IDriving back from the animal shelter, Steve Gregg felt peaceful with his 12-year-old Chihuahua on his lap. He had been depressed in the months since his dog Wolfgang died. “I can’t understand it,” he said. Wolfgang was hit by a car. Greg’s idea was that he could adopt an unwanted dog and give the animal one last chance to have a loving home. The Chihuahua, whom he named “Eeyore,” was the oldest dog in the shelter and had a heart murmur and four bad knees. Along the way, Eeyore kept wagging his tail and looking out the window. “It’s not a no-kill shelter, so his future doesn’t look good, but he has a new lease on life,” Gregg said. “I will never forget it. It felt like Wolfgang stepped in and kept this dog alive, which was exactly what I needed.”
This benefited him greatly, and soon he adopted another old dog – “one became the other”. He now has 11 dogs. Every now and then, the shelter would call him and tell him a dog might be euthanized, and he couldn’t resist. “The problem with seniors in shelters is they are the last to be checked on. If you have seniors with health issues, they are the last.” Greg lives in Colorado, but most of his dogs are from Those rescued in other states — rescued from “high-mortality shelters” where older dogs, disabled dogs or dogs who couldn’t find homes were euthanized.
He said being older — it was the dogs, not Greg, although he recently retired as an accountant — meant they were easier to handle. “I don’t have 11 puppies running around. Like me, they like a regular life.” The oldest is 19 years old and the youngest is 8 years old, but because she is an Irish wolfhound, she looks like Like a centenarian. Greg got up early and took them out – five of them could walk without any problems; the others usually sat in the carriage and came back for medicine and breakfast. Some people need more care – one of his dogs is diabetic and has stomach issues. This means he eats boiled fish and insulin at the same time every day. “I have to plan around that. Others have special diets. One couple is blind and won’t go out on their own; I have to leave them outside and bring them in again.” Sometimes, he says with an affectionate smile, They will get lost.
These are last-chance pets who wait months to find a new home or spend their final days in a shelter. Sometimes, an animal’s needs are so great that finding a home is nearly impossible. Tom Whiteside, of Doris Banham Dog Rescue in Nottinghamshire, said they had adopted some dogs from puppy farms, as well as some that were used for fighting. “We’ve had cases where dogs have been thrown out of vans, out of cars. We take in anyone who’s injured, whether it’s mentally or physically, and it’s our job to rehabilitate them. A lot of times, it’s successful, but Some dogs are traumatized by what they’ve been through and will never change.”
Sometimes Whiteside would be called by a veterinarian with a dog that the owner wanted to euthanize, or by the owner himself. “The public will say: ‘I have this dog and it’s being euthanized,’ and if it’s a stupid reason, we’ll say: ‘Wait a minute, let’s see what we can do first.'” In 2021- In its 22nd annual stray dog survey, Dogs Trust found 218 responding local authorities had euthanized 240 dogs. Four of them are because they are banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act. The rest are for health or behavioral reasons. Occasionally, Whiteside gets dogs from local authorities that can be rehabilitated, or are at least allowed to live in the centre.
HElène Svinos rescued her crossbreed dog Maz from Afghanistan. He was discovered in Mazar-i-Sharif by a friend, a veterinarian traveling to the city, who thought he had been hit by a car. Maz is 13 years old and has had both legs amputated. “Yesterday was not a good day – he didn’t want to walk – so you just roll with him, like you would with any dog,” she said.
She juggles working as an emergency room doctor in Manchester with caring for Maz and her five other dogs. Two other hybrids are also disabled – Bambi, who was found on the streets of Romania without the use of his hind legs, and Inka, who is blind. She also has three springer spaniels.
Dogs with higher needs require more work in some areas—such as incontinence issues—but have it easier in other areas. Unlike her spaniel, they can’t climb the kitchen counter or open the refrigerator. “There are a lot of disabled dogs that need homes,” she said. “People will criticize a rescue center for putting a truly disabled dog to sleep when they don’t provide them with a home. I just think it’s a shame because people are missing out on a wonderful dog. There’s no reason you can’t be with They do everything together.” She has a stroller for the dog that can’t walk far; they climb mountains and go to the seaside. “possible.”
Her dog is inspiring, she said. “When you see a two-legged dog truly embracing life, you don’t really feel sorry for yourself. Inka was found as a two-week-old puppy on the river with her head resting on On a piece of wood, trying to stay afloat. The zest for life is amazing.”
Many older cats and dogs that come into shelters don’t have such dramatic backstories. Lauren Moore, fundraising manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in the north of England, said often their owners had died or were unwell and unable to care for them. “Entering a kennel or cattery environment can be traumatic,” she said. “They’re in their twilight years; we want to make sure it’s as comfortable as possible.”
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) runs the Senior Animal Rehoming Scheme (yes, the ears), which was set up because older pets take longer to rehome than younger pets. Apart from this, the scheme also helps in covering medical expenses. Moore found that people who went through the program often came back for another older pet. “I think there must be a special connection — ‘I’m going to take care of you in your last years’ — that these animals know and appreciate.” Regardless, Moore says, there are many benefits to having an older cat or dog: “Someone might be looking for less demanding companionship.”
That’s not to say older pets will necessarily slow down. Sue Lewis chased her 18-year-old dog and found herself laughing. “We can’t catch him,” she said. “I can’t believe we actually caught this old dog and we’re still chasing him.” Louis believes Teddy is a cross between a border collie and some corgis. The legs may be short, but the speed is still soon.
Teddy and Sheba, a rough collie of similar age, have been with Louis for just over a year. The pair came to the Dog Trust when their owner died, where she was volunteering at the time. When people showed little interest in adopting them and talked about rehoming them separately, Lewis thought, “Absolutely not. They need to stay together, so they come home with me… They bring us a lot of joy.” .”
Not far away, in the same area of the West Midlands, 16-year-old Jack Russell Libby is in her new home two years ago with new owner Alan Williams Wandering around the vicarage where I moved. Williams has adopted several older dogs over the past few years. “When a dog has been sitting on the shelf for a while and no one is interested, it seems like the right thing to do,” he said.
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Sue Lewis with her husband Pete and Sheba (correct) and Teddy.Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian
Williams found that older dogs suited his lifestyle better. “When you get a 14 or 15-year-old dog, they’ve been trained in their own way, a bit like us humans.” Libby, from animal welfare charity Blue Cross, knew what she wanted. “We’d offer her something that might not be very appealing, and she’d express her feelings—she’d go to her other bowl and tap that bowl.” Sometimes, she would walk for an hour. Other days, she’ll reach the end of the road and make it clear she’s not going to go any further.
Derby Cat Sanctuary has 152 cats, 23 of whom are 11 years of age or older. “I think people think they won’t be with them as long, or they’ll develop health problems, or they won’t be as much fun at home,” said Rachel Harris, the center’s deputy manager. If you’ve ever had a kitten who liked to tear up curtains or dig at houseplants, this could be a benefit, she says: “Provide a good retirement home for a cat who needs to curl up and feel loved and warm. This is a kind of satisfaction. “
IOver the past 30 years, Pete Crockett has adopted seven older cats. He was nine months pregnant with Tia, who was about 15 years old. He believes that animals in shelters, no matter how well cared for, will “lose a little bit of their spirit.” Crockett likes older cats: “They’re used to their own lives. They know how to live with humans. Their roaming days are basically over, and you don’t get too many rodent surprises.” He The cats may require extra care and nurturing – one was given recreational drugs by a previous owner – “but most are pretty straightforward”. If their vision begins to deteriorate, they may need a fenced-in area in the garden or a stack of books to help them sit in their favorite chair. “I’m happy to have a cat that no one else wants,” he said.
Annemarie Kennedy was heartbroken after her dog died and didn’t want another one, but she kept seeing photos of Charlie, a deaf, toothless 15-year-old Jack Russell, on social media. “He was treated very poorly and suffered from pancreatitis. I thought: all the dog needs is a comfortable bed and someone to scratch his ears for a while, and he doesn’t have much time.”
That was a year ago. “He’s running around the garden like a six-year-old, not a 16-year-old, so I think we’re going to have him for a while,” she said. It can be hard work – she has to get up four times at night with Charlie to get him to pee. “He can’t see himself going downstairs. He will go into the garden but you have to wait for him at the door. If you close the door he will think he is being kicked out and that will make him miserable, so you have to leave the door open Standing. At four o’clock in the morning, you are thinking in the wind and rain: Why should I do this?”
Finding food for him was difficult because he had no teeth, but they discovered he liked porridge. Charlie, who was listening, perked up when he heard Kennedy say the word.
While his taste in food was relatively inexpensive, “he was pretty expensive, but I knew that when I hired him,” Kennedy said. “You can’t get insurance so you grit your teeth and pay the vet bills. But when you see him doing the Zoom thing in the garden, he’s happy, his tail is wagging and he’s having so much fun, it’s definitely worth it .”
Kennedy found it rewarding to see Charlie relaxed and safe: “We don’t know everything that happened to him, but we do know that he was afraid of men and loud noises, and he didn’t like being alone. You think: What happened to you Horrible things? These things will never happen to you again.”
As for the inevitable, everyone knows it. “It’s just an idea and you change an animal’s life in a short period of time,” Kennedy said. Williams doesn’t know how long Libby has left, “but every day is a joy.” Crockett said he would mope around for a while after Tia left, “and then come to the conclusion that there was another poor old cat out there who needed a home.” Louis believes that for Sheba and Teddy, “whatever time they have left, they deserve some love.”
For Greg, going through periods of mourning on a regular basis gave him an appreciation for life. “I don’t take things for granted. I constantly see how short life is. I see them happy and doing well, often much better than when they came in, and I feel like I’ve given them the best Time. I’m not saying it’s not hard, but I take comfort in knowing what their lives could have been.”
He said his last chance dog taught him a good lesson. “What advice do I always have if you want to change your life for the better? Realize that it has nothing to do with you. The most unhappy people I have ever met think it has everything to do with them. Once you realize that almost everything is No, that’s what these dogs taught me, that life is beautiful.”
