ADOPTING THE ELDERLY DOG
Doctor’s Note:
Today we are concluding our discussion on Canine Geriatrics. The article that follows was compassionately written by Ms. Indira Mattai, a member of “PAWS for a CAUSE” (https://www.pawsforacausegy.com.) in relation to abandonment of elderly dogs, which sadly does occur. I commend this article to all animal lovers, and urge that you take the advice that was provided over the last few months on the care of your pets as they become elderly and return the love and support that they loyally provided to you during their youthful years.
The case for
adopting a senior dog
The COVID-19 pandemic had many of us contemplating our mortality and the mortality of our loved ones. We realigned our priorities and considered how we would wish to live out the rest of our days. That in itself is a luxury, and we often take even the thought of security for granted. We get to think about our future. We get to make contingency plans and create a support system and work to achieve our dreams.
But what about animals? Dogs age too, but they don’t have those luxuries for obvious reasons.
Quite often, dogs are abandoned once they get too “old”, which may be as a result of their age, but also to the perception that they have lost the ‘cute puppy’ look. Once they are abandoned, they do not survive for long on the street. As we say, they ‘ain’t got road sense’.
Sometimes, they might luck out slightly and end up at a shelter, but we can tell you from experience that it is incredibly difficult to get them adopted, and they may end up living out the rest of their lives in the shelter.
At the end of the day, adopting any rescue dog is a worthwhile and exemplary act. We implore you to consider giving an older dog accommodation during his/her golden years. Their bodies may grow old, but we can absolutely promise you their love, devotion and loyalty to you will be ageless. Consider some of the reasons below:
They have an incredible
capacity for love, even though they have suffered trauma
Senior dogs have a very deep capacity for love, and it is even more so if they are rescue dogs. Senior rescue dogs are the ones that are more likely to have suffered abuse, cruelty and neglect on top of abandonment. They are the ones who would have been tied to posts with no shelter from the sun or rain or dust. They are the ones who would have been starved and dehydrated, suffering for so long that their skin has sunken between their ribs. They are the ones that flinch when you raise your hand to pet them, because they think you are about to beat them. They are the ones that do not understand why their owners – their whole world and the loves of their lives – took them somewhere and never came back for them.
Puppies who are abandoned have certainly been through it, but they are too young to have seen the darkest parts of the world over and over again. Yet, some of the sweetest dogs we have ever met are the ones who are on the road to recovery from a trauma.
They may already be trained
Because senior dogs would have likely had homes before, they would already have some amount of training, and would be able to understand basic commands. You may not have to teach the old dog new tricks unless you want to, as there is evidence that older dogs have a greater attention span than puppies.
You may be saving their lives
Older dogs at shelters aren’t necessarily there for bad behaviour. Senior dogs are more likely to be strayed or brought in to be euthanised, partially because the treatment of health issues that developed later in life can be costly. They aren’t puppies anymore, their fur may be greying or thinning, or they have been neglected for so long that minor health issues have grown into almost insurmountable problems. If the owner was unwilling to take care of them when the minor issues arose, there is an almost certainty that the owner would choose the easier option – straying or putting down.
We have rescued many pregnant mothers who have likely been abandoned because they got pregnant. The caregivers never bothered to spay them, and chose to abandon them during pregnancy. From our experience, “short foot fluffy” dogs are a cinch to get adopted, so we believe that caregivers stray them at pregnancy because they are unwilling to take care of the litters. We have often cared for the mothers, have them spayed after giving birth, and find them good homes.
Older dogs are
calmer than puppies
Adopting any dog is wonderful, but it is also a big responsibility. We always ask every potential adopter to consider their family and existing pets, who will interact with the newly adopted dog, and whether the older dog would have the time and energy to keep up with a younger puppy. Older dogs can cause less destruction to a home, and make instant comforting companions, as they would have already lived through their overly energetic years. They are ready to live a leisurely, calmer life.
Because puppies are brand new to the world, they tend to be more destructive than an older pup: simply because they have more energy, less training, and do not know the difference between what a toy may be and what is not. Plus, they may be teething or need a level of mental stimulation that you may not be familiar with.
On the other hand, older dogs tend to stay close to you because they just want to be near you. They are afraid you will leave, having experienced being abandoned and finding themselves without love, without a family, a home, a roof, a meal.
We have in our care many senior dogs and cats who do not ask for much – just for the security of living out the rest of their lives in a loving home, and more than likely with a napping companion!
Please contact us if you would like to bring happiness into their lives and yours.
