dogs | These are the Dogs of my Life

I wrote this article for a local newspaper but thought I’d share it here, as so many people don’t know ElderDog Canada exists, and it’s such an important service for senior dog owners in our communities.

The best part is, ElderDog is national, so you can find visit their website at elderdog.ca and find a PAWD near you, if you’re interested in getting involved!

An introduction to ElderDog Canada:

When attending events in the community as people walk by my booth I ask, “Are you aware of ElderDog and what we do?” And sadly, the answer is often “No.” I feel like ElderDog Canada is one of Canada’s best kept secrets, so let me share a little about who we are and what we do.

Who is ElderDog?

ElderDog is a national not-for-profit organization, who is 100% volunteer based. We are dedicated to aging people, aging dogs, and the important connection they enjoy.

ElderDog started in 2009, and our first PAWD started in 2009, in Dartmouth East, NS. Since than we have grown to 40 PAWDs across Canada!

Our services are all free to the community, which is why you will often see ElderDog Canada out fundraising at local events.

ElderDog’s services and programs:

Dog care support for seniors:

Assisting seniors with walking their dogs, so they can stay in the home with their humans.

Delivering or picking dog food from grocery or pet store.

Light tasks associated with animal hygiene.

Nail clipping (if the dog is good with it) and/or brushing the dog.

Transportation to and from the vet and/or groomer.

Temporary care if the senior is hospitalized, for a brief period of time.

Rehoming of older dogs:

For older dogs who have lost their human companion due to a change of residence, illness, or death. ElderDog will provide care to the dog by:

Moving the dog into an approved ElderDog foster home.

Adopt the dog to a loving forever home.

Long-term & perpetuity care:

This program provides peace of mind to our senior community. When a senior registers in this program, if they become unable to care for their dog, ElderDog is committed to place their loving companion in a forever home to live out their life with respect and dignity.

Get involved:

If you wish to get involved with ElderDog there are a few ways to do so.

Volunteer – our volunteers are crucial to our success and ability to assist the seniors in our community. All our volunteers are subject to a vulnerable sector police check, to ensure the safety of our seniors and their dogs. We have leadership opportunities, along with needing fosters and dog care support.

Spread the word – We don’t want to be a secret; we don’t want seniors feeling they must rehome their beloved pet due to a temporary illness or if they need assistance exercising him/her.

Donate – We rely on donations to support our work and provide the care needed to the dogs in our community.

Stay in touch:

To learn more about ElderDog please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ElderDogKamloops/ 

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elderdog_canada_kamloops/

Check out our website for more information: www.elderdog.ca

It’s been several years since I’ve written, and I’m quite sure most followers have moved on. And that’s ok, because I started this blog as an outlet for me to share the good, bad, and ugly of it all when it came the dogs in my life.

Although truth be told, none was bad or ugly, all of it was good, being part of the journey for each of the dogs of my life was and continues to be a privilege.

And now several years later, still in BC, still a dog mom to Flipflop, who is now a senior boy with one eye, but still loving his life. I am still a cat mom to Sixx, who is also a senior and despite being in kidney failure, is doing amazingly well, I’m back to volunteering and fulfilling my purpose……..helping animals.

I volunteer for three places now, not as a foster, as I am honouring Flipflop’s decision to not have other dogs in our home, but as Foster Support for a local rescue in town, I am also the Communications Coordinator for ElderDog Canada – Kamloops PAWD, an amazing organization that helps seniors keep dogs in their home, and the last Sunday of the month I go to a lovely animal sanctuary for farm animals and assist in cleaning their living spaces and get to interact with them. I will share more about that too!

A lot has happened the past few years, most recently, Flipflop, me, Janet, and Hazel (aka “big lady”), said goodbye to Miss Ellie.

Never in my life have I witnessed a dog love another like Flipflop loved his Miss Ellie. We are all still processing such a great loss, and perhaps down the road, I will share more about that, but right now I want to respect her mom and her personal grief.

From a distance I also said goodbye to Vanya (aka Bambi), who passed away in early 2025 due to cancer. She was still so young, and still missed so much by her mom.

We also said a very tearful goodbye to Solo. My last foster, who found a wonderful family who understood him and gave him the most wonderful life. We’re not sure what happened to Solo, perhaps a stroke, but something changed in him, and his family did right by him and let him go peacefully with love and dignity.

So why am I back after all this time? Honestly, I have no idea, I am just feeling inspired to write again, after a very long time.

If you’re still around and following me, hello again, I am not 100% sure which direction this will take, or what I’ll write about, but here we go……..