A Santa Clarita veterinarian is naming a few reasons why she believes a potential pet parent should consider adopting a senior pet from a shelter or rescue organization.

Pets are viewed as seniors after 7 years old, and depending on their size and breed, often have a lot of life left to live — not to mention the love a newly adopted senior pet has to give to someone willing to look past their age and offer them a second chance at a happy life.

Cats and smaller dogs like chihuahuas can potentially reach 16-17 years old and beyond, and 60- to 80-pound dogs like labradors or golden retrievers can potentially reach 12-14 years old and beyond, according to Dr. Jaimie Ronchetto of Cinema Veterinary Centre.

Related: Santa Clarita Veterinarian Gives 3 Reasons To Always Keep Dogs On A Leash In Public

“I do think that (seniors) are harder to adopt out because people typically go wanting a young animal, … and so sometimes they could be overlooked,” Ronchetto said. “But in that amount of time that you get (with) them, there’s so much love and so much that you can get out of the relationship, and just giving them a home for their golden years where they can feel safe and loved is important.”

Ronchetto noted that senior pets are often already trained, eliminating the need for extensive obedience and potty training necessary with young pets, and are usually calmer in general as well.

“Senior pets do make really great companions, usually because they’re settled, they’re happy typically being just the house dog, lap dogs,” Ronchetto said. “They don’t need typically a lot of exercise or energy expended. They’re happy to just be there and be loved on.”

Senior pets end up in shelters for a variety of reasons, and may or may not have medical issues. The most common medical problem seen in senior pets is arthritis, which Ronchetto noted can be maintained with anything from supplements to pain relief medications.

“There’s lots of things that we can do for arthritis now,” she said. “There’s lots of things out there to make them comfortable and help with their mobility.”

While all ages of dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters due to overcrowding, Ronchetto noted that “a lot” of senior pets fall into this category as a result of being consistently overlooked.

Ronchetto believes that the dogs and cats who do get adopted from shelters have even more gratitude and love for their new families.

“I think that they know that they’ve been saved,” she said.

Ed. Note: This article is a KHTS Feature story based on a recent radio interview with Cinema Veterinary Centre.

Dr. Jaimie Ronchetto, DVM, is a Santa Clarita veterinarian who opened her own veterinary hospital in Valencia after spending several years in private practice as an associate veterinarian at other SCV hospitals. Ronchetto and the staff at Cinema Veterinary Centre strive to give every dog, cat and pocket pet outstanding quality care in the areas of medicine and surgery. A Hart High School graduate, Ronchetto earned her BS degree from UC Davis and graduated with Honors from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Cinema Veterinary Centre

23460 Cinema Drive

Valencia, CA 91355

(661) 253-9300

Cinema Veterinary Centre – Valencia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjiE1x22Gu4

Santa Clarita Veterinarian, Veterinarian in Santa Clarita, Cinema Vet, Cinema Veterinary Centre, Dr. Jaimie Ronchetto