Thinking of adopting a dog? Consider an older dog...

As most of you know, I am involved in dog rescue and have been for many years.  Over the years we have fostered countless Dachshunds, Pekingese, Chihuahuas, Cattle dogs and various other breeds as well.  It is more unusual for us NOT to have a foster dog than to have one.  About a month ago, my last foster, Coconut, a Pekingese whose eyes had to be removed due to injuries and neglect went to her new home.  A few weeks before that, Coni, an 11 year old Chinese Crested came and quickly went to live with my close friend Michelle.  Before there we had Fidel and before that Blue, who was 10 years old, the list goes on. Interestingly, but not surprising, the easiest fosters are the seniors or just older dogs.

After a run of senior dogs who did so well here, I decided last week that I would foster again for Muttville. Muttville is a rescue organization that is dedicated to taking in homeless senior dogs that are at risk of being killed in shelters.  So, today I took a drive out to San Francisco to meet the current residents that needed a foster home.  I ended up bringing home Mandy, a 9 year old Chihuahua who is as sweet as can be.

Muttville is an amazing place and I found myself feeling very warm and fuzzy as I sat there visiting with the dogs.  The facility is cage free, meaning that the dogs are pretty much all loose.  There was music playing and dogs were walking around visiting with me, volunteers and other dogs.  Others were lying on dog beds, most of them cuddled up with a buddy.  Volunteers were there walking dogs and working on various projects. There were many dogs there but not one dog jumped on me, no one was barking, no dogs were fighting, they were just "being".  They were happy to go for a walk with a volunteer, but just as happy to sit on my lap for pets or lie on a bed with a buddy.  I "connected" with Max, Stacy, Tito, Melody, Moxie, Titan and of course, Mandy.  I could have easily taken anyone of these dogs home as every one of them would make an outstanding companion.

Most of the time when someone decides to get a dog they want a puppy.  Partly because having a puppy seems like so much fun, and it is, when you aren't cleaning up pee, getting up in the middle of the night to take the puppy out potty, picking up various pieces of things that have been destroyed, teaching them not to jump, not to counter surf, etc, etc, etc.  I get wanting a puppy, but I also encourage people to consider a senior dog.  With senior dogs, for the most part, what you see is what you get.  They are who they are. And, just because they are older doesn't mean that they are on death's door.  Popeye was at least 10 when we adopted him and we had him for 5 years.  The oldest Dachshund I ever placed was Opus who was 15 when he came into rescue and lived with his owner until he passed away at 21 years old!

So, just file these thoughts into the back of your mind for when you are thinking you might like to adopt a dog.  If you are not sure that you are up to having a puppy and the training and management involved, just know that you do have other options.