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My 92 year old mom has been in a memory care facility (well known and very expensive) for 3-mos - I don't know how long I will keep her there as I am not happy with it for a variety of reasons but until I decide to change I'm concerned that there are too many "house" pets and staff incl exec admin bring their dogs to work

These dogs are not only a hazard for my mom and others who use walkers but residents feed them off dinnerware and they're allowed into the dining room where they both urninate and defecate - staff is insufficient to attend residents let alone all these animals

I've already complained to exec admin but she said couldn't really do anything (she brings her dog to work too).

Since my mom had a bad fall there already I've hired a personal caregiver for 12 hours a day which I cannot afford much longer - I'm afraid if I escalate the complaint outside the facility then care for her will worsen

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The dogs should not be allowed in the dining room EVER! It is against AZ state law due to health reasons. Notify your state's licensing board about this facility and they will take care of it with fines and bad reviews. Take her out if you are uncomfortable with the situation. Usually animals are a good thing, lowering blood pressures and overall health, but if one is allergic then it becomes a problem and the fall issue is another concern of mine too.
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Don't sweat the small stuff. No residential facility will satisfy all of your wishes. Just make sure your mother is safe and well cared for. How did you choose this facility? Leave her there while you do research on other places. Go and visit yourself several times before uprooting your mother. Then, if you need to move her, you will know what the pros and cons of each place are and what you can expect.
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Immediately start looking for a safe facility for your mother. The dogs are a hazard. You state, " I am not happy with (the place) for a variety of reasons." Until his death, my late husband lived for six months in a good, but not luxurious nursing home. The only animals there were live birds behind glass. I am 85 years old in excellent mental condition and fairly good physical shape. I have fallen twice in the last six months, and am in the process of moving to an independent living facility. One dog lives there. He goes home at night with his owner, a staff member. The animal is a retired therapy dog. I feel safe in his presence.
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Animals can be great therapy. But they need to be well mannered and toilet trained.
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If you are unhappy for several reasons then you should move your Mother. You want her to have the best/safe care possible. I think that the pets are great therapy but they must be controlled so that it is safe for the residents. We take our dog to visit my Mother and the residents that are dog people are always delighted. Having your pet visit any place comes with responsibility for the pet owner. If you don't feel good about where Mom is then by all mean move her.
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Pets are known to be good for patients with both Alzheimers as well as other conditions. I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill. You obviously do not like animals, so therefore you should choose somewhere else to place your parent. I for one, would prefer to be somewhere were animals were permitted! I doubt that they are the problem, that you make them out to be!
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Really depends on how many animals you're talking about. The memory care facility where Dad lived had dogs and cats and a huge cage of birds. I thought it was wonderful; actually those pets were the final deciding factor when I chose the place. Nothing makes a place feel more like home than having pets. (The only pee or poop on the floor there, came from a few of the residents. Not the pets.) As for fall risks, none of these pets were on leashes indoors, only when the dogs were taken outside. (It was a locked unit. Those critters weren't going anywhere.) I'm curious about the OP's overall feelings about pets, whether they really like them in other situations? Is this coloring your view on the situation? If your parent enjoys the animals, it would be very sad to remove that one final pleasure from their life, by moving them away. They have so little enjoyment as it is.
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Dogs peeing and pooping in the dining room?! That would be enough for me to want a change, and to report to the health department. There's just no way that's right. I can see pets on premises, but there should but limits in place. Ugh!
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In searching for the right memory care facility for my sister, we found it a 'plus' that there would be animals there too: several dogs, two cats, and some caged birds. The birds' owner (I don't think he is a resident) comes in to attend to the birds. The residents are not allowed to feed the dogs and misbehaving animals are banned. One of the cats spends most of its afternoons in my sister's room, which makes her happy. This facility also allows associates to bring their children once in a while on weekends. The idea is to feel more like a community, with multiple generations of people, and pets. That environment doesn't suit everyone, and it's great that there are choices. We like the family feel that the animals and children bring, and would be grieved if someone complained and got it all sanitized and pet/child free. For this reason, I would urge you to consider moving your loved one somewhere else, but first ask around if anyone else sees the filth you have described and if so get management to fix it asap.
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Ferris, no need to be draconian with the whole facility - if dogs are allowed into a room where food is being served, and if they poo and pee inside, that is the fault of the nurses and carers on site, they are being lazy or indifferent, but they are flouting hygiene rules. But people who find this should complain to the management about their staff, not complain to nameless faceless authorities about the whole facility. A good manager should bring the place to order immediately. A bad manager should be argued with. Pets are great, but in small doses, and the animals prefer the fresh air outside to the sometimes foetid and smelly air inside a facility.
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