The world loves puppies and kittens – especially when it comes to adopting. But what about older pets?
Adopt a Senior Pet Month is here, reminding us that older dogs and cats can be the most wonderful companions imaginable. Angela Shankar, owner of Leash Love in Lynn, MA, can testify to that. Angela has been rescuing animals of all ages and states of health her whole life.
“I was raised in a rescue home,” Angela said. “Growing up it was totally normal to have eight cats. My dad used to work in Brooklyn where the cat colonies are out of control. He’d bring them home, and my mom and I would take them to get fixed.”
Angela learned to care for older and ill pets as a pharmacy tech at MSPCA-Angell. She added grooming skills during a stint at Petco, and soon, her pet sitting & dog walking side gig became a full-time business.
Along the way Angela kept up her rescue work, eventually starting her own group, All Sentient Beings, which specializes in cats. After her first foster cat had a kitten with cerebellar hypoplasia, she developed a specialty in special care/hospice services. “I’ve helped cats that are blind, deaf, three-legged and even those with FIV and feline leukemia,” she said. “They say cats with feline leukemia only live 2-5 years, but every one I’ve had has lived more than 7 years.”
Angela has taken in ailing cats as old as 20 like Muffin (pictured) – even providing one with IV fluids for kidney failure. “If I didn’t, they’d die in a shelter, as opposed to a nice home,” she said. “It gives them the dignity they deserve.”
Angela also is mom to two rescue dogs, Anna and Jackson, Alaskan Malamutes that were rescued by Save Korean Dogs right before they were scheduled to be butchered. Today they are loving family members who are trained as sled dogs and even help make sure new pups will fit in with the Leash Love pack.
Somebody so caring for seniors and rescues deserves a great pet care tool, and for Angela, it’s PetPocketbook. “I love the lack of human error,” she said. “I don’t worry about that anymore. Now when clients cancel, it automatically comes off their schedule. It’s been a lifesaver.”
You can be a lifesaver, too, for a senior pet!