Senior 4 Senior
In rescue, we often hear people say that they do not want to adopt an older dog because they worry that the dog may die sooner than a younger dog would. It is unfortunate, but many people are afraid of the grief they may encounter sooner than if they got a younger dog or puppy. It's hard not to understand where people are coming from on the age issue, but we try to liken it to the following scenario: If a new friendly, pleasant neighbor moved into a neighborhood and he or she happened to be over 65 would we just avoid them because we can not make friends with someone that old for fear that they would die on us sooner than our other new neighbor that is only 30?
Some folks get beyond the age factor and they actually volunteer at nursing homes. They visit with the elderly and listen to their stories and share time with them. These visitations are sadly some of the brightest moments in the days of those elderly people. This is the same situation for senior dogs. All they want is someone to be with them and spend time with them. This brightens up their lives as well.
If we look at it from the perspective of the elder dog, we can see that they are the ones who need a loving home to adopt them the most. They need to feel love and be wanted just as much if not more than any puppy. Unfortunately, the elder dogs are the first to be put down when shelters become overpopulated. Shelters are very familiar with the length of time it can take to adopt out an older dog, so when space is needed, it's the seniors that are put to rest first.
Because of the extreme difficulties in generating people's interest in our older dogs, we have decided to set up the 'Senior 4 Senior' program in the hopes that people over 65 may be able to understand the needs of the senior dogs. Maybe a senior dog and a senior man or woman would or could become the best of friends, sharing their golden years together and giving eachother the love and companionship we all need. We also understand that an older dog might require a few additional trips to the vet and have some special dietary requirements that could require greater financial resources. To help offset this, our Senior 4 Senior Program provides for reduced adoption donations.
If you are over 65 and you are interested in one of our dogs that are age 12 or older, you can submit an application for adoption today and the adoption donation requirement will be reduced to only $125.00 for any mixed breed dog and $150.00 for any purebred hybrid dog.
Click here to apply to adopt
