My family and I weren't planning on adopting a senior dog. It just happened. A year after my senior siamese cat, Star passed, lack of companionship was starting to get at me. Star was my emotional support pet due to health issues I was having three years earlier. He knew when I wasn't feeling well and knew how to comfort me in a animal sort of way. We depended on each other. He and a dog were surrendered at the same time. He had a thyroid issue so I'm guessing that's why the owners gave him up. Star went through iodine treatments before he went on the adoption floor. He was the sweetest creature.
On November 1, 2014, my husband, son and I went down to the local county shelter to meet Paulie. He was the right weight and size for us so we were anxious to meet him. His age was a bit of a concern, however, we still wanted to meet him. When the staff brought him in, Paulie was so excited. His tail whipping back and forth and feet sliding out from under him like Bambi on ice. We started asking questions about him and like any shelter dog, there's not much information to offer out. At first we were told he was a stray and then when the staff member pulled the card, it showed his owner passed away. Paulie managed to get out of the house the authorities found him wandering around. That info sealed the deal as our hearts just broke for him. Two days later we adopted him. Paulie was pretty healthy overall except for a much dental cleaning. It turned out, he never had a cleaning and he was eight years old.
A senior dog in a shelter environment is very stressful. He didn't belong there and we knew being in a home environment was best. I always wondered if he understood what happened to his owner. The children's book I wrote is about his adoption with a twist. It's based off one of the blogs that I wrote here in 2022.
Would I adopt another senior? You bet I would. All dogs rock in their special way, however, Senior dogs rock my world. In order to understand what I mean, fostering would be a good place to start if you were interested.
