Our Story...
Hi, my name is Alysha and I am the founder of the Don't Forget My Pet Foundation. This organisation came about due to the lack of support services available for people experiencing isolation and mental health challenges. When COVID lockdowns hit, there was a long period where people living alone were not considered and they make up over a 1/4 of Australia's population.
We moved from Melbourne to Geelong in between the first two lockdowns and didn't know anyone, so Digga and I were isolated from everyone we knew and all of our support networks. This obviously impacted my mental health and If it hadn't been for Digga, it would have been an even more difficult time.
​When we were allowed to start getting out and about, having Digga helped me meet people and make friends in Geelong.
The more I started to look into the support services for people with pets and companion animals experiencing mental health challenges, sickness and isolation living away from their support networks, the more I realised there is very little out there, especially for people over the age of 65 and this made me think about my own future. I then met with people from rescue services, who advised me, that the majority of animals that are surrendered are from people over the age of 65 who cannot take care of them. Through engaging with health care providers, I also found out that people will delay having critical medical care, fearing their animals would not be cared for. There is also no provision in Home Care Packages for the care of people's animals.​
Did you know:
- Over 1/4 of Australians live alone and this number is increasing every year with the aging population
- 3 in 5 Aussie households have a pet
- Interacting with animals can have a positive impact on mental health by decreasing levels of cortisol (a stress related hormone) and lowering blood pressure.
- Animals reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support and boost your mood reducing the likelihood of developing mental health issues
- By 2050, Australians aged 65 – 84 are expected to double and people aged 85 and over are expected to more than quadruple to 1.8 million
- By 2066, there will be more than 4.5m people aged 65–74; with 34% of the population being aged 75-84 and 21% being aged 85 and over
- Loneliness costs Australia $2.7b each year
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​​ It is also well documented, that animals are excellent for people with dementia, people experiencing isolation and loneliness and people's mental and physical health and with an aging population and trying to keep people at home longer, helping people to keep their pets made perfect sense.
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Digga was so good for my mental and physical health during COVID and the thought of people being forced to be without their pets, broke my heart, so I founded Don't Forget My Pet with the help of some amazing people and the best CTO ever.
If you want to get in touch, we'd love to hear from you, hello@dontforgetmypet.org.au.
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