Puget Paws LLC: November: National Adopt a Senior Pet Month

Regard the graceful countenance, the wisdom, the dignity in that graying brow; this dog knows things. Most of all, this dog knows how to love you.

It’s November; the month of Turkey, family and the beginning of the Holiday season (what day of November you start celebrating is up to you. We can’t tell you whether or not it’s appropriate to start blasting ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ on the day after Thanksgiving or if you should have started on November 1^st. It’s a very personal choice).

But November is a special month for an entirely different reason.

It is National Adopt a Senior Pet Month, and shelters across the country have begun their campaigns to give their senior citizens a new home, a new chance and a new family. Unfortunately, younger pets are often preferred at shelters and other institutions that work to re-home animals, which puts our older friends in a tough spot.

Older animals have just as much love to give as a youngster, and sometimes, they need it more. Older animals have proven to be perfect companions to our own human senior citizens, emotionally and physically. And, unfortunately, both demographics are overlooked, resulting in trauma and neglect.

In 2015, the New York Times released an article in their ‘Well’ section titled ‘The Look of Love in the Dog’s Eyes’, explaining that staring into your dog’s eyes can increase your levels of oxytocin, chemicals that induce feelings of devotion, attachment and love. And it’s not just ‘puppy love’; our older dogs provide just as much love, nurturing and oxytocin in a lingering gaze.

The ASPCA even has a search engine that will let you find shelters near you that have senior pets who would love to make a new home with you. You can find dogs here, and cats here. Local institutions such as Old Dog Haven, PAWS, and Homeward Pet are fantastic resources for finding an older new addition to the family. And if you aren’t quite ready to permanently home an animal, the Everett Animal Shelter has a wonderful fostering program for senior animals that you can check out here.

The good news is that most organizations don’t wait for November to encourage people to adopt a senior citizen of their own. Old Dog Haven, Young at Heart Pet Rescue, and The Grey Muzzle, who provides grants to shelters for the care of senior pets, all specialize in the care of older animals in need of a home, and it is noble work. Shelters cannot afford to provide a lifetime of medical procedures, food, and care to an animal in their care; which is where you, the prospective adopter, comes in.

For any family considering adopting an animal, here are some fantastic reasons to bring home a senior citizen:

Older dogs have already been potty trained (I will never forget training our black lab puppy during Christmas break of my junior year in college…our linoleum floors were never the same)
In most cases, older cats and dogs will have already been spayed and neutered
Older pets who have been at a shelter for an extended period of time have been given routine medical care, including dental hygiene, treatable medical conditions or necessary procedures, and their overall mental health
And Puget Paws LLC is here to help with all your senior citizen’s needs! Our Pack Leaders are trained on administering medications and, best of all, we have the time and resources to help give your beloved elderly companion an incredible quality of life

The Puget Paws LLC pack is currently taking reservations for all winter pet care services, for senior citizens and youngsters alike, such as overnight sitting, mid-day, morning and evening visits, holding your pet’s paw at the vet, or taking them to a grooming appointment. We even offer a Pet Taxi to get your pet where they need to go (the ride-sharing industry will never be the same).

Visit our website to book our services today!

Puget Paws LLC is proud to work with the following faithful senior citizens, who have dutifully watched over their owners for collective decades: