Thanks for sharing your stories! I am involved in animal rescue and it's so sad to see the "older" animals waiting to be adopted. Or even sadder, seeing the "older" animals discarded because they're no longer "young".

IMHO anyone who finds their furry love from somewhere other than a breeder is a star in my eyes. Whether the animal is found wandering the streets or adopted through a shelter or rescue group, a life is saved. So many are discarded in times of financial hardship or personal struggles.

Thank you for opening your home to these loving animals!

My yoga teacher only adopts older dogs~~she says they need it the most.

My DS and his wife have rescured several older dogs and have found homes for all of them. They had a spoiled older Boxer that was very agressive that my son would not give to anyone, he called a not kill shelter to come get her. She snapped at the man who came to get her, she was just so lost and scared. My son told him he was so sad because he really wanted to find a home for her~~the man said no problem, you did the right thing we are in contact with a Boxer Rescure group in Araizona that will come and get her ASAP. Socialize her and find her a wonderful home;)

Years ago we had this great vet that we were good friends with, we would all go out to his farm on the weekends and let the animals roam and play. He would call me in to assist him on surgeries, this is when I was still in med school, he said it would give me good experience. I was happy and honored to assist.
So one day he called me, he knew that I wanted an Afghan Hound but we couldn't afford it, he said come over to the clinic. I got there and saw the most beautiful blonde Afghan Hound. The dog had got loose and raided trash cans eating everything in them including aluminum foil! On x-ray the pieces of foil were visible. The girl who owned him wanted to sell him because she no longer had the time to spend with him.

So they came to an agreement, doc would take care of the dog, treat him update him on everything and do it all for free in exchange for the dog and she would be cleared of the past vet bills. She agreed. This is where I came in, doc would give me the dog but I had to continue with the health care and upkeep of the dog.

I was thrilled! His name was Ritz and he was gorgeous however it was quickly evident he had never had any kind of training at all. AND he would eat anything. He was about 4 years old. We ended up having to fly him to the vet college for a lot of tests to try to determine what all was wrong with him. He had bloody stools. Well turns out that old Ritz had been drinking water out of her toilet and she was using those tablets in the tank that makes the water blue and cleans the bowl. That stuff is very damaging to an animal or child if they get to the water. The chemicals had literally been eating away his insides.

Thankfully we found out in time and he made a full recovery but he sure did cost me a lot of money, but I am sure glad it happen and we loved him till he was an old man and laid down for a nap and quietly passed away.

We had many a story to tell of his adventures, like the time he managed to pull the pan down off the kitchen island that had the Christmas ham cooked and ready to go to my in-laws for the Christmas meal! He ate the whole ham with some assistance from our other smaller dog.
Talk about having to scramble to go find another ham and get it cooked, for a much later meal lol.

The other smaller dog was one we saved from death row at the pound she was several years old also and was a fantastic dog who also lived a very good long life.

I have never regretted a single animal we had we were blessed to have enjoyed them in our lives.

The little one that owns my heart today found us and decided this would be her forever home, boy are we glad she did! She is pretty darn lucky too! Lol

Great stories! Another wonderful thing about adopting an older animal is that they all seem to know what you did. They're so devoted.

Our local shelter runs a "special" all the time: If you're 70 or older, you can adopt a 7-year-old (or older) pet for $7. They're neutered/spayed and microchipped, have all their shots, etc.

I had a crazy Afghan hound for 14 years. She was a real character but dumb as a post.

People who give older dogs a home will never regret it. They have so much love to give. I have no idea the age of my purebred Dachshund who was in a kill shelter in WVA. The "lovely" people who turned him in gave no info except his name which I changed. He didn't need any part of that gang.

I just adopted an 6-8 year old bichon/poodle mix from our shelter 6 weeks ago. Penny is the cutest, sweetest little thing and she is totally in love with me. She fits into our family perfectly, because I walk my dogs everyday, sometimes up to 6 miles if I have time and am not on call. I was nervous about our first 5 mile walk, but she motored on with her cute little stub legs like a trooper. She absolutely loves to walk.

My standard poodle was also adopted from the same pound. We have had her for 7 years now, and she is finally starting to mellow now that she is almost 13. She was apparently given back a couple of times because she is a runner and you can't catch her when she gets free. She loves to hunt. I have figured her out now and she hasn't gotten free for years. She always came home, but most times spent the night hunting.

She totally ripped up a couch so the coils were sticking out and foam was everywhere. We had gone golfing and I had forgotten my cell phone at home. I had it set to beep when a message came, and the beeping drove her crazy. My theory was she was given a beeping shock collar at one time in her life. I hated that couch anyway, good excuse to get a new one.

I would be so lonely without my dogs, since DH works out of town a lot and I am home alone. They are great walking buds, and just all around good kids. I don't think I'll ever get a puppy again, just older shelter dogs.

My Dachshund with his fat stubby little legs pulls ME three miles every day. He'd even go further as we have on occasion.

We've had dogs and cats, sometimes both at the same time. Our last kitty lived 20 years. Now we share our lives with Australian shepherds, but we're admittedly getting a little old to handle a "youth".

Our first Aussie died last year. We really missed her, and so did our other dog. So we found a 7-month old female from a breeder in a neighboring state. We thought an "older" pup would come to us already housebroken and somewhat trained. NOT!!

She's been a lot of work. A new pup would have been easier. She has behaviors we don't understand, and haven't been able to change.

Not sure what the future will bring. Our older boy is almost 11. She's 2. I think she's our last Aussie. We'll have to downsize next time. We can't keep up with her. I would consider adopting an older dog if we were able to spend some time with the animal before making a firm commitment.

When our third Westie died (almost 17), we registered with the local Westie Rescue. We were used to an old dog and thought we would probably get a pet whose owner had died or gone into a retirement home. Hah! We got a three-month-old, turned in by an owner who'd bought him from a puppy mill. He's never completely stopped cringing if you put your hand over his head to pat him.

Eliot will be 14 in January. He's not 'made right' -- outside or inside. Westies don't shed, but he does. All the parts that should be short are long: Torso, ears, muzzle, legs, tail. He has always had an acid tummy, needing three meals a day. He now requires prescription canned dog food at $2.75 a day -- and Pepcid morning and night. His feet turn out, and he's down on his heels. He has arthritis and gets Tramadol in the mornings before his walk.

He's not very smart. He eats cr@p in the yard and throws up at 3 a.m., never making the association. He's now deaf -- but it doesn't matter much since he never did obey. (sigh)

He's ours.

LOL chisue. I feel your pain.

Would you rather have: Pets, or Kids???

In January of 2011 we adopted an elderly English Bulldog mix and I shared him here with you all -- we changed his name from Chief to Jeeves and he was, as I described him, 65 pounds of love. The shelter had accepted him along with an older female who soon died of cancer and the folks at the shelter thought Chief would die of grief as he stopped eating for nearly a week after his friend died.

We came into the picture some time after that and brought him into our home and into our hearts. We only had him for about 1.5 years (they estimated his age at 9 or 10 when we got him, if I remember correctly) and he developed lymphosarcoma and we had the saddest task of putting him to sleep. His year-and-a-half with us was so wonderful -- he had no bad habits and never once had an accident in the house, even when he was sick with cancer. Well, ok, he had one bad habit -- he liked to sneak up on the furniture for a nap when no-one was looking. My mom loves to tell the story about how Jeeves was sleeping on the floor of the living room during one of her visits....I left the room to take my son upstairs for a nap and Jeeves lifted his head to watch me leave the room. The minute I was gone he stood up and lumbered up onto the couch next to mom. Oh, how I still miss that sweet sweet old man!

Six years ago Henry came to my house to live. He is a schnorkie--a miniature schnauzer/yorkie mix whose previous owner literally stopped off at my store on her way to the animal shelter. She told me that she had two jobs and was not at home enough to take care of him. Well, I am a sucker for the underdog and you know the rest of the story. He now thinks he is one of our children.

My story is just a little different...We've always had cats or should I say, cats have always adopted us...We've had as many as 15 kittens in the basement, taming, training, getting them ready for adoption...But, there's always been room for one more stray...When they show up at the door, they're always welcome and most of them just settle in and stay....Our latest one came about a week ago and I noticed he had been limping...He wasn't feral but we knew he wasn't a house cat either...Just yesterday, I finally got him to the vet to be checked, neutered etc. and would you believe he tested positive for Leukemia.....Only knowing him for a week, my heart was broken..I couldn't take him back home and we'd have to put him down...While I was sitting with him, one of the assistants came into the room and told me about a lady who takes leukemic cats and gives them the care and love they deserve....I sat there and cried, knowing our "Buddy" would have a good home....They didn't give me this person's name but she's truly an angel in my eyes.....
As I said, my story is a little different but I had to share.......

Oh Sunny, that's just awesome!

I've got a cat outside that's adopted us in the past few weeks. She's adorable and friendly but I have reservations about bringing her in. She'd be fully vetted because I can't jeopardize my cat....however, I think she'd believe my 23 year old cockatiel would be a snack. I can't put the old man in harm's way. So, for now, she'll remain an outside cat and get loved and fed. She'll hate me when I stuff her in the carrier for a vet visit!

We have four dogs, three adopted from rescue, one purchased from my nieces as a puppy (then away from me with my ex-husband for 5 years and now back to me after he passed away).

The three rescue girls were 1, 3 1/2, and 9 1/2 years old at adoption. The 1 and 3 1/2 year old were adopted at the same time, the 9 1/2 year old later on.

Ginger Sue, our oldest, is now 14 1/2. She went to rescue when her elderly owner had to go into a senior home. She is blind in one eye (happened after we owned her - the vet believed she must have poked a stick in her eye while we were walking her and yes, it did cost us many vet bills, but could have happened at any age). She is also deaf. And, she pees on the floor if we don't listen and take her out when she needs to go (she only gives us one chance), or if she's feeling a little off color. But she loves us (all the girls do) with her whole heart. And she understands a hand signal when we want her to 'come'. And we love her.

Tessa Marie, our now 9 year old is slowing down. I believe she was abused somewhere along the way, before we owned her. She has problems, both mental and physical. But she is also so loving and so happy to be with us. She loves me and absolutely ADORES Gary. And we love her back.

Lexie Lee and Sophie Louise, both in the 6 - 7 1/2 year range, are both way young in body and spirit. They are best buddies and so glad to have each other to play with. At the same time, they are very competitive with each other for our attention. They are so much fun to have around. And we love them.

Once our girls are no longer with us, we will probably not own multiple dogs again. I think one will be enough, because we are getting to an age where we want to travel a little (ok, a LOT) more and it's difficult with 4 girls. But I wouldn't trade any of our puppy girls for anything. Regardless of their ages!

Doesn't matter how old they are or how old they were when you got them. Puppies are all about love.

Many years ago, when my DS and I were living in my condo, an older cat adopted us. She had a deep throated meow and my son name her Ghengis because she sounded like a male. We already had an indoor-only cat, so this new cat lived outside for 6 months. I then took her to the vet for shots and found she was a female. I thought she was very old but the vet thought she was under10. She had a bad back when she came to us and I later found out she had been born into a feral colony at the complex and at one time someone had discovered her in their upstairs bedroom and thrown her out the window onto the cement. She was the calmest, most lovable cat ever. I had her for 6 years until I had to have her put down. I still miss her. I have a photo of her in my bed between my flannel sheets. Her back must have felt better when she was warm.

We WERE down to one dog, an 8 year old terrier that we got from a rescue about 3 years ago. A very easy dog.

At any rate, we were considering getting an older dog so Gus would have a little canine company, until I walked through our neighborhood park & spotted a small young dog who had obviously been abandoned. According to some neighbors, he'd been in the park for a few days, but they weren't able to get ahold of him.

End of story in that we now have a young 15 lb. probably Jack Russell/Fox Terrier cross, too full of vim & vigor. He loves to play with our older dog, and mostly the older one joins in & seems much younger.

But I'M Too Old for all this, but it's fun to watch.

Over the years we've had two puppies and five older dogs.

The down side was, of course, training the puppies to go outside. However, with having the older dogs already there, it helped train them that much quicker.

Two of the five were 4 to five years old when I/we got them. The other three were a bit younger.

Lily is about 10 years old so we don't have too much training to worry about, such as chewing etc.

Also, as someone pointed out, they seem to know that you picked them and seem to be very happy about that.