Elderly urged to carry 'Pet Cards' to prevent animals being left alone if owner is taken ill

Elderly pet owners are being urged to carry 'Pet Cards' to prevent animals being left alone if they are taken ill. 

The wallet-sized, organ-donor style card, created by Co-op Funeralcare, carries details of who medics or 999 crews can contact if the owner is ill or injured and ensures any four legged, furry or feathered friends are looked after.

Co-op Funeral Arranger, Bridgette Perks, from Armthorpe, Doncaster, when she realised a lot of her clients were worried about what would happen to their pets if ever they didn't come home. Rather than direct them to rescue or re-homing centres, Bridgette took it upon herself to start creating 'Pet Cards' for the local residents of Armthorpe.

Her idea proved to be a success, leading to Co-op Funeralcare rolling them out nationwide. The complimentary cards will be distributed in local communities as the nation is urged to take the simple precautionary measure to ensure their domestic companions are never left alone.

Bridgette said "When speaking to members of the local community, I came to realise that I wasn't the only one who'd ever considered who would look after my pet if anything ever happened to me.

"As such, I thought the 'Pet Card' was the perfect solution to put minds at rest and I'm thrilled that they're being distributed nationwide."

Helen Chandler, head of funeral operations at Co-op Funeralcare, said: 'We always support our colleagues in any way we can so when we heard about Bridgette's great idea there was no doubt that we wanted to roll it out in our Funeral homes across the UK.

"We're always keen to find new ways to support the local community and the introduction of 'Pet Cards' will hopefully offer piece of mind to those who need it."

David Hampson, head of pet insurance, said: "Pets are often considered to be one of the family and the thought of them being left alone can be concerning to say the least. Carrying a 'Pet Card' is a simple solution to ensure any pet is made aware of if anything were to happen to the owner.

"We want to help customers to take responsibility for their pet's wellbeing and this is a great way to ensure your pet will get the care it needs in the case of an emergency."