I am hearing from a lot of people I meet that I am "old" or "geriatric". I guess people view this as a bad thing? But I want to tell you humans why adopting an older dog like me is actually a pretty awesome thing! Maybe even MORE awesome than adopting a puppy.
1. OK. A puppy is cute. I get it. Small, you can scoop it up and snuggle it. But guess what? It gets big. And you won't even know how big for a year or so! We older dogs are full grown, so you know how big I AM and will STAY.
2. I'm housebroken. ANY human who has had to housebreak a puppy knows that this takes time, attention and the human is picking up a LOT of messes. My foster mom had a puppy many years ago and stepped in poop in the middle of the night. That is GROSS, NOT cute! Most of us older dogs are already housebroken. All I had to learn was how to use a doggy door. You save time, energy, and having to wipe off your poopie feet at 3am.
3. Personality- Puppies are playful, but you cannot always tell their true personality until much later on. With me, you know what you are getting. No surprises. You won't want a dog that loves to play fetch and get one that would rather sit on the couch. You won't get a puppy thinking it will outgrow its desire to steal everything off the counter you have out for dinner and find that 5 years later you still spend a fortune calling the pizza guy because the dog ate dinner...again. Me-I'm a guy who loves people, likes dogs, enjoys walks and getting treats. I am not a dog that like to play ball, fetch frisbees or run around the house at high speed for no reason. I'm a companion, not a playmate. And that is FINE! Because not every human has the time or energy to devote to running a dog an hour a day or tossing a ball 50 times.
4. Training. I can already sit, stay, lay down, get down, and walk on a leash without dislocating my foster mom's shoulder. This cannot be said of ALL dogs, but I'm writing this, and I, Trevor, can do all of these things.
5. "But we want a younger dog so we have more time before they die." Fair enough, but the truth is that all dogs(and people!) get older. You WILL have an older dog at some point in time if you get a puppy. Here are my reasons for why adopting an older dog makes good sense as far as "time" is concerned: A. You have a shorter period of time that you want a dog. My foster family just lost their dog, Zeus a few weeks ago. He was 16 1/2 years old! To them, I'm not old, I still have a lifetime ahead of me! They have kids who will go off to college in less than 10 years and don't want to be tied to a dog for YEARS after the kids are gone. So, for families with older kids, an older dog may make sense. It isn't as long a period of time the parents will have to take care of a dog they "got for their kids". B. For those with younger kids, let's face it, raising kids takes a lot of energy. Why add a puppy(which is like a kid in a way)? If you add an older, trained dog,the kids will still enjoy the dog, but you will have less training to do. You don't have to worry about teething, your young child getting into a doggie accident, etc. Many say "But the dog will die, and my kids will be sad." I hate to break it to you, but all of us dogs die sometime, and the kids will be sad. You will NEVER be able to control when the dog dies, even a puppy.
6. "But when dogs get older, they need more medical care which is expensive." This isn't always If you think an older dog's anti-inflammatory medicine is expensive, have you ever had to take a puppy to the emergency vet because it ate "fill in the blank stuff a dog shouldn't eat"? Dogs are a financial investment no matter what age they are. Consider getting pet insurance. Also, it is CHEAPER to adopt an older dog! PLEASE remember this when choosing to adopt a dog of any age.
I hope these reasons have helped you think of how adopting an older dog is a good thing and not a bad thing. Finally, I want to say that by adopting an older dog, you are giving us the gift of love and a family at the end of our lives. We are with Labradors and Friends because people know our value and know that we can provide happiness and companionship for people, even though we are older, and even though other people may view us as disposable. If you'd like to love an older dog and welcome them into your home, please visit www.labradorsandfriends.org.
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