One of the most common things we hear in Rescue is that people want a younger dog. Oddly, unless it's a puppy they are never young enough. Because of this I decided I wanted to do a series of posts on people who have adopted senior, or as we like to call them, Silver Boxers.
I want to start off with something I heard a wise person say:
Whether we have them for one year, five years or ten years, it's never long enough.
Here is her story.
*****
My Best Friend Adopted Me
I remember like it was yesterday.
A distinguished boxer arrived riding in the back seat of a volunteer's
car. The car pulled into the driveway where I was waiting and 'Bogey'
glanced at me through the tinted window.
It was just before Labor Day weekend 2008. Susan had called me a few days
earlier asking if I was ready for another foster. "He's an older boy
who wandered onto someone's property in Central Florida. We think
he's 7, maybe a little older, he has arthritis, hip dysplasia and he's
skinny".
An older boxer? At first I wasn't sure. I had only fostered younger
boxers and my own boxer only lived to 6.5. I hadn't dealt with such
health issues. On the other hand, the young ones I fostered were
handfuls, to say the least. No manners, not potty/house trained and
almost wild with energy. One tore up the couch, my shoes,
glasses...another jumped through a screen to chase a cat. I might as
well give the older boy a place to relax and rehabilitate.
Little did I know, my best friend had arrived, that he was GOLD
disguised as a senior boxer.
Where the previous 6 boxers had to be taught a routine, manners, and
get basic training, Bo just immediately fit in and adjusted to the
household and established his roles: from office manager (I worked at
home and; he KNEW when I should be in the home office), neighborhood
watch (making sure nothing was going on that shouldn't be), to therapist
(foster mom had a teenage daughter). However, the biggest role he
would go on to fill was caretaker for over 20 other foster dogs.
Bo soon decided he was home. I definitely wasn't looking to adopt a
senior boy with arthritis and bad hips, but I'm grateful Bo knew
better.
Continuing to foster, Bo showed a special affinity to younger dogs who
were neglected - emotionally, medically or both. "This is YOUR foster
baby, Bo. You need to help him/her feel better". He always
understood and took his role very seriously. Some of the most
memorable of his charges: a young boy left abandoned in an outdoor
crate, who had all but had given up. Two demodex puppies who were in dire
need of medical care and socialization, another demodex young girl who
was found as a stray and in extreme pain.
Bo loved and protected them all.
More than that, he was completely
devoted to his family. When I got news my father passed away, Bo was
there to comfort me. He was beyond my best friend. He was my
teacher, manager, therapist and more. On October 10, 2013, he told me
it was time for him to go. I held him tightly, kissing his gray face
as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I miss my best friend.
Working in rescue, a majority of applicants want a young dog or a
puppy. Their reason for not wanting a senior are a variation of the
same theme: "I don't want to lose them too soon". While that's
understandable, I see it as an excuse to keep from facing one's own
mortality.
Whether we have our beloved 4-legged companion for one year, 5, 10 or
15 years...it's never long enough.
I'm reminded of the last line of a
famous Robert Frost poem: ....so Dawn goes down to Day....Nothing
Gold can Stay. I hope that people will come to realize that senior
dogs are truly a beautiful gift. The love you give them pales to the
devotion they provide you for whatever time they are here.
In honor of Bo, another senior boy was adopted. While, Bo will never
be replaced, Chester is continuing his predecessor's legacy of
fostering dogs until they, too find their own forever homes
