When Dr. Ardra Cole founded ElderDog Canada over 16 years ago, she couldn’t have imagined how far reaching her mission to provide support to seniors and their older pets would become. Now, the latest chapter or ‘Pawd’, run by Sophia Krstin is set to launch in Squamish next month.
“When we first hit the ground in Nova Scotia, I was thinking ‘oh if I could only get 10 volunteers we could start one Pawd,’” said Cole. “Now Sophia’s Pawd will be number 40 across the country and we have over 8000 volunteers on our registry!”
ElderDog Canada is a charitable organization that helps seniors and their pets in a few key ways. One way is through dog care support, where they help less mobile seniors with pet exercise or help transport pets to their vet appointments. Another is through rehoming older dogs of owners who can no longer care for their animals. The goal at ElderDog though is to keep pets and their owners together as long as possible, said Cole.
For Cole, the idea for ElderDog came from a convergence of her professional and personal life. As a researcher and professor at Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, she saw first hand the importance of family dogs to people living with dementia. The catalyst for ElderDog though was after Cole’s brother died, leaving behind his beloved, but ageing, chocolate lab Mr. Brown.
“That prompted the question, well, what happens to all those old Mr. Browns who lose their companions and don’t have anywhere to go?” said Cole.
Krstin is also no stranger to the impact pets have on their owners lives. She has been fostering dogs for years, as well as volunteering at Hilltop House for the visiting library service. She first learned of ElderDog through a social media post for a Pawd in Vancouver, and sent in an application. Cole then approached her about starting Squamish’s very own Pawd. So far, the setup has been going smoothly.
“We’ve had so much interest from the community,” said Krstin. “We have a list of 12 vetted volunteers already and more in the pipeline.”
Elderdog Canada has been very hands on in helping the Squamish Pawd get up and running, noted Krstin. After helping 39 other Pawds launch, the main office is adept at building out everything necessary for a new Pawd’s success. “They are really guiding us,” said Krstin.
With the official launch approaching, ElderDog’s Squamish Pawd is now starting to vet potential clients. However, they are hoping to fill two more volunteer administrative positions as Social media, and education and outreach coordinators before they get officially underway.
For Cole, seeing the impact her volunteering has on clients has been the most rewarding part of the past 16 years.
“Every small act of kindness that a volunteer provides just makes a huge difference in someone’s life,” said Cole. “Even those who have had to give up their dog, they’re so thankful knowing that their dog is being loved and cared for.”
Krstin echoes that sentiment and sees Squamish as the perfect place to grow that spirit. “I’m really excited to bring Elder Dog to Squamish,” she said. “I think this is a really exciting opportunity to give back to the community and really bring people together.”
To keep updated on the ElderDog Squamish Pawd Launch follow their Facebook.
Those interested in volunteering can fill out an application on the ElderDog Canada website.
There’s also a toll free number 1-855-336-4226, and a general email info@elderdog.ca for those with general inquiries or who need assistance with their pets.
