When a senior must move to a care facility, worry about what will happen to beloved pets is often their biggest concern.

Long term care facilities - assisted living residences and nursing homes, as well as some smaller personal care homes - can't always accommodate a senior's pets. While some nursing homes have a "resident dog" or birds, most nursing home residents are no longer able to provide care to their pets. Nursing home staff obviously can't be asked to walk, feed or groom pets.

Some assisted living residences will permit small pets so long as the resident is able to independently care for the pet. When that is no longer possible, then the pets usually will have to find a new home.

When a pet can't go, of course the best answer would be to find a close relative or friend who is willing to adopt the pet and bring the pet to visit regularly. This is often a pie-in-the-sky solution offered by pie-in-the-sky advice givers. Finding a relative or friend to take pets is more often than not unrealistic for a host of reasons.

If family and friends can't take a senior's pet in, there are other resources:

If a dog or a cat is purebred, the local breed club will often be able to find the animal a good new home. Search for "breed" + rescue or "breed" + club with the pet's city and state to see local options for adoptions or foster care. Most rescue organizations will make arrangements to pick up the pet, which can be enormously helpful.

A great many of our pets are far from purebred. A "domestic shorthair cat" will not qualify for membership in any registered breed association. If you are trying to find a home for a mixture, you may have success with Petfinder, where you can list pets available for adoption at no charge.

While you are checking out these resources, also contact the veterinarian who regularly cares for these pets. The vet may be willing to post a notice or refer you to someone who is looking for a new animal to adopt.

Until you have completely exhausted all the other options for finding a new home for your senior's pets, please don't turn to your local animal shelter. Unless it is a "no-kill" shelter, most city and county shelters have room to keep an animal only a few days before it must be euthanized.