7 Reasons Why You Should Adopt a Senior Dog

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In honor of National Pet Adoption weekend, we believe it is only suitable to blog about adopting a dog.  In this blog post, we want to really focus on the ones that have the lowest adoption rate:  senior dogs.  Elderly dogs get a bad reputation but let's focus only the good and not the bad.  The following are 7 reasons why you should adopt an elderly dog. 

1) Adopting a senior dog can save their life

I believe this is one of the more important reasons to adopt.  Elderly dogs, unfortunately, do not have much time compared to younger dogs/pups.  By giving them a loving home, not only will it give them a sense of belonging, but you save them from being euthanized.  With their low adoption rate, shelters are more likely to put elderly dogs down first, and senior dogs do deserve loving homes.

2) They come already trained

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Some pet owners dread the first year of owning a puppy because it is the hardest year when having a dog.  With a senior dog, it is possible that they are fully house trained and an added bonus of knowing some pretty neat tricks that you can show off to your friends.  When you have a house trained dog, it saves you a lot of time and effort needed compared to a puppy. 

3) Older Dogs are more calm 

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Not everyone is built for extreme hikes, overnight camping trips, and countless trips to the beach.  Sometimes, we prefer to sit on the couch and watch our favorite Netflix Original show.  This is where older dogs do shine.  They enjoy sitting down with you and watching you watch your favorite Netflix movie.  To them, being around you is exactly what they ask for, and for some, its a match made in heaven.  

For families that have younger children, having a senior dog will be a great addition to the family if you're afraid of your dog jumping all over and tripping your kids; pups are more likely to have more energy and a higher chance to injure your children. 

4) Elderly dogs are not broken

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The common misconception is that all elderly dogs have too many health issues and it will be too costly to adopt them.  While this might be true in some cases, most senior dogs are at the shelter due to major life changes from their previous owner:  divorce, finance troubles, new child, or relocation.  Many of them are perfect house dogs and just need a loving home. 

5) Avoiding the dog and owner mismatch

There are dogs that say "Hey, today's plan should consist of going to the bathroom, eating breakfast, and then taking a long nap until dinner time." Then there are dogs that wake us up 5:45 in the morning, want to play fetch at the park for a good 3 hours, then conquer that 14 mile hike they have been dreaming about the night before.  Everyone dog, like people, have certain needs and wants and we want to make sure we, as people, can provide it to them.  Adopting an older dog makes it easier to gauge the dog's personality to match your lifestyle.  

6) Instant companion

Senior dogs are ready to rock n roll now.  Instead of having to wait until your puppy receives all of their shots and is properly leash trained, older dogs are ready can go to the park to play fetch.  Instead of having to clean up after your puppy's mess that they made in the house, you can already be swimming together in the pool.  Instead of testing the waters to see if the pup like car rides, your senior dog could be going on road trips cross country with you and your buddies.  With an older dogs, it is more of the exciting adventures you can partake now.  With younger dogs, it's "my dog made a mess and I have to clean it or I don't trust my dog to not have an accident at my buddy's house."

7) Golden Years

There is a reason why the last years of dogs are called the golden years.  The amount of appreciation and loyalty is unheard of unless experienced.  By adopting an older dog, you give yourself the opportunity to experience the joy of not only saving a life, but truly understand what it means to have a companion with unwavering devotion. By giving that senior dog their second chance at a loving home, it allows them to prove to you their ability "to be the best dog they can be."  

So, the next time you go to your local shelter to look for a puppy, please do not overlook the glorious white muzzled, tail wagging senior.  They want to be adopted just as bad with their fur-ever loving smile.  So before you go and pick up your next cute puppy, remember the amount of poop you have to clean from inside the house, the times they will go through the trash, or the carpet that you have to replace because they ripped it off.  With a senior dog, they are ready to go on day 1.  

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 Do you have experience adopting a senior dog?  Please leave your story in the comment section!  We would love to read about your story!


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