Rescue Journal

The top reasons to adopt a senior dog

Carol  ·  Apr. 4, 2017

1.they have already learned their basic commands
2. they are house trained
3.they are quiet and calm and wise.
4. they are easy keepers and great for first time dog owners.
5. they already have good manners.
6. they don't chew or dig holes..
7. they don't need much exercise.
8. they are less of a commitment.
9 they don't ask for much.
10. by adopting a senior you save a life.

this is such bullshit and these kind of lists on why to adopt seniors drives me insane.
lets break down this insanity point by point and then i will share why i think folks should adopt seniors.

1. IF anyone did teach them any basic commands in their lifetime (if they came from a series of crappy homes, they might not have)..by the time they are true seniors...A. they are probably deaf and can't hear the commands, or B. they are so crippled from untreated arthritis that they can no longer follow commands because sitting and laying down just for a human whim, freaking hurts!
2. they are housetrained..yeah? no...a lot of them are not or they have kidney or bowel or bladder or spinal issues which makes them incontinent.
3. they are quiet, calm and wise..who the heck thought this up???..old dogs can be rambuctious, destructive, counter surfers, garbage hounds, escape artists, noisy. age doesn't have anything to do with their basic personality..they just might be slower at stuff because they can't see as well or their joints hurt like hell.
4.they are easy keepers and good for first time pet owners...who learn really fast about elderly dog health issues, cardiac, and kidney disease, thyroid disease, arthritis, incontinence, blindness, deafness, sundowners syndrome and dementia's.
5. if they had good manners at 3 or 4 then they will have good manners at 10 or 12 but if they had bad manners their whole life, their manners do not magically improve with age.
6. they don't chew or dig holes...oh right..tell that to big buddy and he is 19!
7. they don't need much exercise...right again and tell that also to 19 year old buddy who periodically just about knocks me off my feet!
8. they are less of a commitment..hmm? well they might have less time left..but the time they do have will be pretty damn full fulfilling their geriatric needs.
9. they don't ask for much...who the fruck said this? they want your goddamn dinner, they want the whole freaking couch, they want to go outside 10 times more than any other and younger dog and it takes them way longer to get stuff done while they are out.
10. by adopting a senior, you save a life...ok..this one is in fact most likely true.

so why should someone adopt a senior?

1. adopt a senior if you have a balanced, predictable and secure kind of life and want to give that same gift to an old dog who may never have experienced a home like that before.
2. adopt a senior dog if you have all that you need physically and emotionally and want to share your gifts with another.
3. adopt a senior if you are respectful, patient, kind and wise because that is exactly the kind of home that a senior needs,
4. adopt a senior if you can be their very best friend and stand by them in their greatest times of need.
5 adopt a senior because you have the gifts to give not because you need them to fill your stocking with gifts from them.
6. and finally adopt a senior not because they are old, not to save them from death..adopt them because they have opened your heart and planted themselves inside it and have become a priceless treasure abiding there.

buddy..19. he is old, he has a tumor, he is a goof. he pees in the house and causes chaos when he is excited, which is pretty much half of the day!. and we love him more than any of us can ever say.

Comments

Sheila

.they are quiet and calm and wise.

Someone needs to tell Daisy Mae that - adopted at 10/11 years of age and learned to bark like in an idiot in our house

Brenda Mc

Love this post Carol.....straight from the heart.....educational, honest and funny...
Thank you,
and that is the best picture of Buddy ever!

shelagh f

I think I have read a list similar to this before, but I was very surprised
you were writing it. Then I kept reading. I like the good manners one.
Theya and Magee could have entered the garbage dog olympics,
and win medals. Basic commands? Dora says, you want me to do what?
You're kidding, right? Timing your life around your pets diuretics, that's
another good one
I do love older dogs