What’s Inside

Vol. 32 No. 2 Fall 2018

Vice President: Gary Piper President & Editor: Nancy Piper

Phone 816-891-8888; Fax 816-891-8781

www.visitrollingacres.com

12200 N.W. Crooked Rd • P.O. Box 12073

Kansas City, MO 64152

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How Do I Grieve? ................... Page 1

Millennials Put Pets First

When Buying a Home ............. Page 2

Cross Country with Dogs ........ Page 3

Pets Can Experience Grief ... Page 4

Useful Telephone Numbers .... Page 6

Flower Service Program ......... Page 7

Feature Fund Program ........... Page 8

Candlelight Ceremony December 15, 2018, 5:00pm

Honoring memories and sharing

stories for our pets past and present.

A memorial table will be setup to honor your special

companions. You are welcome to bring a picture,

framed or unframed, to place on the table. We have

ornaments for you to personalize, decorate and place

on our Christmas tree.

5:00 pm: refreshments and personalizing ornaments

6:00 pm: Candle lighting ceremony

How Do I Grieve? - Nancy Piper

What is normal grief? Is the

way I feel wrong? What

should I do? What should I

expect?

Your beloved pet, friend, com-

panion, fur baby has died.

You are grieving. You are

probably astounded by the

intensity of your grief. Be

assured that grief over the

death of a pet is not immature,

crazy or overly sentimental. It

is normal, natural and proper

to grieve after the death of

someone you love. When you

love deeply, you grieve deep-

ly.

Allow yourself to feel all your

emotions over a period of

time. To deny or repress your

grief would be to devalue the

love your companion animal

brought into your life. When

grief is freely expressed, the

healing time is generally

greatly reduced. It is okay to

cry, it is okay to ask questions,

it is ok to view the body, it is

okay to reminisce about your

pet’s life.

There are many emotions in-

volved with the grief process.

One is the feeling of shock

and disbelief. You are numb,

can’t think, don’t know what

to do. Denial is similar to this.

You can’t believe your baby

died. You think when you get

home, your loved one will be

at the door or on the back of

the couch to greet you. But

when you get home, your pet

isn’t there. It dawns on you

that this is real. Your pet real-

ly is dead. You are not hallu-

cinating or having a night-

mare.

Another emotion is anger. We

humans like to be in control.

When your pet dies, you have

lost control. Therefore, you

may get angry. You might

strike out verbally at anyone

who is convenient. Anger

(Continued on page 6)

Homeless People’s Pet Food Project Can You Help? Donations are lowest in the summer & fall

Thousands of organizations are seeking dona-

tions for the less fortunate. Think of the com-

panion pets of the homeless, they are as de-

prived as the people who care for them. These

pets provide comfort and companionship to

the homeless. Rolling Acres Memorial Gar-

dens for Pets is seeking donations of pet food,

toys, leashes, collars, blankets, and pet beds.

You can help. Has your pet outgrown a collar

or leash? Has his diet changed and you have

an open bag of pet food you won’t use or one

your pet doesn’t like? Tape up the open bag

of pet food and bring it to Rolling Acres. Your

donations will be distributed to the homeless

in the community. In September 2001, Roll-

ing Acres Memorial Gardens for Pets started

soliciting contributions for homeless people's

pets, either pet food or money for pet

food. This was after it came to Nancy Piper's

attention that many homeless people also have

pets. Some of their concerns are food for their

pets, vet care, and the after-life care of their

pets! We will also take blankets, towels, or

clothing to them along with the pet food. If

you have anything to donate, just bring it to us,

and we'll deliver it for you. In 2017, with the

generous and overwhelming assistance of the

community, Rolling Acres Memorial Gardens

for Pets provided 3166 pounds of dry pet food,

468 cans of canned pet food, cat and dog

treats, as well as pet beds, pet carriers, toys,

collars, leashes, pet brushes, and combs to

Homeless People’s Pets. The need for this

support has been increasing in recent

months. Rolling Acres thanks the public for

their help in this year-round project. Uplift

Organization is the primary benefactor of the

pet food and supplies. We also supply the Red

Cross with pet food.

2

Millennials are having a love affair with

pets — so much so that they're often put-

ting their furry friends' needs at the top of

their list when shopping for a home.

Luxury landlords have been catering to

this millennial trend for years, putting in

dog runs on rental tower roofs and pet sa-

lons off lobbies. Now more millennials are

buying homes, and seeking the same

amenities.

A full 73 percent of millennials currently

own a pet, according to the American Pet

Products Association. That is a larger share

than any other demographic. For buyers it's

even bigger. A whopping

89 percent of millennials

who bought a home so far

this year own a pet, accord-

ing to Realtor.com.

Thirty-one-year-old Jessica

Evans lives in a single-

family row house in Wash-

ington, D.C., with Lucy, a

dog, and Casper, a cat. She

calls them her "fur chil-

dren."

"I don't have kids, and I've

intentionally decided that

while I want to have kids

one day, I'm not at that point in my life,

and I think a lot of millennials here in D.C.

are kind of in that same boat, but you still

enjoy having something to take care of,"

she said, feeding Lucy some treats. But

taking care of her pets, especially Lucy,

meant selling her condo and buying a sin-

gle-family home.

"I loved living in the downtown area in a

condo. It was great, very convenient, I

didn't have housework, but the one thing

that was really missing was my dog's hap-

piness," said Evans.

Keeping pets happy appears to be a millen-

nial priority. For this demographic, 79 per-

cent of pet-owning homebuyers who

closed on a property this year said they

would pass up an otherwise perfect home

if it didn't meet the needs of their pets,

according to a Realtor.com survey.

Evans knows this firsthand, because she is

also a real estate agent with mostly millen-

nial clients. On their wish lists: first and

foremost, outdoor space — a yard or at

least a park within walking distance.

"The big thing with cats is where is their

litter box going to go? I think with any

house or condo, that's a big decision," she

added.

And owners with older pets often have

concerns about stairs. More affluent buyers

want a dog grooming station in the mud

room. Also, being near pet-friendly restau-

rants and pet supply stores is a big plus,

especially for young urban buyers who

might not have a car.

And once millennials purchase a home,

they often put big bucks into upgrades for

their pets. Evans put $12,000 into her row

house, adding a higher fence so her pets

couldn't jump out and other pets couldn't

jump in. She also added a modern pet door

and renovated the basement bathroom for

Lucy, even though the base-

ment itself is unfinished.

"I wanted her to have her

own shower so that I would-

n't have to clean mine after

washing her in it," said Ev-

ans.

She just wanted her house

to be pet-friendly overall,

not just for herself but for

her friends, most of whom

also have pets.

"I think I tend to connect

more with other people with

pets because we can do pet-

friendly things together," said Evans, add-

ing that some of her clients who don't have

pets are also interested in pet amenities

because they've been waiting to own a

house first, so they can get a pet.

Millennials Put Pets First When Buying a Home - www.cnbc.com

Save Cans to Help Rescue Groups Help Pets One of our community service projects is

saving clean aluminum beverage cans only

(pet food or other cans

will not be accepted by

the r