Advice from someone who's been there

It seemed too disloyal not to give an old dog a comfortable home for life. I figure my species can't ever repay Abby's species for all they have done for us. We took our other two dogs to the Shelter to meet Abby, and they seemed to approve (or at least they didn't object too much), so we took big old Abby home.

We thought we were doing her a favor. It was she who did us a favor.

To begin with, she had been trained! And trained far better than our dogs were. She could sit and stay and come. She doesn't "heel"--maybe she was trained with some other word; maybe whoever trained her prefers a dog to walk ahead. She was apparently taught not to get on the furniture. I can lure her up on the dog's couch from time to time, but she really doesn't like it. And she was taught not to jump on people. Instead, she bouces in front of you.

She was already spayed when we got her, and it was obvious that she had been well cared for earlier in life.

But most important, she's a great dog. She's sweet, friendly, completely trustworthy. She's the dog that I tell kids yes, they can pet her. She won't bite. She's a great dog to hug. She will cuddle and "talk to you" with little grunting sounds.

Abby is now 14, still going strong. She apparently had a stroke last summer, but has recovered completely. Our walks are shorter than they used to be, but she's still eager to go. I know that her time is probably limited. Especially since her stroke I've thought of her as being sort of "on loan from God." One of these days, God is going to want her back... (It happened...Abby died October 2, 2000, apparently quietly in her sleep. We figure she must have been 15 by then; we had her almost exactly four years.)

Abby was the first old dog we adopted. She won't be the last. We have long felt that we're too old to deal with puppies. So our second dog was a young adult. Well, it seems that older dogs are even better, especially as we humans get older. (I suspect that an older dog would also be first choice for a family with babies or small children.)

Older dogs are just great. As a rule, they are calmer, less demanding of one's time, easier for other animals as well as humans to get along with. Generally they have had some training, or at least have had enough experience to have an idea of what we want. Even if an older dog hasn't been formally housebroken, he or she seems to catch on right away. (The only accidents Abby ever had in the house were the night of her stroke. She tried to get to the dog door, but her body just wasn't cooperating.)

There's a good website on older dogs called The Senior Dogs Project. It includes personal stories, pictures, reasons for adopting an older dog, and lots of information on their care.

Consider adopting an older dog!

--Nan Lawler

Nan is one of the humans who belonged to Abby and also to Bear (adopted as a puppy, died when he was approaching 16). She is one of the humans who still belong to Trina (adopted as a "young adult," now about 9 or 10, we think).

1/00; rev. 5/01