Author: Tressa Lucas

The New Year is a time of gratitude and hope. We think upon what we have to be grateful for and what we hope for in the next year. I believe dogs do the same. They are grateful for the love we give them when they are adopted and for those that lose their homes or have never had a loving home – they still have hope for being adopted again.

Unfortunately, many dogs find themselves abandoned and hoping for a new home. I have seen it time and time again, dogs brought to the shelter after they have served their purpose for their people. In many cases it is because the dogs are getting older.

Early last year, I observed something that made a very strong impression on me – a visual I will never forget and one that broke my heart. While visiting a shelter, I watched a man drive up to the parking lot and get out of his truck with his dog. It was obvious the dog was a senior, a large dog probably a Retriever mix of some kind. The man walked through the front gate with his older dog lumbering at his side. He handed the leash to the shelter staff quickly turned and walked back to his truck without a glance. As he started his truck and began to back out, the dog showed signs of distress. He knew the sound of that truck and the smell of where he had been taken. As the shelter worker walked the dog down the path, he kept turning back, tugging at the leash, barking for his human. That was not a stray dog. That was a dog that was given up because he was old.

The sad fact is, older dogs are often overlooked because people usually want the cute puppies or younger dogs. The truth is older dogs are the best kept secret. Like fine wine and oak trees, dogs can get better with age, too. Like older people, they are wiser and often calmer and secure with who they are.

This New Year, I have the pleasure of fostering Jack and Jill. They are a precious pair of seniors that were left at the shelter as “strays.” They waited patiently in the kennel run for a month together, watching people stop, read their information on the kennel card and quietly move on. At the shelter, they could have been adopted separately, yet they remained waiting. They are about ten years old and it is clear they have spent their lives together. When you spend a little time with them you can see how bonded they are. To separate them at this time in their lives would be stressful. They sleep side by side and when one is picked up the other looks concerned. When they see people their tails wag in tandem. They really are one loving dog in two parts; one part male, one part female – the perfect balance, the perfect pair. We will never know the truth about their previous life, but as their foster mom, I know they are grateful for being given a second chance. They have hope for their future.

In addition to Jack and Jill finding a loving forever home, my hope is that people will remember that adopting dogs is a life time commitment. Remember to be grateful for your dogs because they are grateful to you. Remember to give a home to a senior dog because they are hopeful, too.