Older Dogs, Cats Need Homes, Too: Special Needs Pets Are Less Adoptable Than Kittens, Puppies
By Amy Cannata, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Dec. 23–The little cockapoo couldn’t hear animal shelter workers calling it Thursday morning, as it sat abandoned in the overnight receiving area.
Hours later, it huddled shivering on its dog bed in a shelter kennel.
With glassy eyes and a white muzzle, the cockapoo was obviously a senior dog. And in Nancy Hill’s eyes, he was less adoptable than younger dogs.
“You see a dog with weird eyes or a tumor or a gray beard and people walk right by those,” said Hill, Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services director .
More people seek out puppies and kittens, but many older animals are loving and well-tempered. They deserve homes, Hill said.
About 10 percent of the dogs and cats turned over the shelter are either senior animals or those with special needs, such as injuries or medical conditions.
On Thursday a playful part-shepherd named Adam eagerly walked around the shelter on a lead, seeking all the attention he could get.
Such a dog will likely be difficult to adopt because at 5 years old, it’s already elderly by large dog standards, said Hill.
Older cats face similar adoption challenges, she explained, pointing out a black and white cat described as “primo” on its information papers. The cat purred and rubbed against its cage, but nearby frolicking kittens are more likely to get people’s attention, Hill said.
Some people fear the added time and cost of caring for older animals or those with physical problems.
One Eastern Washington group is working to help animals become more adoptable by offering medical treatment for orthopedic problems.
The Whitman County Humane Society’s Hope Fund pays for surgeries for abandoned animals that have been hit by cars or have birth defects. Many of those animals originate at the Spokane County shelter. Once their injuries are repaired, most are perfectly normal, said Whitman County Humane Society Board Member Catherine Allen.
The program has a 100 percent adoption rate.
On Thursday Allen was at the shelter to pick up a litter of puppies, one of which had a deformed front paw.
The sweet, black and white puppy will be observed to determine if the leg is a help or hindrance and then will likely undergo surgery.
Both Spokane County and Whitman County shelters rely on local vets such as Spokane’s Chad Pilgrim and Moscow, Idaho’s Dan Brown to perform discounted surgeries on the animals to prepare them for adoption, said Hill and Allen.
The animals rely on the kindness of people willing to adopt them.
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