Pet Care: DEVOTION IS AGELESS: The case for adopting a senior dog

“Paws” PERSPECTIVE | Paws for a Cause – Guyana

Doctor’s Note: Paws for a Cause – Guyana (“Paws”) is a local animal welfare group operating and registered in Guyana as a non-profit inc. Paws works to prevent animal cruelty; to promote humane, ethical, and responsible pet ownership; to advocate for controlling the animal population via spay and neuter campaigns; to educate the public; and to assist in cases of reported animal neglect and abuse. Paws’ work extends beyond dogs and cats, and includes all wildlife in Guyana. Occasionally, Paws will contribute a “Paws Perspective” to the Sunday Times ‘Pet Care’ Column, detailing their experiences in animal welfare.
With the world still in the grip of a pandemic, it’s safe to say that we’ve all contemplated our mortality and the mortality of our loved ones. We’ve realigned our priorities, and considered how we want 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 strayed once they get too “old”, which usually has little to do with their age and more to do with the fact that they’ve lost the ‘cute puppy’ look. Once they’re strayed, they don’t last long on the street, because they’ve lived their entire lives off 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 there.
At the end of the day, adopting any rescue dog is a worthwhile and commendable thing to do, but we implore you to consider giving an older dog his golden years. Their bodies may grow old, but we can absolutely promise you that 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 such a deep capacity for love, and it is even more astounding when they’re a rescue dog. 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 are dehydrated, the ones who would have suffered 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’re about to beat them. They are the ones that don’t understand why their owners, their whole world and the love 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’ve ever met are the ones who are on the road to recovery from a trauma.
All of our animals have come to us having experienced some sort of trauma, but senior rescues are particularly emotional.
Our Palmyra was rescued after a video on Facebook went viral – his owner clearly had anger issues, and he was caught on video beating Palmyra with the broadside of a cutlass.
Ted had been hit by a car, and his paw & leg were mangled and swollen.
Moonshine came to us with multiple healed scars and hairless patches of skin.
Faith was so unrecognisable that we couldn’t figure out her breed until weeks after.

Bolt had no hair, and his skin looked like dirty concrete. Mama was so scared after being spayed that we believe she had been abused on top of being starved and pregnant when she was taken in.

We firmly believe that rescue dogs understand when they have been given a second chance at life, and love you even more for it.

They may already be trained.
Because senior dogs would have likely had homes before; they would already have had 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.

Our foster mama Lizzie came to us so well trained that you just have to point to the kennel and she jumps right in. When she is on a walk, she is calm and curious, doesn’t pull on the leash, and will often just sit at your feet observing the goings-on. She rarely even jumps out the kennel until you’ve clipped the leash to her collar.

Our foster Roxy escaped her enclosure the other day, and spent a while just trotting around the exterior of her enclosure. The second she saw us, she lit up, left her very important sniffing, and ambled comfortably over to us with a big smile.

When Rep literally showed up at our gate, she immediately responded to whistles and basic commands.

<<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 put down, partially because health issues that develop later in life can be costly.

Another sad reality is that they are no longer considered “cute.” 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 issues. If the owner were 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.

When we took in Rusty, we thought that he had distemper, a fatal disease that could easily have been avoided with a vaccine. We later found out he had nerve issues, and just needed a bit of care.

We have rescued many pregnant mothers, who have likely been abandoned because they got pregnant. Their owners never bothered to spay them, and when they found themselves in the family way, they were strayed. Lilie & Jessie were both “short foot fluffy” pregnant mamas. From our experience, “short foot fluffy” dogs are a cinch to get adopted, so we believe that they were strayed because they were pregnant. While Lilie’s pups were all born in good health, she herself was very underweight, covered in tangled fur as well as ticks and fleas.

Jessie birthed 12, and, sadly, all died, likely due to compromised immune systems. She had a very difficult birth, and had to be given medication to speed the labour along and save her life. Jessie had such a bad eye infection that it could be treated only with antibiotics that we were unable to give her while she was pregnant.

Both Lilie and Jessie were spayed and found their forever homes. Without all of the treatment, Jessie herself would have certainly died, and if, by some miracle, did pull through, would have likely ended up pregnant again.

<<Older dogs are calmer than puppies>>
Adopting any dog is wonderful, but is also a big responsibility. We always ask every potential adopter to consider their family, and existing pets who will interact with the dog, and whether they have the time and energy to keep up with a younger puppy. Older dogs can cause less destruction to a home, and can make instant 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 older pups, 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.

Older dogs tend to stay close to you because they just want to be near you. They may also be afraid you’ll leave them, and one day, for no reason, they find themselves without love; without a family, a home, a roof, a meal.

We have in our care many senior dogs and cats who don’t ask for much – just the kindness of living out the rest of their lives in a loving home, and, more than likely, a napping companion! Please contact us if you’d like to give it to them.
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If you’d like to offer comments, support, or follow our work, find us on Facebook.com/Pawsforacause.gy, on Instagram @pawsforacause.guyana, subscribe to our YouTube Channel, drop us a line at [email protected], or visit our website at https://www.pawsforacausegy.com.
Animal welfare is everyone’s business. You do not have to be an animal person – you just have to be a kind person.