Adopting a Senior Dog

I was the one who laughed at people that cooked for their dogs. Then, one day...I found myself cooking ground hamburger meat for mine as a special treat. I even gave him his own chicken breast cut up into small pieces when I cooked a meal for the family. Who in the world had I become?! I am now one of those crazy "animal lovers" I had alwys poked fun at.

Once upon a time...I thought maybe we have been doing this dog thing all wrong. We would start off with a cute puppy and then said puppy would chew on everything including ripping off my screens on my windows. Puppies are a lot of work. Big puppies are even a lot more work. So, it dawned on me. Old dogs are past that puppy phase and so why not give it a try.

So, I loaded up the kids one day and headed to the pound. I was hoping to get a tamed, fat, lazy dog that I had seen in an ad the day before that was at the pound. I knew the kids would be scared walking into the area where the bigger dogs were because they all barked and it was a little unneerving and scary. I thought I'd warm them up in the puppy room clearly indicating we weren't getting a puppy. My daughter has never been a lover of pets. When I tell you that she passed by little chihuahas and puppies without even a sense of, "Oh, how cute!" that is true. Then, there was this little scrawny Maltese that looked at Amber and it was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was love at first sight!! Amber begged and begged and I knew it would be a hard sell to her Dad who wanted an older but bigger dog. Long story short...Amber won (Daddy's girl).

We learned that Frosty's owner had died and Frosty had nowhere to go. We also learned he was a Senior Dog, a little over 10 years old. He is set and spoiled in his ways. I'm sure he knows my every thought ;) He is the best lap dog and cuddle in bed dog ever! If he thinks you are taking him out for a walk he starts chasing his tail in circles. He makes you cook for him sometimes ;)

I often wonder about his previous owner. It is obvious this person loved and cared very much for this dog. The dog has trained us and not the other way around. I wonder if Frosty misses his owner sometimes. I'm convinced he does. Adopting a Senior Dog has been the best thing our family has done pet wise. People ask, "aren't you worried he'll die on you soon?" I've been told that I'm "Doggy Hospice" adopting a much older dog. The answer is, no, I think more people should adopt older dogs. They deserve to live out the rest of their lives in happy homes. Just because they're old doesn't mean their time has passed. My "Old Dog" is very wise. He's like Yoda Dog.

Consider adopting an older pet. They're more interested in cuddles than doing strange things to your leg. Besides, it's kind of fun saying, "Shady Pines" when he does something he's not supposed to be doing like leaving a little gift on the rug on occasion big enough for "Google Earth" to see, so my husband says.