Doggy Destiny?
We humans have the tremendous honor and responsibility of looking after dogs. After all, they are at our mercy for almost everything. Dogs rely on us for food, safety, and instruction on how to navigate successfully in a world of human dominion. They have no control over who how they are treated or who they end up living with as their caregivers/companions. Or do they?
One dog we know of took matters into his own paws when he was nine years old and changed his life for the better. Mostly Bob is a little known gem of a book that deserves attention because it celebrates a diamond in the "ruff" who transformed his life by his own sheer will and perseverance.
It's only a ten-minute read, but this tribute to one very special dog contains an important lesson that will last a lifetime.
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Oldies But Goodies
Seasoned senior dogs have so much to offer as companions. Generally speaking, dogs over five-to-seven years old (give or take a year) are calmer, house trained, past their chewing phase, require less exercise, and so on. They make excellent companions. And, like Bob above, often impart their wisdom and joie de vivre to us mere mortals.
So the next time you are thinking of adding a new dog to your pack consider adopting a well-seasoned adult dog. These sage seniors are often unceremoniously dumped at shelters simply for the "crime" of no longer being a young pup. Indeed, many older adult dogs are surrendered to the shelter because their owners got a new puppy!
Older dogs tend to get passed over by prospective adopters and end up languishing in shelters far too long, or worse, never do get adopted and end up spending their sunset years unwanted and alone instead of in a loving home, cherished for their calm and dignified demeanor, reveling in the memories of a dog's life well lived.
Another way to help out senior dogs is to become a foster home. This gets them out of the shelter and back into a less stressful home environment where they can get well earned personal attention while waiting for just the right person who understands that a senior dog is like a fine wine and gets better and more valuable over time.
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