Hero of the Week: Keeping dogs and their senior owners together

This week's hero is a woman who realized that elderly people need their dogs and cats more than ever, and she set up a rescue to help that happen. They also help place dogs and cats from seniors who go into assisted living. This is her story.

CNN Hero Carie Broecker

Keeping dogs and their senior owners together

 CNN, July 28, 2022

Carie Broecker came up with an idea that would become her life's work.

"I remember it clear as day," Broecker said. "The whole concept of Peace of Mind Dog Rescue came to me: the name, and that we would take in dogs from senior citizens who were dying."

Broecker co-founded the nonprofit with Monica Rua, who also worked in animal rescue and added the idea of rescuing senior dogs from shelters. In 2009, Peace of Mind Dog Rescue was born.

The organization takes dogs from senior citizens who are no longer able to care for them, have gone into a nursing home or have passed away. Many times, it's family members who contact the organization to surrender their aging family member's dog.

"Often times, the dog can be your last connection to that person," Broecker said. "You're giving away a part of that person who was so special to you. So, it can be really hard."

Peace of Mind Dog Rescue finds these dogs new homes and checks in on the dog every year for the rest of their life.

"We've seen it over and over again that dogs can adjust after losing their person and become part of a new family," Broecker said. "You'd love for them to be together forever, but when that's not possible, we're really glad we're here to be a safety net."

Typically, a senior doesn't need to surrender their dog, they just need some assistance. As part of the organization's dog walking program, a volunteer will go to the senior's house to walk their dog for 30 minutes or an hour.

"We can preserve that human-animal bond and make this person's life better and brighter through our services ... it's about honoring the elderly," Broecker said.

The nonprofit also helps senior dogs find forever homes. It can be challenging for overcrowded shelters to give senior dogs the attention they need, so Peace of Mind Dog Rescue is in contact with local animal shelters to see what senior dogs they can pull and help adopt out.