Should Your Aging Parent Get a Dog? A Cavoodle, Caffeine, and a Very Determined Girl Named Lily Say Yes.
Top 5 Reasons a Four-Legged Friend Can Help Your Aging Parent
Cuteness: scientifically proven to soften even the crankiest elder.
Conversations: dogs become instant ice-breakers (and sometimes translators).
Cuddles: unconditional, low-maintenance love on demand.
Constitutionals: “walks,” but make them purposeful, adorable, and medically beneficial.
Companionship: someone to greet them, need them, and sit beside them — every single day.
(A story told from the POV of a self-professed not-dog, not-cat, not-animal person.)
I’m fairly certain I am the only non-dog person Australia has ever seen. Non-cat person too. Honestly, if it has fur and emotions, I’m not sure what to do with it. It’s not personal — my family just didn’t do pets. The last family dog died when I was an infant after licking what was likely a century’s worth of toxic paint off my grandparents' Brooklyn apartment wall. My dad was the only one brave enough to take poor Gidget to the vet. That was it. The family shut down the pet department for decades.
So imagine my shock when, circa 2012, my sister-in-law decided to get my in-laws a puppy.
A cavoodle.
Named Lily.
A grandpup.
And damn it… she was cute.
Trained.
Polite.
Listened to commands.
Honestly, more well-behaved than most adults I know.
Fast-forward to 2017, when three of our remaining parents went into care (because apparently aging happens in clusters). My mother-in-law stayed in the family home to learn what life was like without her husband after nearly 60 years. And while my wife Sandy and I stayed with her in suburban Melbourne, Lily decided it was time to make me her project.
A Typical Morning
6:00 AM.
I hear the pitter-patter of little feet headed toward my side of the bed.
Lily’s thought bubble:
This one. The coffee addict. She’ll break first.
Me (pulling my eye mask up half an inch):
Don’t look at me like that. Go ask your grandma.
Lily: takes two steps back… and launches onto the bed.
Me: Are you kidding me?
She stares at me with the full wattage of those cavoodle eyes — the ones designed by God and genetics to make you cave.
What was “the look”?
Well, imagine a tiny furry hostage negotiator who knows exactly when you’ll crack.
I sit up. She wins.
I reach for my leggings and head to the bathroom. Lily, hearing the bathroom door slide open, darts straight to her water bowl.
Lily thought bubble:
Excellent. Hydration. The pre-coffee ritual begins.
Me (closing the sliding door before she drinks the entire Yarra River):
You win. Again.
By the time I grab her leash, she’s already vibrating.
Click. Click. Click.
Lily thought bubble:
GAME ON.
Me:
Come on, you little one — let’s get me caffeinated.
The Walk to the Café
Seven minutes on Google Maps.
Eleven minutes with a cavoodle who has a very active social inbox.
Every two meters:
Sniff. Sniff. Sniff. Pee-mail reply.
Me: Lily, PLEASE. You can catch up on your correspondence at the café.
Lily: unconvinced.
Finally, we arrive.
Lily gets her bowl of water, a head pat, and a “Good morning, Lily!” from Til, the server.
Me: Til…? (where is my bloody long black?)
Five minutes later: sweet salvation.
I read the AGE. Lily supervises crumbs.
The Homecoming
We return to find Sandy and my mother-in-law doing the crossword, sipping tea like two very cozy queens.
They glance up, see us, and immediately return to 17-Across.
Then I hear it:
Pitter-patter.
Pitter-patter.
Lily returns with her squeaky ball.
Drops it at my feet.
Stares up at me with hope, love, and zero shame.
Me: Never the squeaky one, Lily.
Sandy (looking at Lily, not me):
Did she poop?
Lily thought bubble:
Finally, someone who asks the important questions.
Me: Really?
I look down at this tiny, fluffy, determined ball of cuteness— the joy she brings my mother-in-law, the routine she creates, the companionship she offers without fail.
And even as a non-dog, non-cat, non-animal person, I can’t help thinking:
Wow… is this really happening?
I grab a green bag.
Me:
Just give me a minute.
dōte.worthy:
Check out Seniors for Seniors at Muttville!
Check out this article on The power of pets for older adults
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