How Important is Your Pet?
Ginny Edwards and “Bear”; Yvonne “Pat” Cox and “Oscar”; Mary Gauthier holding “Baxter”; Dan Stitzel and “Patrick”; and Pat Cox and “Caitie”.
Pets play a valuable role in making new friends. And one look at the well-cared for pets of Wesley Homes residents reveals a lot about the quality of life for pets as well as the neighborly culture of the community.
If you own a dog, those morning and evening walks are an important part of the daily routine – and provide an opportunity to get to know your neighbors. “People met my dog before they met me,” said Ginny Edward, owner of “Bear”, a Shithzu and one of the “Pets of North Brownstone”.
Pets Tell a Story About a Community
You can tell a lot about people by how they interact with, and care for, their pets. For pet-owners, a little onsite “pet-watching” is one good indicator of what life might be like to live in a new neighborhood.
Mary Gauthier, who owns the Yorkie Poodle “Baxter”, has lived at Wesley Homes about a year and a half. “I positively love it here,” said Gauthier, “We have just wonderful people in our North Brownstone building, and there are four pets on our floor.”
The Pets and People of North Brownstone
“We four pet owners have become friends because of our dogs,” said Edwards, “The dogs that make up this neighborhood group are Bear, Baxter, Yvonne Cox’s dog ‘Oscar’, and ‘Sasie’ who belongs to Alice Pohl.” Edwards explained Sasie and Pohl missed out on the photo-opt because they’re on vacation.
Yvonne Cox’s dog Oscar is a long-haired Dashhound. “Oscar gets me out on walks and he sleeps with me and keeps me warm at night,” she said, “he even has his own pillow.”
Gauthier’s “Baxter” sleeps with her at night, too. “He keeps my feet warm all night. He gets way down under the covers and curls up by my feet,” she said.
Cox, Edwards, and Gauthier said they would never consider living anywhere that wasn’t a great place for their pets.
Gauthier learned about Wesley Homes from friends. “They will be joining me here as soon as they sell their homes,” she said. “This has been a good move for me, “said Gauthier, “I don’t have to worry about a single thing here. I can go away for weeks on end and not worry about anything.”
Pets Become the Deciding Factor on Where to Move
Dan and Monica Stitzel moved into the Wesley Homes Village 11 months ago. Their Sheltie “Patrick” is almost 11 years old. “What’s unique about Patrick is that he has an electronic fence. He’s an outside pooch,” said Dan Stitzel.
Patrick likes to be outside and only comes in for meals and at night. “The big advantage of our floor plan is that we have an outside covered patio so that Patrick has someplace to go if it’s raining,” said Stitzel.
“I had a deposit down on three different retirement communities before we decided on Wesley Homes,” said Stitzel, “First of all we were particular about the floor plan we were going to accept, and the location had to work well for Patrick.”
“We came up at the top of the list because people ahead of us passed because they didn’t want to sell their homes in this lousy market,” explained Stitzel, “I sold mine, “said Patrick, “because when exactly the house I was looking for become available I didn’t want to pass on it.”
Caitie, a four year old Sheltie belongs to resident Pat Cox who lives in the Lodge. Cox moved in a year ago November. “Caitie and I walk the trails together,” said Cox, “Caitie was four in September and I would not have made a move anywhere that wasn’t right for her.”
–ilene little for Wesley Homes
