# Adopting LESS adoptable pets



## MatsiRed (Dec 5, 2004)

I've been keeping an eye out for a new cat for my niece and was happy to see another avenue to help with the 'underdog' pets.

According to Petfinder survey, the following is a list of the hardest to place pets. From their site:

30% said senior/older pets
15% - pets with medical problems
13% - victims of breed prejudice
10% - shy pets
10% - those who need to be the only pet

To help senior, special-needs and other often-overlooked pets find homes, We've named August 12 Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable- Pet Day. Visit our special section to:

* Get widgets to help pets find homes
* Find out which pets have it hardest
* Read touching adoption stories
* Learn why "less adoptable" pets rule!

And help us spread the word: Some pets are "less adoptable," but they're just as lovable!


http://www.petfinder.com/lessadoptablepetday

To tell YOUR story on their blog:

http://blog.petfinder.com/petfinder/2009/07/24/aug-12-is-adopt-a-less-adoptab/


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## MatsiRed (Dec 5, 2004)

I'm assuming they are doing this because adoptions are way down. From my own experience, in the past, a good photoshoot of a less adoptable dog would often get the ball rolling. But that seems to be changing.

We have a beautiful senior who photographed beautifully, and I'm scratching my head that no one has shown interest in her.

http://gsrne.org/AvailableDogs.htm

Also, I recently did an evaluation on a senior, probably 8-10 years old, at a small rural shelter in MA who only holds their dogs for one week before turning them over to a no kill shelter for adoption (they have a contract with them). The Humane Society told them there was no way they would put her up for adoption because they were overflowing with highly adoptable dogs that weren't moving. If they took her, they would only do so to euthanize her. The ACO had to jump through hoops with her boss to hold the dog longer until GSRNE could work on bringing her in. Had we not had someone come forward looking for a senior after her summer vacation, this one little starfish would just be another quiet statistic, as so many are lately.


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## Sashmom (Jun 5, 2002)

I think it is becaue adopting an older one, you might get very attached to them and may only have them a couple of yrs. I really wanted to adopt this older GSD I think he was about 9 but my son and hubs talked me out of it, said you know in a couple of yrs you might be all broken up again when you lose him. I love the Srs tho!
I agree, they probably make fantastic pets. 
*we called about a GSD that was about a yr old and his Foster home said they had about 70 calls on him that is why I put down 3 to 4 yrs old I didnt care.It seems if theyre about a yr old everyone wnts them.


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## doggonefool (Apr 15, 2004)

All 4 of mine were considered difficult; I seem to be drawn to needy dogs. Ranger is a boredom barker, silly reason to get rid of a dog but he was turned back in twice. Jukka is a garden destroyer, can we say dog run when unsupervised?) Loki is an escape artist(previous comment) and River is fearful agressive (still working on that one)

Thank you for bringing attention to this: I see all of these older ones waiting hopefully(hopelessly) for a forever home and it makes me want them all


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Donna-I looked at the pretty senior girl. I am guessing that it's not so much her age as her dog reactivity and no cats.







I am thinking of Angelina, a middle aged girl, with those problems too. 

Hopefully there will be a catless family who doesn't feel that all dogs should be friends with all dogs! 

Good luck to her foster family as they continue to work with her. 

I







less adoptables! They are treasures.


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## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

I think dogs are like fine wine. They get better with age.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

I agree! And I have a real soft spot for the seniors. Honestly though, I haven't found seniors that hard to place (relatively speaking anyway). I have a much harder time with certain breeds or behavioral issue dogs. Granted, a lot of the seniors I place are smaller dogs, and I think that helps because people aren't as worried about trying to get their dog around etc. and costs to care for a smaller senior are somewhat less. I just got an email this week from a woman who adopted a 12 year old Poodle from me 2 years ago. Mira is now 14 and still truckin! I love hearing how they're doing. And I placed a 10yo white GSD girl last fall who is also doing well. I always say with the old guys we'll get very few inquiries but the inquiries we get will be really good - in contrast to some of the "highly adoptable" dogs we place where we get 50 inquiries but nearly all of them are not people we want to adopt to. Usually if a person is interested in an older dog you're talking about a real animal lover. 

I've currently got a young, beautiful, energetic, loving foster who I can't get any traction with because he doesn't do cats and needs a physical fence (not invisible). Somehow those two issues alone have made it impossible to find him the right home. I don't know - sometimes the ones you think will be impossible to place go right out and the "easy" placement dogs hang around for months.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

We had zero luck with dogs older than 8, all ended up staying on as forever fosters, not even one exception. We have a hard time placing even 5-6yo dogs. Adopters seem to want dog below 3yo, perfect looking and trained. It is an irony that even old(er) people want young dogs that they cannot handle. I thought that older people would have a compassion for older pets, but no, and sometimes the way they talk about them is upsetting.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

Huh. That is mysterious. I don't know if that's geographical or, like I say, that many of my seniors have been little dogs or what.










> Quote:I thought that older people would have a compassion for older pets, but no, and sometimes the way they talk about them is upsetting.


Totally agree with you there! I have had I don't know how many older people demand younger dogs because they don't want one that "has problems" or "won't live that long" and it does sort of make you go... hmm... uh....

And I sometimes get extremely geriatric people who want small breed puppies. I think dogs and the elderly can make a great combo but I don't place dogs where I think there's a near certaintly they're going to end up orphaned within their lifetime unless there's a clear back up plan - like the elderly person lives with one of their adult children and the child also wants the dog. I think all of my super senior dog placements have actually been to middle aged people and a couple people in their 20s. I don't think I've ever had an older person adopt an older dog. Not sure why. You'd say maybe it's financial because older dogs are more expensive but presumably the young dog they want now will eventually GET older at which point the owner will be older still, so it's really just deferring the expense. I don't know why it is. I have a real soft spot for seniors dogs and cats in shelters though.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

We recently had an elderly couple apply, both medical doctors, so money was not an issue. They picked the most lively and beautiful young dogs and wanted us to assure them or train them so that they won't pull on the leash. Yeah, right, try to explain to a nutty high-drive shepherd that he/she should not pull after a squirrel. That is ongoing training that the owners have to be involved in. They would not even consider an adult dog, let alone a senior. I try so hard not to dicriminate against senior humans in adoptions, but senior humans are certainly not kind about the age of other living creatures. At least the ones we dealt with. I know that others had better luck.

We placed a Manchester Terrier with an elderly couple, they came highly recommended by our vet. They had a backup family in case something happened to them, we talked to the backup people and everything seemed to be OK. Two months later, when they faced the first health problem, the dog was back with us. They did not want to inconvenience the people who were the backup during the adoption process, they just returned the dog to us. The dog was 15lbs and did not require much effort or exercise.

I personally have a special place in my heart for seniors, and of the many nice dogs I fostered, I only kept the seniors and the ones with special needs that nobody wanted. Each one of them was very special to me.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

I totally understand your frustration. Both those situations sound really annoying. I've been sitting here trying to remember if we've had any good adoptions to the elderly but I can't think of a one. I've adopted out dogs to two couples in their 70s that were good adoptions but 70s is not necessarily all that old and both were active, in good health, and with excellent dog-owning credentials. 

Like I say, although I've had pretty good luck adopting out elderly DOGS, nearly all have gone to couples in the the 40-60 range, a couple people in their 30s, and then one to a twenty something single woman.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Volunteering for the local SPCA, there was one dog, a yellow lab mix w/ beautiful yellow eyes "Canela" who was brought in with a bunch of street dogs from Mexico over a yr ago, she had a litter shortly after transport. She wasn't old, but not a young dog either.
She always barked while crated at the adoption events, so she didn't show well. She started to get reactive as well, stress from the events and living at the SPCA kennel far too long. 
For some reason nobody was willing to foster her. I would have, if she had been male...
Last week on the update she was finally adopted!! I was so happy for her, I hope she is in a great place. There is hope for the ones who are less adoptable!


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

I have had great luck in placing seniors with people who love a particular breed, but just don't have the life style to handle taking on the responsibility of raising a puppy. I don't think I have ever placed a senior dog in a home with a senior adopter. But my aim for the senior dogs wouldn't be that home any way. 

Enschi was 10 years old when I placed her with a 26 year old woman who works as police dispatch for a town about 2 hours east of here. She was very attracted to the GSD breed, but no reputable breeder would have sold her a puppy because she just didn't have the time or experience to raise a puppy. This adopter was perfect for this dog, but she didn't set out to find a senior dog. She found Enschi's adoption posting on a breeder's website (a courtesy posting for me). 

Sable was a 9 year old rough Collie who went to a woman in Washington state who had several Collies already. She wanted a dog that would be able to get along with the other animals she had on her little hobby farm. She wanted a dog that was settled enough to just kind of amble along as she puttered around with the ducks, geese, llamas and donkeys. An elderly dog was perfect for her situation, although she needed some advice to see that because she had never considered a senior before. 
Sheilah


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## AndreaG (Mar 3, 2006)

That's exactly how we got Yoda years ago: I wasn't sure if we were really up to the challenge of a GSD, and thank Goodness we had him when he was older and wiser, not when he was a full-blown youngling at the top of his game. He did a great job showing us the difference betwen other dogs and GSDs. I can only recommend this to everybody new to this breed. 
But yes, when I did home visits, not a lot of people were even open to consider a dog above 6 yo. 
My first failed HV was also to an older couple who thought they wanted a young dog... whom then they couldn't handle. It seems like this is a common experience.

You know the reason I don't get this "but I want the dog to live long and be healthy" argument? What guarantees that a young one will live for another 10 years and never get sick? Chances are one thing, reality is another. One can only avoid the heartbreak of losing a dog if you never get one.


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## Prize (Feb 5, 2009)

I <3 seniors. I always tell my husband when we retire we are getting a farm so I can adopt all the old dogs and run a doggie retirement center lol. If we win the lottery, I'd def. do it.


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