Make me a match: Senior volunteer and senior dog the perfect pair
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Make me a match: Senior volunteer and senior dog the perfect pair

April 1, 2017

When she first saw him, she thought she might be just the right human for him.

Betty Clements, a senior who has been volunteering with the BC SPCA Comox Valley & District Branch for 14 years, didn’t care that Tank, a lovable black dog who had just come into the care of the SPCA, was also a senior himself.

“Senior animals need love too! Maybe even more so than their younger counterparts,” says Comox SPCA branch manager Emily Priestley.

“Kittens and puppies and younger, friskier animals are often adopted first while the senior animals are overlooked, yet they have just as much love to give.”

When Clements, a volunteer dog walker, adopted Tank, their bond was immediate.

“I don’t know how long he will last, but it is my pleasure to give him the best care while he’s here,” says Clements, who also has two cats: Tippi, 16, and Hershey, 14.

“Life is all about them. They are just wonderful. They love you and you love them.”

Tank gets to sleep in her room and she covers him with a blanket every night as he settles in for a snooze.

“Why not make their last years happy? They are so lovely and so worth it,” Clements says.

“Tank is amazing – I love everything about him. He’s a big bear and he’s so full of love.”

As well as adopting shelter animals and volunteering as a dog walker, Clements volunteered for nine years at a soup kitchen and for 15 years with a cancer society. But she’s always had an affinity for animals, which led her to volunteering with the BC SPCA.

“You take care of your pets, but they take care of you as well. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

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UPDATE: more than 150 cats taken into BC SPCA care as Houston rescue continues

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