Most sizing questions are about rooms, stairs, and hours. In a house with animals, one more question comes first: who in this household can share space with them, and under what conditions? Her promise to stay in her own home is still the goal, but the plan has to work for the animals and for every person who comes through the door.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Start with the people, not the animal
List everyone who lives in the house, everyone who visits, and everyone who will come in to help. Ask each helper directly before the first shift whether fur or animal dander bothers them, whether they need the animal shut away during a visit, and whether they are comfortable with the animal being near her bed while they work. If anyone in the house has an allergy or a health concern about animals, a doctor is the right person to ask about it, not a website or a neighbor.
Map the animal's day
Write down where the animal sleeps, eats, and goes out, and at what hours. Then ask who walks it, feeds it, and cleans up after it when the family cannot. A helper's hours may not cover a walk, and an animal that needs a walk at six in the morning may need someone who is not on the schedule yet. Decide whether the walk belongs to the job or to a family member, and write the answer down.
Check the room she will use
If the dog sleeps at the foot of her bed or the cat claims her chair, that room may not be a comfortable place for a helper to work in. Decide whether the animal will be in another room during visits, whether a gate or a closed door will keep it out, and where it will sleep at night. Put the answer on the plan so the first shift does not start with a scramble.
Weigh the animal against her needs
Some animals are a real comfort to someone who is staying home. Others become a hazard at night, when a dog runs to the door or a cat trips a path that she walks in the dark. Think about the route from her bed to the bathroom and to the door, and ask whether the animal is on that route. The answer may change how you set up the room, even if the animal stays.
Plan what happens if it does not work
Ask what happens if a helper cannot come because of a reaction, or if the animal bites someone, or if the household changes and the animal must move. Decide who makes that call and where the animal will go in the meantime, whether that is a relative, a short-term arrangement, or a scheduled visit. Write what you agreed so the decision is already made when the hard day arrives.
Sizing the house for a household with animals is not about whether the animal can stay. It is about whether every person in the plan, including her, can live with the arrangement every day.