Conrad, Fabio and I used to visit a gent by the name of Alan at a local nursing home. Alan was 94 when he passed. For a few years our lives were enriched by Alan who was in frail health but always had a joke and a twinkle in the eye. He was a real character – that combination of Aussie larrikin and gentleman that you don’t see much anymore. As we parted he’d often quip: “See you when you’ve got nothing on, Luv” with a straight face.

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In our work with the aged and disabled  we come across some funny stories. 

Believe it or not, at one time a telephone was a luxury. Back in the days when women were at home doing the nation’s child raising and all the other essential services some call house wifery, they were also building community infrastructure.  Val, a 75 year old woman told of how she and the  women neighbours developed a communication system involving tea towels and underwear. 

The women in this Preston neighbourhood knew that the afternoon cuppa was on if Val had hung a tea towel out of her kitchen window.   Women around the block were on the lookout at about 2PM and did the same to alert “the girls”.   A blue tea towel meant scones; white meant cake; green meant “fend for yourself, we’re broke this week”.  They knew things were a bit tense at home if there was a pink petticoat hanging on the washing line – this meant: “He’s off his oats today”.  If the tea towel didn’t appear for a few days one of the girls would make sure she paid a visit to check up on her neighbor.  Unlike electronic telecommunication, the system never failed.  “Believe me”, she said, “the women knew everything that was going on in the neighbourhood.  Kids wagging school, lost dogs and cats, violent  husbands, rent collectors on the way – you name it.  Never mind about internets and that kind of thing”

Val also told me about the time she was on the tram going into town.  ‘ I usually knit or crochet on the tram. One day I noticed two young girls staring at me as if they were trying to figure something out.  After awhile, one of them said: “Excuse me but what’s that you’re doing?”’ Germaine Greer, a contemporary pioneer of women’s rights, once commented that as soon as her hair turned grey she became invisible to the under forties.

But what a treasury of local history, of community unity (we call it social fabric nowadays) and skill the elderly possess.  If we’d only listen and learn.

On Sunday  September 18, we were on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne along with another 5 thousand good people to support a ban on puppy farms. 

Puppy farms are hell holes where dogs are kept confined in filthy cages and sometimes bred to death.  They are kept pregnant and the puppies are sent to pet shops to be sold to whoever puts their money down.   One of the best sites for more information is  www.oscarslaw.org.  Puppies (and kittens) are often bought on impulse and when the cute stage passes are then dumped in shelters.  Shelter managers report excuses such as: “We don’t like the colour anymore”; “She grew too big for the apartment”.  In fact dumping rates increase in winter due to the fact people don’t like wet paws on their floors…  

The response from Sunday Age readers is also eloquent.

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Pets are proven to be beneficial to health and happiness.  But, the elderly and disabled living at home often struggle to maintain their relationship with their pets.  Walking the dog, driving to the vet or groomer and anxiety over what will happen to a pet if they have to go to hospital or respite are problems they face daily. 

Keeping in mind that to assist a pet is to assist the person, do you think aged and disability care services should include a program to assist the aged and disabled with their pets?