Adopting Senior Dogs

These are photos of Ruby our 14 y/o female German Shepherd. We adopted her 1 1/2 years ago and she has watched Lucy play with the toys but she didn't seem to know how to play with the toys. Yesterday she played with a squeaky ball for the first time. Sometimes it takes infinite patience when adopting a senior dog.  It is infrequently that you learn about the dogs past. We have observed Ruby carefully and it is apparent she had a less than favorable past. She craves attention and we are only too happy to provide that attention. She has finally become comfortable with being petted and yesterday she played with a ball for the first time. 

 We believe she was previously an outdoor dog who only got attention infrequently. She quickly picked up on going outside when she needed to go potty. She is deaf and has incontinency which is controlled with Rx and she has severe arthritis. Seeing her take the initiative to actually play with a ball and other toys puts joy in my heart to  see her have fun. That is one of the many rewards seeing a senior dog have fun and learning something new.  

Being able to provide her with a home where she is loved, cared for and able to feel safe coupled with the ability to learn and play is indescribable.  We consider it a privilege to spoil her rotten and give her the safety and security in her senior years she truly deserves. 

I would highly recommend adopting a senior canine because when they are like Ruby they give you more than you can give them. I can't express the joy I felt when Ruby started to play with toys. Words just can't describe the feeling I got.