Why is everyone afraid of adopting adult dogs?

Are they worried that maybe the dog's heart already belongs to another?
Are they afraid he'll come with lousy behavior that's too ingrained to alter?
I suspect it's simply their fear falling in love with in a dog only to have their hearts broken in case he doesn't live for another decade.
And who can blame anyone for that? I'm not anymore into having my heart broken than anyone else. I cling to my dog and cat every day and demand another 15 years out of each of them.

But say I adopt a 15-year-old dog from the Washington Humane Society. And he dies two years later.
Of course I would devastated, of course I would be heartbroken, of course, of course, of course.
But animals die.
It's all we know that we can expect of them for certain.
And it's awful.
It's a horrific, evil joke that you can have such an intense and important relationship with a creature only designed to live for a dozen years or so.
But our imaginary 15-year-old dog who dies two years later... An unlikely adoptee, probably with a pretty unfortunate background story, maybe he spent his entire life chained up in someone's back yard. Or in a puppy mill. Or being locked in the basement because no one ever cared enough to house train him and it was too much trouble to put some work into him so that he could join the family upstairs. He's never known love from a person. And later in life, when he was too much trouble to clean up after, or the neighbors complained too often that he wasn't being cared for, he was sent to spend his final days at an animal shelter, confused, afraid and, worst of all, still lonely.

Was he less deserving of a home? Did he deserve to be afraid in the back yard or lonely in the basement or angry at the end of a chain for most of his life? Did he deserve to be neglected and ignored?
The most important question, I think, is this: Is a shorter period of unconditional love from a dog, who's run out of second chances, not enough to justify the work of adoption? Or is unconditional love from a dog, who's run out of second chances, good enough in any duration?
Two years, ten years, twenty years, you will be heartbroken at the end of your time together. There is no question about that. It's never a surprise to be sad when you lose a close friend. And later, when the time is right for you and you've picked your heart up off the floor, you can come back to the shelter, where despite the best efforts of every animal welfare organization in the world, there is unlikely to be a shortage of adoptable dogs any time soon.


And speaking of adoptable dogs in need...

click the graphic to enlarge

We've gotten a fantastic response to Mugsy's availability via this blog and it looks like he should soon be in his forever home. For anyone who would like to apply to adopt Mugsy, you can meet him this Saturday at the Georgia Avenue animal shelter located at 7319 Georgia Avenue NW.
He will hang out at the shelter for the day and you can apply to adopt him the same way you would apply on any other dog. The smart people working at the shelter will be able to help you with the process.

Since I've heard from so many nice people who are on the lookout for a cool little dog, Mugsy & I would like to introduce you to our friend Peppy. Peppy could really use your help.

Peppy's had a rough go of things recently.
He was surrendered to our New York Avenue shelter in pretty shabby condition in mid July. He was so matted that he wasn't able to defecate anymore. Matts were holding feces to his body and he had a superficial infection as a result.His claws were severely overgrown and his dewclaws were so overgrown that they had curled 360 degrees, puncturing their corresponding pads. Peppy's poor condition was brought to the attention of WHS's humane law enforcement division and his care was transferred to the Georgia Avenue shelter.

So a couple of days in the hospital, and Peppy was good as new! But still pretty stinky & dirty.
The good people over at Doggie Style on 18th Street were kind enough to groom him for us so that we could see what a handsome little man was lying under all of that dirt and hair.

So why is this charming little man in need of a safe place to call home STILL sitting in the shelter?
That's simple: He's too much of a survivor. At about 10 years old, he's off the radar of most of our adopters.

In shelters, senior dogs wait the longest for a family to love. Most of them are just never lucky enough to find a family willing to take on an experienced animal.


When I returned to my office this evening, my co-worker, Officer Gardner, was on the phone, her nose buried in a case as it always is, and Peppy ran to the door of the office to greet me. Officer Gardner felt bad for Peppy, sitting in the shelter after hours, watching the shelter staff clean cages, he just looked like he wasn't ready for bed. He wagged his tail and waited for someone to stop by and say hello. So Officer Gardner grabbed him and brought him up to our office where he was thrilled to stretch out on the carpet and chew on a toy.

He's so charming! His silly face and joyful demeanor combine to create this precious little Muppet who just wants some love. And he's a tiny guy. At about 18 pounds, he could stand to lose a couple of pounds (sorry, Peppy).

While you continue your search for that perfect small dog, think of Peppy. Tell your friends and tell them to tell their friends.
While he might not be a puppy, he's got years of training at being an inside pet and comes with lap experience. House training not required.



By the way, the Internet tells me that Shih Tzus usually live 15-18 years, though I know I've met many at the high end of that average. While working at an animal hospital a few years ago, I met a 20-year-old Shih Tzu named Tonka, who would have been easy to mistake for 10 or 12, though she'd been coming to the same hospital since she was a puppy!



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