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- Talking to a Loved One With Alzheimer’s
- 10 Powerful Ways to Commemorate Alzheimer’s Awareness Month
- Making the Most of Mealtimes for People With Alzheimer’s
- Family Members Provide 100 Hours a Month of Unpaid Care for Alzheimer’s
- Alzheimer’s Caregivers Should Be Screened for Depression
- Alzheimer’s Care Costs Far More Than Heart Disease or Cancer Care
- Obesity at Midlife May Speed Alzheimer’s Onset
- Hello from my mom
- Easing the Behavior Problems of Alzheimer’s Without Drugs
- When Alzheimer’s Leads to Legal Wrangles
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- High Blood Sugar Tied to Memory Decline
- Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Gets Closer
- Worried About Your Memory? Alzheimer’s May Not Be to Blame
- Brain Changes of Menopause May Promote Alzheimer’s
- Predicting Who Will Get Alzheimer’s
- Personality Changes Are Not the Earliest Sign of Alzheimer’s
- Midlife Heart Problems Raise Alzheimer’s Risk
- Anemia Tied to Mild Cognitive Impairment Risk
- Being Too Thin Late in Life Tied to Increased Alzheimer’s Risk
- A Sniff Test for Alzheimer’s Getting Closer
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- Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug, Intepirdine, Disappoints in Study
- An Eye Scan for Alzheimer’s?
- Drug to treat Alzheimer’s is Ranked Highest
- Patients Often Fail to Adhere to Alzheimer’s Drug Schedules
- Could Treatments for Diabetes Help Treat Alzheimer’s?
- Pharmacists Can Aid in Alzheimer’s Care
- Two-Drug Combo May Ease the Agitation of Alzheimer’s
- Are New, More Effective Alzheimer’s Drugs on the Horizon?
- Insulin Nasal Spray Shows Promise as Alzheimer’s Treatment
- Inflammation Holds Clues to Alzheimer’s Progression, and Possible Treatment
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- Fitness in Midlife Tied to Lower Dementia Risk in Old Age
- Doctor’s Orders: Exercise for the Sake of Your Brain
- Positive Beliefs About Aging May Help Fend Off Alzheimer’s
- Brain Training May Help to Ward Off Dementia
- How Art Can Aid People With Alzheimer’s
- Music Can Be a Balm for People With Alzheimer’s Disease
- Crossword Puzzles May Help Keep the Brain Young
- 7 Steps for Optimal Brain Health
- Men, Women and Alzheimer’s Risk
- Exercise Vigorously and Often to Boost Brain Health
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- Combining Care Program With Medication Reduces Alzheimer’s Symptoms By 750%
- Fisher Center Scientists make two new Significant Discoveries in the battle against Alzheimer’s
- Dementia Rates Are Slowing, but Alzheimer’s Cases Continue to Rise
- Fisher Center Scientists Create a Novel Imaging Technology Allowing the 3D Visualization of Brain Defects That Cause Alzheimer’s Disease
- Negative Beliefs About Aging Could Prime the Brain for Alzheimer’s
- Recognizing Faces Is a Challenge for Those With Alzheimer’s
- Fisher Center Scientists Discover Pathway That may Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease
- Brain Scans Move Closer to Early Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
- Can Vitamin E Slow Alzheimer’s Decline?
- World Alzheimer’s Month
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- The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation Earns Coveted 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator for the 7th Consecutive Year
- Hear Kent Karosen, President and CEO of the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, describe his new book and the power of art therapy
- Fisher Center Scientists link a Mutation That Protects Against the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Newly Inducted Into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Shaquille O’Neal, Joins the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation to Raise Funds for Groundbreaking Research in the Quest for a Cure
- Pat Summitt, legendary women’s basketball coach, dies at 64
- Celebrating the life of Nancy Reagan for her Impact on the Fight to end Alzheimer’s
- WRNN Interview
- Fisher Center’s 20th Anniversary Celebration and recent activities
- Featured on NASDAQ’s Billboard
- Online Chat on Reddit.com with Nobel Laureate Dr. Paul Greengard
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When Your Loved One Can’t Care for a Pet
What to do about pets when a loved one has Alzheimer’s is a delicate issue. Here’s some guidance to help you make the right decisions.
By Winnie Yu
For Rose Holland, Sparky was a constant companion who kept her company after Rose’s husband died 11 years ago. But when Rose developed Alzheimer’s and her memory got worse, taking care of the miniature chihuahua became increasingly difficult. Family members noticed that Sparky was gaining weight, while Rose was becoming thinner. Rose often fell when she picked up Sparky and tripped over his leash when she took him outside.
When her memory deteriorated, Rose’s family placed her in Autumn Leaves, an assisted-living facility in McKinney, Texas, where she was allowed to keep Sparky. But the problems didn’t go away. “She would stay in her room with the dog because she worried about him running away or somebody taking him,” says her granddaughter, Jamie Lopez, vice president of healthcare at Constant Care, the company that runs Autumn Leaves. “And at meal time, she couldn’t take the dog with her, so she’d ask to have the meals sent to her room.”
On top of losing weight, Rose had stopped socializing. Her family grew worried. Finally, in the fall of 2011, after consulting with other caregivers, Lopez and her mother and siblings decided to let another caregiver at Autumn Leaves take Sparky. These days, Sparky visits Rose once or twice a week and lives with the caregiver. Rose, now 88, has gained back 12 pounds and is socializing again.
A Delicate Balance
It isn’t easy when a loved one with Alzheimer’s can no longer care for a pet. The companionship and love that comes with having a pet must be weighed against any health and safety issues that arise from the responsibilities of owning a pet.
Mike Kiger, of Lake Oswego, Ore., for instance, couldn’t imagine separating his mom, Katie Kiger, 81, from her dog Keemac. So when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in November 2011, his brother agreed to let her live with him and his wife. “We were told that if we were to take her dog away from her that she would go down quicker,” Kiger says. “She needed the dog for therapy, and the dog needed her. She would be completely lost if we had taken her dog away from her.”
But as any pet owner knows, having a pet is a responsibility that involves feeding, walking and bathing, tasks that can be a challenge when memory and balance are compromised.
Lopez says her family struggled with the decision to separate her grandmother from Sparky. “Looking back, we knew what had to be done, but it was hard to recognize that when we knew how beneficial the dog was,” Lopez says. “In fact, I think it was harder on us than it was on her. We had so much guilt about taking Sparky away. Sparky has been her lifeline since my grandfather died.”
Having a pet is a responsibility that involves feeding, walking and bathing, tasks that can be a challenge when memory and balance are compromised.
What to Do
Whether to remove a pet from a person with Alzheimer’s requires careful thought and consideration. The key is to be honest about the situation and what needs to be done, Lopez says. Here’s what you should do:
• Pay attention to signs that the pet’s care is compromised. One of the biggest tip-offs is a change in weight. People with Alzheimer’s may struggle with remembering whether they fed their pets or forget that they did. Other signs include frequent accidents in the house, which indicates the pet isn’t being taken out regularly.
• Take your cues from your loved one. Does your loved one resist the idea of separating from her pet? Or is she becoming agitated by the animal’s unpredictable behavior? Although health and safety are important considerations, it’s also important to look at her behavior around the pet and to consider what she wants.
• Choose your words wisely. Lopez said her grandmother wouldn’t listen when family members first suggested removing Sparky. “She didn’t see that feeding the dog was a problem or that if she fell it was the dog’s fault,” Lopez says. “But she was much more receptive to the idea when we told her, ‘We know you want Sparky to get a bath every three days and to go the park every day.’”
• Find ways to get hired help if you choose to keep the pet. Ask the home health care aide to add pet chores to her responsibilities for a small fee. If there are friends or other family members nearby, ask if they could drop in and take the dog on a walk or change the cat’s litter box. If you must remove the animal, find ways to arrange visits, so the pet remains a presence in your loved one’s life.