People who visit Oldies Club stalls at events are often surprised when they see 7 or 8 year old dogs promoted by the Oldies Club. After all, 8 isn’t that old for most breeds of dog. It’s often more a case of ‘middle aged’ than ‘old’ dog.
The answer that at that age, dogs are already being overlooked in favour of younger animals. A 7 year old dog is already likely to be overlooked in favour of the 4 year old in the next kennel. Even though the 7 or 8 year old may well go on enjoying life for another 7 years or more, they are already ‘too old’ for many adopters – and perhaps also, not old enough for the kind hearted souls that melt at the sight of an old grey nose. So some of these dogs can wait months or even years for the right home to come along, at just the age when they’ve calmed down from their puppy days, but still enjoy all the best things about doggy life.
If you take a look at our Overlooked Oldies, you’ll see that many of them are in the 7-9 year age bracket. If you know someone who is looking for a younger rescue dog, could you talk to them about some of the middle aged oldies, many of them still well up for a good long walk and a game of ball?