Puppies get the spotlight, but dogs get older. Around age eight, the energy fades, medical issues creep in, and owners start asking the question they don’t like to say out loud: what happens to my dog if something happens to me? Donte’s Den in Sarasota has been answering that question for more than 15 years. Marsha Panuce says the organization is a sanctuary rather than a rescue, and the word is deliberate. A rescue finds a dog a home. A sanctuary is the home, for life.
Donte’s Den’s Lifetime Care program is designed so dogs are never left alone or abandoned if an owner dies or can no longer provide care. Panuce compares the day-to-day work to assisted living or hospice for dogs, keeping them safe, fed, healthy, and happy into old age. The purpose, she says, is to continue the love an owner gave their dog and provide a safe place to be a dog.
For pet owners here on the Suncoast, many of whom are retirees thinking about the long term, that peace of mind matters. It’s also a nudge to plan ahead, because the conversation about your pet’s future is easier to have now than later. Have you made a plan for your pet’s care if something happens to you? Tell us in the comments.
