Every month it seems we have at least one national observance that focuses on our pets. Last month it was Adopt a Shelter Dog month and this month is another special month – it’s National Senior Pet Month, a month we devote to adopting, caring for and loving our senior pets.
Since their lifespans are so much shorter than ours, a “senior” is usually designated as being over the age of 9 for a cat, and for a dog, it may be 9 years for a small dog like a Chihuahua or as young as 6 for an extra-large breed like a Great Dane. The old adage of dogs aging 7 years for each calendar year isn’t really accurate anymore as veterinarians have studied this more carefully over the years and it varies according to how large the dog is.
But whatever age your pet is, once they get into those senior years, they require a different level of care in order to keep them as healthy as possible and to minimize those aging issues like arthritis or cataracts. This month we will be discussing all things ‘senior,’ so look out for more blogs coming soon.