If you are reading this, hopefully you are a dog lover. If you have time, consider volunteering at your local animal shelter. Or at least consider donating needed items. But for some real satisfaction, I highly recommend adopting a senior dog!
A friend of mine volunteers by walking dogs at a local shelter. Recently she rescued a very old blind toy poodle that she claims is; “the love of her life.” She has three dogs. While chatting with her I said; “I just can’t go into the shelter because it is so depressing. I am so saddened by all the poor dogs.” She replied basically; “Get over it, they need to be walked.” Point taken! I plan on walking some dogs soon. In the meantime I try to send in items that are much needed at my local shelter which is located in Whitehall, PA. It’s called Peaceable Kingdom.
And I have adopted a lovely old dog that nobody wanted.
Terra enjoying the sunshine
I had thought of rescuing a shelter dog for quite awhile but I had some guidelines; old, female, housebroken, chihuahua, that no one wanted. She also had to get along with the other dogs in my house. I came across the story of Terra. The story was quite sad, it made me cry.
Terra was surrendered to the shelter at age ten with her pillow and a hand-knit red and yellow blanket. Her elderly owner had gone to a nursing home and later died. The dog had been passed on to the daughter who apparently lost her home and could no longer keep a dog. The description of Terra was that of a very quiet dog that slept most of the time. She was good with other dogs and did not have any major health issues. I called the shelter for more information. Terra had come into the shelter six months ago, and so far no one had wanted her. She was very depressed. She had been put into a foster home but they returned her because she could not go up and down steps and did not get along with cats. But the directer of the shelter told me she was currently in another foster home and had perked up a little. Still no one had asked about adopting her. My husband and I went to visit her. Terra was shy and clearly scared to be uprooted again. She was also not a purebred chihuahua, probably a chi-terrier mix weighing about eleven pounds or so.
I felt sure she would be happy with us as long as she got along with my other dogs.
So we took her home and hoped for the best. We introduced her to the other dogs in small doses, all went well and sharing chicken treats make everything better!
It has been a month now and I’d say Terra is doing quite nicely. She gets along fine with the dogs. She is quite happy and playful. All she needed was a little love. By the way, she does not sleep all day and she is not that quiet either. Terra likes to run with the pack and bark along with the others. She loves to sit in the sun and explore the backyard. She has run of the house and not only does the steps with ease but dashes up and down, sometimes two steps at a time especially if there is food involved. She is a very nice dog and clearly someone loved her at one time. She is well trained and very social. We are so happy that we get to love her now.
I feel like I have hit the doggie lottery through my experience with Peaceable Kingdom. So please consider adopting a senior pet. You will be happy you did.
For more information on pet adoptions, please contact Peaceable Kingdom at (610) 432-2532 or visit www.lvpeaceablekingdom.info