Caring for Pets Who Outlive Their Owners

The elderly woman knew she was dying, but it was her pets that she talked about at the hospital. Who would watch after her three dogs when she was gone?

Dog groomer Barbara Chappell, who told me this story, had to go as far as San Diego to find proper homes for the woman’s beloved animals.

Chappell recalled: “When they told her that we’d found good homes for all three, the woman said ‘Praise the Lord.’ She died an hour later.” Chappell is convinced the woman hung on to life long enough to make sure her dogs were safe. That’s how much pets can mean to someone.

In recent years Chappell, who works out of Mission Viejo, began to see a growing problem: Elderly people worried what would happen to their pets if they died, or if they were no longer able to care for themselves. On her own, Chappell found homes for dozens of these animals.

Last year, Chappell and veterinarian Manjit Sindhu, who runs the Alisos Animal Hospital in Mission Viejo, formed a nonprofit group to address the problem. They call it Companion Pet Retreat Inc., and it’s no coincidence that the acronym is CPR. In 13 months of operation, it has placed 34 animals.

“This is something that weighs so heavily on the minds of these owners,” she said.

Most of us can relate to the distress this might bring to the elderly. I’ve had to bury two cats I was emotionally attached to.

Chappell’s job is more difficult because most of the animals her nonprofit group must place in homes are not young themselves.

“Most people want a puppy or a kitten,” Chappell said. “You have to get lucky to place a 9-year-old, slightly deaf German shepherd.”

Chappell did find a home for that very dog. It was a board-and-care home for seniors. Chappell says the residents love throwing a tennis ball for the dog to retrieve and bring back to them.

“These older animals can make great pets because they aren’t so frisky,” she said.

If CPR cannot find a home for the pet, or if the pet is simply too old to be placed, the animal won’t be destroyed. Sindhu told me that he and Chappell will keep the animals the rest of their natural lives, mostly at Sindhu’s animal hospital, where he has room for them and can keep them under constant care. So far, however, all the animals brought to CPR have been placed somewhere.

Sorry, Chappell says: No rabbits, snakes or goldfish. CPR is limited to dogs and cats.

Not Enough Tutti-Frutti? I caught Little Richard on TV the other day. He was excited about having his wax figure on display at the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park. This probably won’t sit well with the Buena Park Chamber of Commerce, but Little Richard thought the place was “down in Anaheim.” And his interviewers thought it was the “Hollywood” Wax Museum.

But Little Richard--the pop singer with the pompadour who is still going strong as he nears 65--was delighted about the experience of posing for the wax likeness. “They told me they’d never had so much hair to work with,” he chuckled. “I told them, ‘And you never will again, either.’ ”

Museum spokeswoman Brenda Bodnar says the singer has asked for a few touch-ups before formal ceremonies and an official opening.

“We’ll have quite a hoopla soon though,” she said.

John Travolta is having a few touch-ups done on his wax likeness there too.

“That will be a separate hoopla for him,” she said.

Security High? I love reading high school newspapers because it’s a chance to see what issues matter to young people in Orange County. This week there’s an interesting debate in the Mustang Stampede, out of Trabuco Hills High School, over the security staff at the school. Some students are apparently unhappy at being required to show their ID cards when leaving or coming to campus during the noon hour.

Jenn Thompson, one of the student writers, contends the students should treat the security officers with more respect because “they do their job despite the low pay . . . they are here to protect the students and keep the campus safe. . . . People need to stop complaining, pull out their ID card, and give credit where credit is due.”

But Editor in Chief Brooke Brenneman responds in a companion column that too often the guards just like to give students a hard time. “The system never seems to be there when it’s needed, but it’s sure there to harass us students. . . . Are the security guards getting a high off their duties?”

Issues like this mean more to students than anything we can write about bankruptcies or voter fraud. If I were a security guard on that campus, I’d try to make sure I didn’t seem to enjoy my job too much when the Mustang Stampede’s editor in chief came my way.

Wrap-Up: Don’t think that Companion Pet Retreat is a good place to get rid of a pet you don’t want. It will only take animals from people referred there by physicians, hospices, clergy, hospital personnel or groups involved with the terminally ill.

If those people need to find a home for such a pet--or you want to help out these worried seniors by taking their pets for them--CPR can be reached at (714) 707-1204.