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Older Dogs |
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Ten Good Reasons to Adopt an "Older" Dog |
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Older dogs are housetrained.
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Older dogs are not teething puppies, and won't chew your shoes and furniture while growing up.
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Older dogs can focus better because they're mellower. Therefore, they learn more quickly than puppies
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Older dogs have learned what "no" means. If they haven't learned it, they don't get to be "older" dogs.
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Older dogs settle in more easily, because they've learned what it takes to get along with others and become part of a pack.
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Older dogs are good at giving love, once they get into their new, loving home. They are grateful for the second chance they've been given.
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What You See Is What You Get: Unlike puppies, older dogs have grown into their shape and personality. Puppies can grow up to be quite different from what they seemed at first.
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Older dogs are instant companions -- ready for hiking, car trips, and other things you like to do.
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Older dogs leave you time for yourself, because they don't make the kinds of demands on your time and attention that puppies and young dogs do.
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Older dogs let you get a good night's sleep because they're accustomed to human schedules and don't need nighttime feedings, comforting, or bathroom breaks.
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Lady, Aged 8 |
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Shergar, aged 7 |
| Adapted from material distributed by Labrador Retriever Rescue, Inc. |
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What's "Wrong" with a Rescue Dog? |
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"People often wonder why the dogs end up in rescue and ask what is 'wrong' with them. During my experience fostering Labs, I have come to realize that nothing is 'wrong' with the dogs, but instead with the people who give them up. Common excuses people use are that they don't have enough time for the dogs or that they are moving (although I have never heard of any state in the U.S. where dogs are illegal). All of the dogs my sister Deb and I have sheltered have been loving, sweet, typical Labs. Most Labs that end up in rescue are housebroken and well-mannered, just looking for the chance to live in a loving, secure and stable home.
Notes from a column by Laura Cundiff, published in the Central Indiana Lab Rescue News |
Lady Jane, aged 9 |
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Why Are "Older" Dogs "Perfect"? |
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. . . . simply because dogs with problems -- whether health- or behavior-related -- usually don't get to be older dogs. We credit Robin L. Adams of Sinking Spring, PA, with this concept, along with these other thoughts:
- Dogs of any age can love again.
- Dogs of any age adapt readily to new situations.
- Older dogs are more "settled" and behave with more maturity than young dogs.
- You can teach an old dog new tricks.
(Excerpted from the article "Golden Lifesaver," from Golden Retriever News.) |
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Edgar, aged 12 |
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Why Don't Older Dogs Get Adopted? |
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The most sought after of all Dachshund rescues is the 'two-year-old mini.' As a result, there are very few of these animals in rescue for very long. And the wait for one can be substantial, often discouraging people from adopting a rescue at all. But why a 'two year old mini'? Why not three years old, or one year old, or some other age? This seems to be a psychological thing, more than anything else. At two years old, it can be assumed that a dog will have a good, long time ahead of it. At one year of age, it's 'still a puppy,' with all of the problems and difficulties that description brings to mind. At three years old, most people assume that the animal has fewer than 10 years left and don't want to think of the heartbreak of losing it so quickly.
The ultimate barrier is at age five. Once an animal turns five, it is nearly impossible to place quickly. And, if turned into a shelter, is almost certainly guaranteed a quick euthanization. Most shelters are so overcrowded, the only practical solution for them is to destroy the 'unadoptable' animals. How many animals were destroyed last year for the crime of being over five years old? Last month? Last week? Today? When was the last time you saw an animal in a shelter over three years old, for that matter?" |
Notes from the Dachshund Rescue Website |
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Dougal, aged 8 |
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Ming, aged 15 |
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When Older Dogs Are the Best Adoption Choice |
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Mary Brownell, who does extensive work in dog rescue, noted on the Senior-L E-mail list.
"There are many wonderful dogs needing rescue -- not only the adorable puppies we all love to cuddle. Often overlooked (and euthanized as 'unadoptable') are older dogs, most of whom would be perfect for those who do not have the time to housetrain or the energy level necessary for a younger dog. The older rescue is ideal for a household with very young children: the dog's temperament is known and housetraining and obedience lessons don't have to be undertaken at the same time diapers need to be changed. ... Some convalescent and nursing homes make arrangments for pets to come and live with their owners, knowing the therapeutic value and the sense of loss to both patient and pet when they are separated."
Thanks to Lori Campbell for also posting to the Senior-L list a report from a nurse in Tennessee:
"I had a patient last week who is in her eighties, suffers from several disorders and has lost most of her vision to macular degeneration. She had always had dogs until three years ago, when her last dog died and her husband strongly discouraged her getting another one due to their advancing age and her medical condition. She had a friend with four dogs who offered to take her to the vet as needed and to adopt the dog as her own, should the lady or her husband die. Still, the husband wouldn't relent. Her physician overheard her talking about wanting a dog and he asked her why. She replied, 'To love and go walking with.' When I was preparing her discharge papers later that day, the following prescription was there along with others for various medications: '1 dog. To love and to go walking with.' It was signed by her physician." |
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Sergeant, aged 7 |
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| Valentino, aged 10 |
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We Address a Common Objection to Adopting an Older Dog: "They Don't Live Long Enough" |
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We've often heard people who are dog lovers say that they don't want to adopt an older dog because they will be heartbroken too soon when the dog dies. We must agree that it seems to us, too, that our old dogs don't live long enough to suit us and our hearts are always aching. However, it also seems to us that NO dog lives long enough, regardless of the length of time we've spent together.
We think that maturity in a dog is so positive in so many ways that any disadvantage pales by comparison. It truly is quality of time together that matters more than quantity. We admit that it takes strength to make a commitment to loving a dog who may not be with you very long. Not everyone has that kind of strength. On certain occasions, after losing a beloved older dog, we've wondered whether we ourselves can find that strength again. But, in the end, the question we always ask ourselves is: If we don't adopt the older ones, who will?
In addition to the ten good reasons to adopt an older dog that are listed above, there's one more that we think may be the most compelling of all: Adopting a dog that no one else wants because of age is an important statement about compassion. Although it requires strength and conviction, making that statement holds great personal and societal rewards.
We write this in memory of our dear, beloved Ty. He was able to stay with us just a year. During the course of his illness, which we fought with every available weapon, we often asked ourselves why this had to happen to our sweet boy and to us. We may never understand why. What a special boy he was! Despite the pain of losing him, we are grateful for the joy he brought to us and the brief but intensely wonderful time we had together.
The Senior Dogs Project |
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Caisa, aged 6 |
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Clint, aged 12 |
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Gizmo, aged 15 |
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