July 16 2014
Senior-dog adoptions offer loving pooches a new leash on life
Look at Eno, the cute, fuzzy, mini-poodle pup, reclining in his new owner’s arms and eating up the love like it’s Milk-Bone ambrosia. And check out spunky Baxter, the small Australian terrier mix, nipping at heels and kicking up his own, ready for a new home and adventure.
What? Eno’s 13? No way! And Baxter is about 10? Sweet little guys like this may have a few years under their collars – senior citizens in canine culture – but there’s no expiration date on love. And while it certainly takes a special breed of human to open heart and home for older pooches, more and more people are looking past gray muzzles, adopting senior dogs and giving them a new “leash” on life.
“It’s getting popular to adopt senior dogs,” says Laurie Routhier, director of operations at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco – an internationally known nonprofit dedicated to finding homes specifically for dogs ages 7 and up. Muttville placed 519 dogs in 2013, and they’re on track this year to reach 600 – animals who have lingered at other shelters on the verge of euthanasia or whose older owners have died and relatives don’t know what to do with the little guys and gals. …
