2026/03/20 by Lindy A. Orthia, Diane Hosking, Rachel Morgain · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Geographies of human-animal interactions #Human-Animal Interaction Studies #Veterinary Practice and Education Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/08927936.2026.2636373
openalex created_date 2026/03/20 · openalex publication_date 2026/03/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
The literature on older people and pets predominantly emphasizes the meanings of pets for maintaining independence and good health in later life. Yet a survey question asking older Australians to talk about what their pet means to them unexpectedly yielded novel insights over and above these predominant foci. A broader typology of the many meanings of pets to older people was developed from the survey responses, to give voice to the diverse perspectives of the people surveyed and enable a full description of these novel themes. Data were collected via a question in an online survey open to any Australian aged 50 years or older. The question asked if people had pets (yes, no, prefer not to say) and, if so, what they meant to them (open-ended comment). Over 5,100 people answered the pet question and 1,615 people wrote a comment. Thematic analysis of the comments produced a typology of 36 themes, 12 of which were wholly or partly novel. The new typology points to three kinds of pet meanings that previous studies of older pet owners have not considered: (1) actively promoting animal welfare by adopting rescues, caring for strays, and creatively maximizing pets’ wellbeing; (2) helping fellow community members by looking after their pets or sharing care of them; and (3) enjoying pets as agential beings with distinct personalities and communication skills. These ethical, altruistic, and self-transcendent dimensions are key to understanding the diversity of meanings given to interspecies relationships between (older) humans and their pets in Australia. These concerns should be accounted for in policies that aim to improve older pet owners’ wellbeing, along with more widely accepted aspects of pet ownership such as physical and psychosocial benefits.