Animal Chronicles
Open Your Home to a Senior Pet and Marvel at the Joy You Will Find
by Carrie Harrington
Nine-year-old Lucky watches from her kennel as prospective adopters walk by. Some stop to read her biography and empathize with the fact that her human companion recently passed away. They marvel at her beautiful coloring. But after a short while, they continue on. This is Lucky’s sixth week living at the animal shelter and, so far, nobody has expressed any interest in adopting her. Her life has been changed abruptly through no fault of her own.
Such is the typical life of a homeless senior pet.
While millions of cats and dogs over the age of eight fill shelters across the country, it’s the cute and cuddly kittens and puppies, or bouncy young adults, who usually find homes first. It’s heartbreaking to watch older pets waiting for a family to welcome them into their home while they are overlooked among the appealing youngsters. What people don’t realize is that senior pets can not only be just as beautiful and lovable as their younger counterparts, but they also possess wonderful qualities that are unique to their age. And, most importantly, they deserve a second chance.
Like a fine wine, older pets are smoother
Let’s face it — puppies and kittens are a handful! Like children, they have an abundance of energy and require a lot of time and patience. Young pets need to be housetrained and require proper training and socialization to ensure that they grow up to be good adult citizens. With a senior pet, you won’t have to go through these difficult training and socialization periods, and you won’t find yourself cleaning up after accidents.
Keep in mind that with older pets, “What you see is what you get.” A senior cat or dog’s personality is fully developed and they have already grown into their looks. But a kitten or puppy may surprise you down the road because their true personality and appearance are still unknown — which is why many pets wind up at shelters. Small, cuddly kittens and puppies don’t stay that way forever and unsuspecting owners are caught by surprise. Adolescent animals are adorable, and most pets are adopted at this stage, but it’s also a great deal like raising an adolescent child — and we all know that isn’t easy.
Senior cats and dogs settle quickly into their new homes. No one knows this better than Rev. Stacey Grossman, who recently adopted Molly Brown, an eight-year-old Collie mix from New Orleans. Stacey, who is pastor of the Church of the Nativity in San Rafael, wanted a dog who would be happy to keep her company at work. She says, “Molly has bonded to me like glue! She loves to greet people who come by the church and she’s perfectly happy to sleep at my feet while I’m working on my sermons.”
Grossman, also a competitive rower, feels that Molly Brown’s energy level complements, rather than competes, with her lifestyle. “I’m an active person and Molly is happy to be with me no matter what I’m doing. Even when I’m with my rowing teammates, she enjoys hanging out with the other rowing dogs.”
Why the reluctance?
With so many great reasons to adopt a senior pet, why is there such hesitation on the part of potential adopters? Perhaps because we are a society that rejects the idea of growing old. In fact, we’ll often go to extremes to make ourselves look and feel younger. In this culture, it’s no surprise that we might hesitate to adopt a senior pet for fear that they might only have a short time to live.
But advances in medical technology mean that pets are living well past what used to be considered a normal lifespan. Just two decades ago, it was rare for a dog to live more than 12 years or for cats to survive beyond 15 years. Today, cats are living well into their 20s and many dogs enjoy life well into their mid-teens.
People might be afraid that an older pet will have nothing to offer. But nothing could be further from the truth. Senior cats love to play and snuggle with their humans, and older dogs gladly accompany their guardians to various outdoor activities. Dorothy Andrews adopted nine-year-old Frenchie, a colorful calico, this past December. “I don’t even think of her as a senior,” says Dorothy. “In fact, Frenchie is very lively and gets plenty of exercise. She especially loves bouncy toys!”
With longer lifespans, senior cats and dogs continue to make up a significant part of the pet population. According to the American VeterinarMedical Association, 45 million pets in this country classify as seniors (at least eight years old). This translates to a quarter of the nation’s pet population. So if you’re considering a new pet, why not give some thought to giving a deserving senior a second chance? You may end up finding the most wonderful companion ever.
