Older pets need love, too!
Adopted as a senior dog from her previous owner, the dalmatian named Lucky quickly became part of her new family. She was about seven years old when she was made a member of the family and lived with them for the rest of her life.
Almost everyone loves young animals. Puppies, kittens and other baby animals are often favorites. Even though young animals need good homes, the older pets that are being taken to shelters or abandoned in the streets still need good homes too.
Senior pets are usually ignored because families want to adopt pets that they will be able to spend a much longer time with. However, these older pets deserve to have decent homes just as much as young animals.
Senior dogs, in particular, might not be able to run as much or be as healthy but that just means they need more conditional love. Those innocent animals don’t deserve to live the remainder of their lives in a shelter or on the street. Although shelters are run by people with good intentions who want to help homeless animals, shelters are not a good place for pets to live for a long period of time or even for the rest of their lives.
Additionally, many families choose to adopt young puppies from breeders rather than from shelters. Those animals living in shelters are in need of homes just as much as pets from breeders. However, shelter pets sometimes have had hard lives and need a new home to be able to recover.
Even though older pets are often ignored when families go into shelters to find future pets, older animals are still great pets. Depending on their background, older pets could actually be better options for family pets than young ones. Older pets might need some extra attention in order to adjust to a new home but for the most part, older pets would be trained and ready to be a part of a loving family.
Puppies and kittens require more time in order to properly train them to be a family pet and they need time to grow before they can be fully trained. Getting a pet at a young age means that you will have plenty of time to connect with them and have a tight bond. The same effect can be created with an older pet. Even if the pet is not adopted at a young age, those older pets are still capable of being fantastic, loving creatures.
Older pets require food, water, love and attention just like young pets. So why are older pets often ignored at shelters? Every single creature needs love and deserves a family. So every single creature, young or old, deserves a safe home to live for the duration of their life.