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It's true that Austin area shelters are no kill however that comes with some consequences for senior dogs. They tend to stay a long, long time, months, sometimes a year or more, as they overlooked by the many other available choices onsite such as puppies and young dogs. This is the problem we target to help. Our advocacy's goal is to place senior dogs into loving homes as quickly as possible after rescues have been made aware but they remain unselected. In loving foster homes, we can get them any necessary medical care that will help them thrive and live the best of the rest of their lives, Once they are viewed as more adoptable, fosters and our advocacy helps to make land bridges to a final loving home. Our motto is "A friend till the end". Every dog deserves that, don't you agree? If you've every heard senior dogs are for senior people, we can dispel that myth. Senior dog adopters come in all ages and from all walks of life, and so do their fosters! Senior dogs are quite popular with singles of all ages who don't have time to fuss with a young dog's energy needs, couples who lead busy active lives and people who work from home who like quiet napping companionship while on their Zoom calls. Senior shelter dogs come in two types. The first type has lost a longtime home and is experiencing a traumatic shock to be uprooted away from their person, away from their comforts, to live in a shelter. Simple things like eating twice a day and getting to lay on a favorite couch are lost. They eat once a day and have light bedding that hopefully keeps them off the hard concrete. They get a kennel break usually just once a day. They are stunned and often shut down and depressed in the early days of their stay. We monitor this closely and lift those dogs out as quickly as possible. To do this we need foster homes. The second type of senior shelter dog has been found stray and is unclaimed and unspoken for. Often these dogs have obvious neglect, or hidden neglect. In some cases they may need a few weeks to get healthy before they are seen by the adopting public as viable adoption candidates. Some dogs receive their care through the shelter's vet services program and others receive their care through our partner clinics through our medical sponsorship program that relies on community donations. Fosters, partners and our advocacy helps heal them so the next step can occur, making a land bridge to a final adoptive home. We don't believe in sanctuaries, every senior dog deserves a home and we've helped to place hundreds over the last 10 years. Hospice dogs get fosters and sometimes they too will be adopted and given a family name. We are looking for foster home providers who can foster senior dogs we post on our social media. They originate from a multitude of places including; Austin Animal Center, Williamson Co Regional Animal Shelter, Austin Pets Alive, Austin Humane Society, Bastrop Animal Services, Final Frontier Rescue and Layla's Heart Rescue and Ranch. Fosters will see the dog they would like to help online, then apply under the shelter or rescue of the dog they would like to help. The dogs most in need of foster homes are those that don't adjust well to kennel life, those with medical needs, those that really don't care to live with another animal, some that may have light behavior needs that require a little patience and compassion. Senior dogs are so VERY grateful to go home from the shelter. And often they are easy to please and depending upon the age of the dog, those in the elder years are happy for just the simplicity of comfort and good meals. Those that are younger have all the benefits of young dogs with the benefit of already knowing the ropes, almost always they are fully housebroken and can be trusted alone and will adjust their energy needs to match you, the person they love most. Please know that fostering a senior dog can be a long term commitment of 1-6 months and sometimes longer if there is extensive medical care needed. See our page here for more information about us: https://www.classiccanines.org/ See our Trello board for who is waiting https://trello.com/b/YK0wJpSK/classic-canines Or check out our list http://bit.ly/ClassicCanines Fosters select the dog they want to help and it costs you nothing but food. All other services and materials are provided by the shelter, rescue or us. Are you ready to find for your senior dog foster?
Date Posted: Mar 29, 2022
