two more, and they live their lives with the entirety of that pet's life. But because my husband and I have started adopting seniors, you get blips in time. You get, we had one dog who lived with us for two, two weeks. Before she passed and we had, one dog that we adopted who was supposed to live for maybe a couple of years and lived with us eight years. They're all seniors. So it, I think that's the other reason too, is that my connection with each individual dog is briefer. So it's, I just don't have that long longevity with them.

Julie Marty-Pearson 3:46

No, that makes total sense. But that also doesn't mean that it's any less deep than you, some people would have with the, an, I, the first kitten I ever fostered I had him for four or five days, I can't even remember now, and he passed away. But it was those days with him, and what we went through were deep and meaningful and we ended up bury him in our backyard because it was like, even though he was a foster and all of that, he was up. We were the family he had for the little time he had. And so I think that's a lot of what you and your husband do with, working with senior dogs is you're giving them that family and love, however brief or long it is because they need it for whatever time they have left.

Angela Dinsmoor 4:30

Yes, sometimes you're the only bright spot. That's what we've learned, but there are times where I'm a medium point I don't know their stories before they come to me. And so some dogs, they they may have had wonderful lives before me, and so my husband and I are just a away point onto the next stop for them, they're, yeah. To the rainbow bridge, to the, to whatever comes next for them. And some of those dogs, like your kittens, some of those dogs, you feel like you're their only bright spot. And so it's a really meaningful thing for me to be able to give them that brief moment in time in our home where they're safe and they're loved and they're cherished and they're well cared for, and they can just be themselves and live a good life for however brief or long that is.

Julie Marty-Pearson 5:13

Yeah. Oh, so important. So let's talk about how did you get involved in helping working with senior dogs? What was your journey to that experience?

Angela Dinsmoor 5:24

So I think probably with my first senior dog as my first dog aged as an adult, watching her age was so precious. She was just beautiful and she got cuter every day. And I used to wake up and tell her name was Macy and I would wake up and tell her, I don't know how you got cuter overnight. So, I have a background in gerontology that probably predisposes me to working with older dogs just like it did for me to work with older people. So I think that I was able to really appreciate her senior years for the wonderful fun, like cherish time that it was, rather than dreading it right from the very beginning. And that's something that I talk to people a lot about is that, just because your dog is getting old doesn't mean everything is sad. So I think that was what launched my journey initially into wanting to work with senior dogs. But now when I look back at it, even when I started very first working with dogs, I was always drawn to the seniors. So I think it's partially an inherent part of me, and I think it's also partially like watching my first dog age was such a unique and wonderful time to have with her. Yeah.

Julie Marty-Pearson 6:31

Yeah. It's hard for us to watch our pets age because it's such a sped up process compared to us as humans. And I think that there is some sadness in seeing that because we, as we notice them aging, it's like we know our time is limited. And some people have a hard time getting past that. I think. What I try to do is think, gosh, you're still here. Like our cat Charlie is 16. He was diagnosed diabetic over three years ago, and he's done well on insulin shots this time. Other people weren't that lucky and they only lasted a few weeks or a few months. And, he's had ups and downs, but the last couple days he's walking around better. He even jumped in the litter box, which he hasn't done that in a while. And so it's we like to celebrate the little good job buddy. I, and that's what, how my husband and I deal with it. We both have in the back of our head, we're having to worry about him more. But we can also celebrate the fact at 16 he's still doing it and he's still happy and he's still eating and doing all the things. And I think it's a hard part for a lot of us to watch our animals go through that. And so for you to focus on just helping senior dogs I can imagine what you're taking on with every dog that bring into your home and you help in some way. Do you guys, is your organization your work, is it all foster based? Are you guys taking them in? Are you sending them to other homes? What's the process of how you work with the senior dogs?

Angela Dinsmoor 7:58

We actually just adopt them because. There's no shortage of senior dogs who need homes. And we're fortunate enough to be able to have the right lifestyle to fit with caring for a senior dog, both financially and my husband works from home and I'm in and out of the house all day and I have specialized skillset for working with seniors. So. Everything aligns well for us to be able to just adopt them. And so we do we rarely pick one out. Everybody finds us in some way, shape, or form, but but there's never a shortage of dogs who need homes. So we pretty much just rescue for ourselves. And then I help support as many local. Rescues working with senior dogs as I can and nationwide rescues, working with senior dogs as I can as well. Just so that I'm expanding my reach as much as I can. Helping. So I really do wanna help everyone I can.

Julie Marty-Pearson 8:51

Helping as many as you can. I think that's what we all wanna do. But we feel like we can only do so much. So it sounds like you're really. Trying to help as much as you can. So we mentioned this briefly before we got on recording, but for everyone listening, can you talk about from your experience why you, why senior dogs end up in shelters and rescues? What are you seeing the impetus of them ending up in these situations where they need to come to your home?

Angela Dinsmoor 9:19

I think there's a couple reasons that I see. We've adopted, so it from a personal perspective, my husband and I have adopted six old dogs now, and our youngest one was supposed to be 10 and she turned out to be probably eight-ish, and our oldest one was 16. So we've adopted all in the range there and I think, I can't remember what the exact number is, but I think it's five of the six who were given up because their owners died. Could no longer care for them because their owners were elderly and had to seek other care options for themselves that didn't allow the dogs in the facilities or family members' homes or that they did have to go into assisted livings or nursing homes where they wouldn't allow, the dogs weren't allowed to be. So it's generally in, in the broad scheme of the issue for me. It's generally because people don't have a, like a legacy plan for their dogs and cats. Don't have, they haven't thought about that when they're, when the human beings are getting older, because statistically speaking, I think older people are more likely to have older dogs because of aging together. They don't, they fail to plan for their pets when they're planning for their own futures. And I think that's a huge part of it. And another one, which is smaller. Hopefully. I really wanna pretend this is smaller. Maybe it's not. Is that people find old dogs boring and depressing, or financial reasons. That's another one because they can't afford to pay for them, but people don't wanna deal with the issues of aging, so they give the dog up for that in some cases. And then I think sometimes a valid we can't financially afford this increased cost of care for my senior.

Julie Marty-Pearson 10:57

Yeah. And everything I've seen from following rescues online to the times I have spent volunteering in shelters is just that there's a wide range of reasons and it's very rarely any fault of the animal. It's not the dog's fault, right? It's either the person is sick or has passed their care is too expensive and they don't know what else to do. Yes. And they can't watch them suffer. I have seen a few where it's they're not active anymore. It's okay, so when you're not active, you just want us to send you off somewhere. Like I it's a thought process. I do not understand, but, it is what it is. Yes. But I think I agree with you on that, but

Angela Dinsmoor 11:33

it's,

Julie Marty-Pearson 11:35

yeah, it's a hard one, but I think what you're talking about is so important because I remember very vividly this one dog, I don't remember how old he was, maybe 10 or older. I, we had taken him to an offsite adoption event. He was so scared. He was just shivering with fear and anxiety, and I just picked him up and held him, and it took about 30 minutes before I could feel him relax. And people don't realize that. Especially when it's a pet that has had a home their whole life, whether that's five years, 10 years, 15 years, and then for whatever reason they're in a shelter and they don't understand. And it's scary and it's loud and it's unknown. And I, people don't realize how important legacy planning is. So your pet doesn't have to go through that, that you have someone who will take them or who has said they will take. Them and you make plans because so many of us, you never know what could happen. Anybody can get sick or end up in a hospital for different reasons. And so that really is such an important thing, to plan for so that your pet isn't one of the ones left in a situation that is not, good for them, especially when they're older.

Angela Dinsmoor 12:44

It's really challenging. There's a lot that goes into it. In the end of the, at the end of the day, the dog is the one who usually suffers, or the cat is the one who usually suffers as a result of that kind of situation. Yeah, absolutely.

Julie Marty-Pearson 12:56

So having now had, I think you said six senior dogs in your care, what have you learned from the senior pets in your life? What have they taught you about things?

Angela Dinsmoor 13:09

Oh. They've taught me all the things. So we've had six that we adopted specifically as seniors, but we've had nine altogether. And so even more experienced than that. And I think I learned something different from everyone. And I think maybe that is one of the things I've learned from senior pets, is that they can teach you so much if you pay attention to them. There's so much you can learn from them. You can be a better human being because they'll teach you about patience and they'll teach you about. Treasuring what you have in front of you, and they'll teach you about learning to enjoy the moment instead of living in the future. And they'll, they'll teach you practical things like how to manage heart problems and how to manage seizure disorder and in your case, how to manage diabetes and. You learn tactical things and you also learn like the emotional heartfelt things too, which are so important to me. They've the, all of those, the lessons I've learned from every senior dog. Oh, and the other thing I always think of is that they teach us that pets really do communicate quite well. I feel like older dogs. Are better at communicating with us than maybe younger ones are, because younger ones are just more energetic and they're all over the place and they have a lot more spirit to them. And where an old dog is a little slower and a little more soulful. So I think they're better at communicating with us too. So that's a huge part of, I think what you can learn from senior dogs.

Julie Marty-Pearson 14:31

Yeah, that is so true. The older dogs and cats, they're just so soulful. Like you feel like you can feel what they're feeling when you look into their eyes and you pet them. There's just such a connection there because it's like they're giving you that wisdom through that connection. Something like that, and I also, I know it's hard for some people, for the, at the end of a pet's life and watching them decline, having to make difficult decisions, even being with them if they're being, put to sleep. But I've always found that like such a powerful experience I've been with even my childhood dog and all my cats. When it worked at, when it was, we were able to make decisions that like. Why wouldn't I be with them? Why wouldn't I go through this process for them? Because they've been there for me through all the ups and downs and hard stuff, right? So I think it's hard for me sometimes to understand people that can't do that, but we all grieve and process things differently. But I do believe there's such a connection and we can learn so much from them, from just being, connected to them in that later stage of their life.

Angela Dinsmoor 15:32

Yeah, I agree. Even the dog that we had for two weeks, her name was Rose and I drove to, this is during the pandemic. I drove to Ohio from Colorado to pick her up because she was 14 and she was sick and she was, I knew she was sick. They didn't actually have any diagnostics on her, but I knew she was unwell and I didn't want her to die on the shelter floor. And so I took her, I picked, I drove all the way to Ohio. I picked her up, I brought her back, and we had her for. I think it was like all told, it was nine days in Colorado, but with the driving and everything, it was two weeks and she was so grateful for that two weeks. She spent her last days on a bed in front of the fireplace and she chased a ball and she took walks and she had a housemate who loved her and snuggled up to her. She had another doggy body to keep her warm and she just experienced love. And I think that's just such a huge thing for them. They appreciate that so much.

Julie Marty-Pearson 16:25

Yeah. And it, people don't realize if they have an experience, how powerful it is to give them that and that they will let you know how much they, how grateful they are. And you'll get that feeling back from them. That is the hard part. Whatever you're adopting or fostering is you don't know all the time what their life was before they came into your world and good, bad, or not. The one thing I've learned about animals is they're so forgiving of humans. Absolutely. And what we do to them. And I wish humans could be a little more forgiving because even when they've been through hell and left, for whatever reason, they still have love to give and they're still generous with that love in the end.

Angela Dinsmoor 17:05

They are. And we've had some pretty sad stories in some of our dogs. We don't know all the stories, but you can tell, broken bones and terror of men and like shrinking, cringing when you go to touch them. And e even if they're not, even if we don't know their actual stories, they're still speaking their stories to us. And I think it's. The fact that they can forgive us through all that is just unbelievable.

Julie Marty-Pearson 17:28

Absolutely. And it's a

Angela Dinsmoor 17:29

thing we all should reflect in our own selves personally. Like I think all humans should be a little more like that.

Julie Marty-Pearson 17:35

And you mentioned earlier patience. I know sometimes I'll get mad at Charlie, like, why did you like, just missed the puppy pad? Dude, you couldn't have moved another inch. But then I'm like. He's 16, he's old. It hurts. He squatted. That's where he squatted, yeah. And sometimes we have to take a step back. We're busy and we're, but it's not their fault. They're doing the best they can. And so anyone listening that maybe has thought about fostering or adopting a senior dog or taking in a pet that isn't young and you're not sure their age or health, what are some tips you would give them to prepare them and their house? To welcome a senior pet into their family?

Angela Dinsmoor 18:14

Oh, that's a good question. Let's see. So first of all, I would say, try to find out what you can about the dog's mobility and health and cognitive function. Consider whether the. Dog is safe. If you have stairs, if you really like the dog and you still have stairs, then find a way to blockade the stairs. That's one of the most important things that I think people neglect to consider is that a dog very easily with vision problems or mobility problems or balance problems falls downstairs or tries to climb them unsuccessfully. I think, floors are like. Carpets are no longer cool anymore and we all have hard, slippery floors for our pets. But and that's not a consideration 'cause many senior dogs have problems on slippery floors. Just be prepared to monitor whether your dog might need some mobility devices or some traction, or you might need some rugs for your floors. I always assume that everybody that we adopt senior wise is going to come into us with some incontinence, whether that's like they weren't house trained properly or they don't remember it anymore, or their medical conditions mean that they can't hold it as long. They do have a little, senior dogs do have a little trouble with adapting to routine. At first, I find you have like when we had, we have always have one senior dog in the house at any given time. And when we bring in another. It's, there's always a little bit of a learning curve there, and I think senior dogs do pretty well at figuring out the routine of the household as long as maybe they have another pet to look to for the routine. That helps a lot. If the dog that you're adopting is going to be the only dog in your home and he or she is a senior, then I think you might have to spend more time watching him and observing him and. Establishing a routine that he can follow easily when he's not being guided by another dog to teach him those parts of your family environment. So I think like some basically mobility and traction and safety. Yeah. And then always assessing the dog when they first come in for, I. Like shelters and fosters and rescues are doing fantastic work with seniors. But many times seniors when they come in, they just, the, especially if they've been living in a shelter, and sometimes even with Fosters, they don't really have a, they're not really dialed into the dog's personalities or the cat's personalities. So sometimes you have to do that assessment yourself when you get there. And I think allowing space for the dog to feel safe. And then assessing him and helping him through the hard parts of the day so that he can adapt to your family's lifestyle is huge.

Julie Marty-Pearson 20:42

Yeah, absolutely. I don't not everyone realizes how much change these animals are going through whatever life they had into a rescue, a foster, a shelter, and again, how they act in a shelter, especially isn't gonna necessarily be how they act in your home. But you know, a shelter often, definitely in a confined space. They're not being walked every day necessarily. They may be going where they are because that's. The space they're in. So it takes some time to relearn, oh, I can go here and not have to go wherever I'm laying. And I can also imagine for senior pets, maybe make their space limited at first so they don't feel like they have to wander around to find you or find things. One of the things we've done for Charlie is we have. Puppy pads in several places. We have water dishes in several places, so on the days he's a little, having a harder time. He doesn't have to go all the way out to the kitchen to eat. We, there's little things we can do, but I think what you said is really important is don't expect them to pick things up overnight. And that's true of any pet. Imagine yourself for sure. Not being able to be really communicated to, taken from your home to a place you don't know. You don't know where things are, like no one's gonna bounce back overnight. And especially a senior pet that may have some cognitive issues as well.

Angela Dinsmoor 21:58

And one of the things I'll say about senior pets especially that I think in that learning process, they're really good. And I don't think people under Uhand this enough and give them enough credit for this, but they're really good at settling into the family routine and they actually really like it. So I think because maybe some of them have been in shelters and had some pretty questionable backgrounds in their younger lives as well. If you give a pet a senior pet the routine of a daily like predictable process, they really settle well into that and they can become the easiest to take care of. Yeah, they're gonna have medical issues later down the line and probably some of them are gonna have confusion later down the line. But you know, when you adopt a dog who's like. Say anywhere from 10 to possibly 12, depending on the size or breed. 10, maybe even 14. They, you can get a really sweet spot there where they settle in really nicely to your house and they're like so easy to take care of. They don't require five mile runs. You don't have to take them to the daycare center so that you can have your zoom calls without everybody like listening to your dog barking in the background. They're happy with a bed by your desk and some good like walks during the day and then they're pretty much good to go. Like they, some toys and some enrichment and then that's, there's a really a spot where you get into this really smooth sailing that's really lovely to enjoy.

Julie Marty-Pearson 23:20

I think that's such an important thing. People often I don't have time, or I can't walk them all the time. It's there are pets out there that don't need all of that. They just need a space. Exactly. A safe space and some love and food and as we get older, we like. We like schedules, we like to know we're going to eat at this time and Right.

Angela Dinsmoor 23:38

Yep.

Julie Marty-Pearson 23:39

And a lot of these pets, whether it's been a short time or a long time, they haven't had that consistency. They crave that animals like routine. They like knowing I do this at this time and then I get fed. And, it's so funny because even our cats have learned. I work from home, I'll go to get up and I see one of them in the doorway. I'm like, oh, okay. And then they follow me in to get treats or whatever it may be. And even when I've had dogs, it's the same way. They learn your routine, they learn your movement. And when they see you do something, they know, oh good, I can go do that now. So it really is that patience and time and giving, giving the animals time to adjust. But also preparing yourself in your home to give them the best possible environment. So they're safe too. I think that's, yes. When you talked about the stairs, that's a big one. People don't think of, they think they're old. They wouldn't even try it. I'm like, no animals wanna do the thing. Oh no. So block it off. Don't even give them the option.

Angela Dinsmoor 24:36

And that's maybe another facet of the adjustment to mention is that, I can't tell you in all the like six seniors that we've brought home, some of them have been liter, literally on death row. A couple of them have been I would say three, and then the other three, it was like, they're definitely not thriving, but they're doing okay. They're depressed, they're shut down. But once a dog gets into a new environment and really starts to get the lay of the land and feel safe, oh, he's gonna try things. I can promise you he's gonna try things. One of our dogs that we adopted as a senior, and I, my husband and I talked about bringing her in, her name was Esther. We talked about it for quite a while, and we weren't sure she would fit with our younger dog. And, we ended up adopting her anyway because I couldn't ignore her face after I saw her, and I knew her plight, so I brought her in. She tried to set the kitchen on fire. So once they get to the point where they feel like they have their lives back, they're gonna try some things. So you need to be prepared. So yes, stairs are not off. The limits if that kind of thing happens.

Julie Marty-Pearson 25:36

Oh and I think that's the best part. No matter what an animal's age is, their personality shines through. And you know for sure our pets bring us so much joy. I, and I remember my husband and I were talking about somebody, he heard a story like, can you imagine? They just said I can't afford that. I'm not gonna do it. How would you ever not do what your pet needs? And I'm like, yeah, we don't understand that. We would pay for their stuff before we pay for our own. But not everybody does that. Sure. And they did. But no matter what, they bring you so much joy and in the end you see them getting to enjoy their life however much longer they have of it. And to be a small part of that journey is very powerful.

Angela Dinsmoor 26:14

It is. Yes, it is. And I have so many wonderful memories of just flashes, of things that happened with our dogs that it just, it just makes my life better going through it to know that I had moments like that with a pet who was so shut down when they came to us and then, we were able to change that for them. So

Julie Marty-Pearson 26:31

it's, yeah. It's to

Angela Dinsmoor 26:31

be able to do those kinds of things as a gift.

Julie Marty-Pearson 26:34

Oh, it is. And. And you only really have to volunteer once at a shelter or rescue. Any kind of attention you're giving these animals that are stuck in cages all day and shelters are overpopulated, understaffed, right under resourced and. Even if it's just a five minute walk or a half hour break, or, our, some of my shelters where I live, they do doggies day out and you can go in and take a shelter dog out for the day. And people don't realize how important those little things are for animals because they don't have any of it when they're in a situation that they're in a shelter. And so every little bit of time you can spend with them makes a huge difference.

Angela Dinsmoor 27:15

Statistically speaking, every little bit of time they get from someone who pays attention directly to them one-on-one makes them more adoptable too. I think that's a really important piece to mention because I so for years I was a certified animal massage therapist and I worked with the school, or I taught with the school that I worked with and we would do our massage practical weeks in shelters. And the adoption numbers would increase the week we were there for the animals that we had worked on because the students were practicing massage on the dogs and they were happier and they were more content, and they were more relaxed and they were calmer, and they made better first impressions on people where they came through the kennels. To look at them. So the numbers of adoptions would go up every week. We were in the kennel working and the same goes for, dog walks, like if a and a field day out. Those things are huge. If a dog gets a chance to go, like hike in the woods with you or spend the night with you, some shelters do that as well. Their adoptability rates skyrocket, and that's a really important thing that we who have the power to volunteer in shelters and other organizations can offer pets in those situations.

Julie Marty-Pearson 28:24

Absolutely. And for us, we've decided no new pets. Charlie gets to live out his golden years. Stress free. No big changes. But that's lovely. I miss having dogs. I miss that interaction. And so one way I can help is by going and taking a dog out for a day. And you get all the love and attention, but you know what I see a lot of rescues and shelters doing is they're using that time to learn about the dog's personality. 'cause you're gonna learn more about them when they're outside the shelter and. One of my local shelters, they do this little info sheet where you write down like, what did they like, what didn't they like? How were, how was their personality? And they also take video and then that gets shared on social media. I think a lot of people don't realize just, an hour or a day that you spend with the dog and learn about them and share them could make all the difference in them getting outta the shelter, for good.

Angela Dinsmoor 29:14

And you don't have spec, you don't have to have special skills to do that. You don't have to have the ability to take a dog from a shelter on a three mile walk for your volunteer effort. It doesn't have to be a big thing, it just has to be little. It could be riding in a car,

Julie Marty-Pearson 29:26

having a pup cup, it's little things that Totally. It's all different for them. So I know. Some of your work, you also help people who have senior pets and you have and have done things like in-home grooming, helping with diets for senior pets. Can you talk a little bit about more about what you do with that and how you help other families with their senior pets?

Angela Dinsmoor 29:49

Yeah, sure. Thank you. I'm the founder of Grey Whiskers. So that business is focused on all kinds of different things for senior dogs, and the mission of the whole business entirety is to improve the lives of senior dogs and the people who love and care for them. So to that end, like you mentioned, I offer geriatric specialized grooming services in homes in Denver. Because it's where I'm based. And then I also write a newsletter, biweekly newsletter, to help educate pet parents and other pet professionals about the intricacies and some of the quirks and some of the wonderful things about dealing with senior dogs. So that's been a really popular thing that a lot of my clients and other readers are getting information and that resource I love. I'm really passionate about providing education about the aging process and pets. And then we're building a community for senior pet parents and pet professionals. So it'll be a place where everybody can come together and learn about senior animals, senior dogs especially, find resources to care for them, and then have conversations for emotional support for the difficult times. And also just a place to be able to come together and celebrate the little silly things our old dogs are doing too. And then the last piece is the piece I'm most excited about, and that's that I'm creating a certification program to teach other groomers who are interested in learning to work with old dogs to do what I do for a living. So that'll be a geriatric certification course. Where they can get all the information. I've been doing this for eight years and I've become quite adept at handling a lot of, I've seen a lot, I've experienced a lot in my work with dogs one-on-one, so this is a chance for me to be able to pay it forward and teach other people in other communities to take on this work because I can't, unfortunately help all of the dogs all over the country just by myself. As much as I talk to, I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

Julie Marty-Pearson 31:42

And people don't realize how important grooming is. And it's so funny, again, with our cat, we got dry shampoo and so now, every couple days my husband cleans him with it. 'cause Charlie, he's diabetic. He doesn't have as much saliva as he used to. He also doesn't have as much clean himself energy to clean himself as he used to. And that's pretty consistent across all, senior pets, they get to a point where that's not a priority so much anymore. Yes. So I can only imagine the situations you've seen with senior dogs and needing some grooming.

Angela Dinsmoor 32:13

It has. And most groomers are groomers who are in the communities all over the country, are doing a really great job with younger dogs and they're trying with the senior dogs. They just don't, we're not as groomers taught that specific skillset. So this is a way for me to be able to extend what I know out to other people. But they're trying really hard. They just need better skills. And senior dog grooming, like at the very end. Type days. Palliative care days, grooming is still super important. Maybe not the entire body, but making sure there are no mats. Cleaning in front of the eyes, cleaning below the eyes, cleaning underneath the tail. Cleaning the feet is huge, doing toenails and shaving paw pads is huge for mobility. So if somebody is in. Pretty good shape. Like the owner has been able to manage haircuts at home by themselves. But they can't, they're not comfortable doing nails and paw pads. Great job on doing the rest of the body, but somebody still gotta take care of those feet because that is a critical point for senior dogs to be able to keep their mobility at home and not hurt themselves. Every dog, every senior dog should be having nail trims once a month at the least. So that kind of attention to detail is super important and I want to be able to help every, everyone learn how to do that, both for their own pets and as professionals as well.

Julie Marty-Pearson 33:27

No, that's such an important piece because it is about mobility and their ability to still get around, but also I think, think about when we get our hair done, like it makes you feel better when you're cleaner and you're, that's so cool. Yeah. You're, people don't really think about, even as pets, they feel better when they're clean and they're taken care of in that way.

Angela Dinsmoor 33:46

I saw a 14-year-old poodle the other day. Go ahead, sorry.

Julie Marty-Pearson 33:49

Oh, 14. Oh my gosh. No, go ahead.

Angela Dinsmoor 33:53

I saw a 14-year-old little miniature poodle the other day for the first time. And his mom, I told her when I left. Now, just be careful because he might get the zoomies when he wakes up from his nap. And I know you think that he may not want to because you haven't seen him do the zoomies in so long, but just be careful. And she was like, oh, I haven't seen him do anything like that in a while. I said watch him around stairs, watch him trying to jump on and off the furniture. Anything that he hasn't done in a few years that he used to do when he was happy before. Just keep an eye on him so he doesn't hurt himself. Trying those things. And she texted me the next morning to say that he took a long nap and then he got up and he wanted to go for a walk, and when he came back, he started racing around the house. So she's I didn't think he still had it in him. So they do, when they get a haircut, they feel better, they feel lighter. If. As a woman, especially if you get three inches cut off of your hair, you feel lighter. Yeah. Oh, my neck are the same. Neck hurt.

Julie Marty-Pearson 34:44

Yeah.

Angela Dinsmoor 34:45

Yes. I'm not so hot anymore. Yeah. It's all that stuff.

Julie Marty-Pearson 34:48

Even just, like me, I need to have my grays covered. It makes a difference when you look at yourself in the mirror, and does, and one of the, one of the cats we had I just thought of this. It was a sign something was wrong because he wasn't taking care of himself. He wasn't cleaning. He had gotten a mat and he'd never had that before. And towards the end, even like the little pieces of litter were clumped in between his little paw pads because he couldn't clean it the way he used to. And so sometimes those kinds of things are signs that something else is going on. And that's another reason to pay attention to your pets, because if you see a change in grooming, something's going on. If that's not normal, it's a sign. But you also have to realize there are points where they can't do it anymore and we need to be doing it for them so that they do feel better and can get around and do everything they wanna do.

Angela Dinsmoor 35:37

And I think that's especially important with cats. Because cats are lifelong groomers. They're very fastidious. They take very good care of themselves. And so when a cat does start to get older, it, you do have to sort of assess. It's contextual, right? You've gotta assess whether, is it just that he's getting so old, he doesn't care anymore that much. Or has he always been really proud of the way he looks? And now this is a weird change and we should have it checked out. And the same goes for dogs too. They can't clean underneath their tails. They end up getting a little messier back there. They don't necessarily rub their eyes like they used to clean them up. And so we just have to be mindful of what's changing for them and to try to take it in context to make sure we have a normal process for them, or if they need to be seen by a vet or something.

Julie Marty-Pearson 36:18

Yeah. I've noticed more probably as an adult, I didn't really notice it when I was young with my dogs, but even like their coat changes sometimes as they get older. Just the texture it does and the feel, and it's not necessarily, they're not cleaning. It's just, my hair's changed over the years, so I know that yes, as we grow parts of our body shift, and it may not be that something's wrong, it's just you have to help them more because their body is changing just right, like everyone does when we age. Exactly. Just like everyone

Angela Dinsmoor 36:46

does. Human or not.

Julie Marty-Pearson 36:47

Yeah. Even though we try to hide it, we all go through it. I really appreciate Angela, you being here and sharing your experience, sharing your tips, and we'll have all the links to, to Gray Whiskers and all of the information you provide people so others can learn. But I really lo enjoy getting to know you and hearing your story. And hopefully someone out there is listening and decides to volunteer or foster or even adopt a senior pet and help, give them, give that space that you do for yours. So I just wanna thank you for your time and for coming and sharing it with all of us here. And I really. Hope that others will think about doing the same for senior pets, and give them a chance to have live their life out in a happy healthy spot in your home.

Angela Dinsmoor 37:36

I agree with you. I hope so too. Thank you so much for having me on. This is one of those things that I'm really passionate about. Obviously it's what I do for a living, but even if I didn't, I would still be entrenched in this area of senior dogs' lives. And I really want everybody to have all the information they have, they can about it, and also some enthusiasm because it is a, it's a fun experience to be able to have. So thanks for the platform to speak with you about that stuff.

Julie Marty-Pearson 38:00

Absolutely. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Story of My Pet podcast. I appreciate you listening and supporting the podcast, and if you haven't already, wherever you are listening to this episode, make sure you hit follow or subscribe and leave us a rating or review. All of that helps the podcast grow and get to even more listeners, and help us educate and advocate for animals in need around the world. If you haven't done so already, make sure to check out our new YouTube channel, Story of My Pet podcast. Again, hit the subscribe button, give us some likes and comments on our videos, and that will help the podcast grow on its, on YouTube. Thank you so much for being here, and much love to you and your pet