Adopt an Older Pet

Make Two Someone’s Happy – You & Your Pet!

Paradise Pet Resorts assists many local pet adoption and humane agencies to find homes for older dogs and cats, including the Sonoma Humane Society and animal welfare organizations such as PetFinder and Noah’s Bark. We also provide information on pet adoptions through our Adopt-a-Pet page and provide additional details on pets who need a home on our Facebook site.

In our work to find homes for older pets, we hear dog and cat lovers sometimes tell us that they would like to adopt an older pet but they worry that becoming attached for a shorter time might be be too sad and painful. Others say the idea of adopting an older dog, for example, leaves them feeling uneasy, particularly if they have families with small children.

What we tell potential adopters is that many older pets become available for adoption through no fault of the dog or cat. Often, it is because animal owners find they are unable to care for their pet, perhaps due to a divorce, economic hardship, or, as a result of the recent recession, a home foreclosure that left a family with no other means to house their pet. Another scenario is animal owners who are aging right along with their pets and find when they move into a nursing facility, it doesn’t allow pets.

Look Past Age

These longtime pets have so much love to offer and when you balance the age of the pet against the many upsides to adopting an older animal, you soon discover there’s more upside to becoming that dog or cat’s new guardian.  e’ve included the ASPCA’s top 10 reasons to adopt an older dog here in hopes you’ll consider opening your home to a new, if older, pet! We think you can replace ‘dog’ with ‘cat’ or any other pet category in the title and the reasons still apply! W

Ten Reasons to Adopt an Older Dog
(or Cat, or Rabbit, or Hamster, or…)

1. What You See Is What You Get

Older dogs are open books—from the start, you’ll know important things like their full-grown size, personality, and grooming requirements. All this information makes it easier to pick the right dog and forge that instant love connection that will last a lifetime. If you’re not so into surprises, an older dog is for you!

2. Easy to Train

Think you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Hogwash! Older dogs are great at focusing on you—and on the task at hand—because they’re calmer than youngsters. Plus, all those years of experience reading humans can help them quickly figure out how to do what you’re asking.

3. Seniors are Super-Loving

One of the cool parts of our job is reading stories from people just like you who have opted to adopt. The emails we get from pet parents with senior dogs seem to all contain beautiful, heartfelt descriptions of the love these dogs give you—and those of you who adopted dogs already in their golden years told us how devoted and grateful they are. It’s an instant bond that cannot be topped!

4. They’re Not a 24-7 Job

Grownup dogs don’t require the constant monitoring puppies do, leaving you with more freedom to do your own thing. If you have young children, or just value your “me time,” this is definitely a bonus.

5. They Settle in Quickly

Older dogs have been around the block and already learned what it takes to get along with others and become part of a pack. They’ll be part of the family in no time!

6. Fewer Messes

Your floors, shoes and furniture will thank you for adopting a senior pooch! Older dogs are likely to already be house-trained—and even if they’re not, they have the physical and mental abilities to pick it up really fast (unlike puppies). With their teething years far behind them, seniors also are much less likely to be destructive chewers.

7. You Won’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

There are those who yearn for a doggie friend of their own, but hold back because they worry what might happen in their lives in the years to come. And they are wise to do so—a puppy or young dog can be anywhere from an 8- to 20-year responsibility, which is not appropriate for the very elderly or those with certain long-term future plans. Providing a loving home for a dog in her golden years is not a less serious commitment, but it can be a shorter one.

8. They Enjoy Easy Livin’

Couch potato, know thyself! Please consider a canine retiree rather than a high-energy young dog who will run you ragged. Not that older dogs don’t require any exercise—they do—but they’re not going to need, or want, to run a marathon every day.

9. Save a Life, Be a Hero

At shelters, older dogs are often the last to be adopted and the first to be euthanized. Saving an animal’s life offers an unparalleled emotional return on your investment, and you’ll feel the rewards every day you spend together.

10. They’re CUTE!

Need we say more?

Thank you to the ASPCA for the information in this article.