Top 10 Reasons to Adopt a Senior

The act of adopting a senior dog is like no other experience you will have in life.  It is a unique opportunity to fully open your heart and to welcome a wonderful companion who will fit right into your life and quickly become a loyal, loving member of your family…..

Senior dogs are grown up enough to fit into many situations — whether a family with kids or a single person who works, a retired couple or a single elderly person. No matter the context, all a senior dog wants is to be a loyal and loving companion.

Equally unique is the opportunity for you to demonstrate kindness and social responsibility — by saving the life of a dog who might otherwise be euthanized AND by saying no to puppymills.

Need more convincing about the unique benefits and joys of senior dog adoption?  Here are the top ten reasons:

1. Older dogs are housetrained.  You won't have to go through the difficult stage(s) of teaching a puppy house manners and mopping up after accidents.
2. Older dogs are not teething puppies and won't chew your shoes and furniture while growing up.
3.  Older dogs can focus well because they've mellowed.  Therefore, they learn quickly.
4.  Older dogs have learned what "NO" means.  If they hadn't learned it, they wouldn't have gotten to be older dogs.
5.  Older dogs settle in easily because they've learned what it takes to get along with others and to be part of a pack.
6.  Older dogs are good at giving love once they get into their new, loving home.  They're grateful for the second chance they've been given.
7.  What You See Is What You Get.  Unlike puppies, older dogs have grown into their shape and their personality.  Puppies can grow up to be quite different from what they seemed at first.
8.  Older dogs are instant companions -- ready for hiking, car trips, and other things you like to do.
9.  Older dogs leave you time for yourself because they don't make the kinds of demands for your time and attention that young dogs do.
10.  Older dogs let you get a good night's sleep because they're accustomed to human schedules and don't generally require night-time feedings, comforting, or bathroom breaks.
(Photo above: Gentleman "Tux," adopted from Peace of Mind Dog Rescue, Pacific Grove, CA)