ANAMOSA (AP) — “These are my kids,” 80-year-old Atha Jensen says of a friendly but outspoken golden retriever named Daisy Mae and a personable cat named Charlie Simba.

Like many seniors, the Anamosa woman has no children to take care of her animals when she is gone. The realization that Jensen’s pets could outlive her sank in this year when she mourned the death of Tippy, another beloved cat.

“I got to thinking, ‘Here I am — 80 — I’ve got young pets,” the part-time Walmart greeter said. Jensen had Tippy’s body cremated so it could be placed in her own casket when she dies.