Senior-To-Senior: Finding A Way To Cope

When losing a loved one, finding a way to cope can be hard.

It’s why one local animal shelter is helping older animals and senior citizens find companionship with each other.

There’s something therapeutic about pets.

Animals often come to us at times when we need them most.

“Last year, I lost my wife. We were married over 50 years… 51 years actually, before she died. My wife got Alzheimer’s. I took care of her for over seven years. She died right here in the house. It was kind of, hard on me. All those years, we basically did everything together. And so I miss her a lot,” said Bill Sunderland of Fargo.

Bill and Judy Sunderland: a marriage lasting more than half a century.

“I seem to be getting over it pretty good. I’ve gone to some grief sessions with hospice. So… Life goes on…” Sunderland said.

Judy told Bill, she always wanted a gazebo in the backyard.

He didn’t get chance to build it before she died, but he did put one there in her honor.

“So my son and I built the gazebo last fall. We had a carpenter help with the roof and all that kinda stuff. I thought, I’m gonna build it in her memory, so that’s what I did… Her favorite flower was yellow roses. Oh, I think she would have loved it, yeah. I sit out there quite a bit too. I enjoy that. Brings back memories. My granddaughter, Isabelle, thought I looked kind of lonely, so she said, grandpa, you know you need a cat. And I said, no, I don’t really need a cat. I said, what if I want to go away for a while. And so I thought about it for a while and I thought well maybe I could use a cat. So I talked to my granddaughter again, I said, I think I might get a cat. About a week went by, and my granddaughter called and says, why don’t we go on Friday, you pick me up from school and we’ll go up and look at a cat. And so they showed me Halle, and that cat is just ten years old, it’s not just a kitten,” Sunderland said.

“Halle was from the Fargo pound. She was picked up as a stray, and no one came forward for her,” said Heather Clyde, manager of the Homeward Animal Shelter.

“So they showed me this cat, she was so friendly, they gave it to me, it started purring. And I thought, boy that’s great, I’m gonna take that cat,” Sunderland said.

“Unfortunately, even with her unique markings, a lot of people tend to look over her just because her age said 10 years,” Clyde said.

“They told the rest of the staff that I was taking this 10–year–old cat, and everybody just cheered, they thought they’d probably never get rid of a 10–year–old cat. But we took it. She’s just been really good, I’ve really enjoyed her. Just a wonderful cat, I didn’t have to do any training, or anything like that,” Sunderland said.

Bill was in luck.

Through Homeward Animal Shelter’s Senior–To–Senior program, adopting Halle the cat would cost him nothing.

“Any of the animals that are six years or older that are adopted by a senior citizen, the adoption fee is completely waived,” Clyde said.

“Yeah, I wasn’t really expecting that, but I was glad when it worked out that way. There were a couple of health issues going on with it, and the shelter took care of all those for me, it was no expense to me at all,” Sunderland said.

“Well, I lost my dog at the end of October, and it was after my birthday, which I turned 80. His name was Scruffy, and I got him when he was six weeks old. And he was black, all black. And he didn’t really have any problems until he reached about 15. So I thought, well, if I’m going to do anything about getting another dog, I’m gonna just have to work another one in. If he’s a little bit older, that’s fine, which is real good with me,” said Caroline Melhus of Fargo.

“There is some appeal to having an older animal because a lot of times, the temperament and the energy level is the same as the person that’s adopting them,” Clyde said.

Caroline Melhus and her husband Lynn met Teddy at Homeward just weeks after Scruffy passed.

“He’s eight and a half years old, and he’s ready to go, and he’s had all his shots, and I thought, oh I’ve got to see this dog. I’ll be he’s really something else. They brought him out, and my husband was sitting to me and he looked at him and I looked at him and I thought, isn’t he cute. I think this will be our last dog. Because I can’t see me living into my late 90’s with a dog and do justice to the animal. Hopefully the lord will give me enough years to take care of him because I think the world of that dog,” Melhus said.

When asked if Halle helped him with the loss of his wife, Sunderland said, “Yeah, I think it’s helped me a lot. Having someone around here, you know. I sit on the couch and watch TV and she comes up, jumps in my lap, and starts purring. That’s pretty soothing. So that’s helped. I’ve had other cats in the past. But never was quite as friendly as this cat is,” Sunderland said.

If you’d like to find out more about the Senior–To–Senior program, click here.