Why Adopt a Senior Dog?
About a year ago, when my husband and I were interested
in adopting a sister
for our 5 year old Dobe, Chuck suggested “Millie”. He
told me she was a “silly, floppy eared girl that loves
to play”. I thought that sounded right
up our alley. Then Chuck told me Millie was about 9
years old. Yikes! I didn't want an OLD dog! I wanted a
young dog – not one that had all those- you know-
problems that OLD dogs have. Well, despite my
hesitation, I went to Millie's foster home and met her
and she indeed was a silly girl and very
sweet. I noticed right away that no one had ever told
Millie that she was a
9 year old dog and she obviously was not counting! She
bounced around and ran around like she was half her age.
I was surprised and I left Millie's foster home still
hesitant but Millie definitely stayed on my mind.
A couple weeks later, we offered to foster Millie. I
brought Millie into our home and she came into our
hearts. We adopted her a couple weeks after that and she
has now been a part of our family for a little over a
year. I remember the wives tales that I always heard
about adopting an older dog – they'll never bond with
you - they're set in their ways - you can't teach an
old dog new tricks, etc. I soon learned that none of
those things are true.
We bonded with Millie and Millie bonded with us right
away-every bit as much as our Dobe we've had since he
was 7 months old. Although Millie can be stubborn at
times, she is extremely smart and respects our wishes to
not get onto the furniture and other things she was
obviously allowed to do.
( except when we aren't looking) She just wants to
please us and to love us any way that she can.
Millie (now also known as Millaroo, Millie Vanilli, or
Motor Butt Millie (due to her inability to stop wagging
her tail)) has been a wonderful companion to our 5 year
old male Dobe. She plays and wrestles with him (and
wins sometimes too)! Unlike bringing a puppy home, we
never worried about house training, chewing, digging,
scratching and all of the wonderful things
puppies do. Since Millie is an older dog (once again,
please don't tell Millie because she doesn’t know that
she’s older) she has settled down. She
doesn't have a desire to escape the yard and run around
the neighborhood.
She came to us very obedient – she knows what “no” means
and respects it.
There was no losing sleep to comfort the new family
member. Millie came into our home knowing that she
belonged with us. It was as if she walked in
the door and sighed and said, “Finally, I’m home”.
True Millie has to take a pill every morning because she
is incontinent and she has some fatty tumors on her
belly. Those were things that I thought would be
inconvenient but we don't even think about them. It's
true that we
may not have as many years with Millie that we may have
had with a younger puppy but we have ensured that the
years we will have with her will be the most wonderful
years of her life. Even if Millie would've only lived
for a couple months I would not have taken back our
decision to adopt her. We have had many smiles and
laughs watching her perk her ears out and do her “dinner
dance” each night. She is a wonderful part of the family
and I will
never again hesitate to adopt a senior dog. |
