Guess what? I’m not talking about how old a dog is, I’m talking about how old an adopter or owner is.  It is a tricky question, I’ve seen the many sides of it.

My wife has already dictated that there will be no more puppies in our pack.  Our youngest Cairn is closing in on 9.  If we got another puppy, it would live well into my 80′s and she doesn’t think we would have the capacity to deal with a Cairn at that age.  A part of the issue deals with the ability to groom and walk these active little guys.  Grooming requires flexible hands and the use of small grooming tools, arthritic hands can present a formidable barrier to holding the grooming tools for any extended period of time.  Since I don’t do the major part of the grooming, my vote has less value.  The whole issue is whether or not we could deal with younger dogs when they are more active and we are less so.

As you may know, most reputable breeders will take back “their” dogs if the owner needs to surrender them for some reason.  That is why Rescue will always ask the question when someone wants to surrender a dog. “Who is the breeder?’  The breeder still feels that the dog is theirs and wants to make sure it is properly taken care of.  A few years back, one of our club members who was still actively breeding, in a very small way, had a dog that was 14 years old returned.  Being a thoughtful breeder, he looked at the 14 year old that was returned, looked at his breeding stock, and did the math.  He immediately decided that he had bred his last litter.  At his age, well into his 70′s, and not in the best health, he wanted to be sure all of his dogs would have a home to come to.  He didn’t like making that decision but he felt that there was no other option from an ethical standpoint.  He loves his dogs, he loves the breed, deciding to not have any more puppies was a courageous decision.

On the other side of the same issue, I have seen breeders who couldn’t make that decision.  The love for the breed and a life time of living with and caring for these dogs can fog the decision making process.  As their health deteriorates, as their mental capacity disappears, their ability to care for their current pack disappears.  Then, add to that a delay in the decision to neuter dogs in the pack and soon an unplanned litter shows up.  The issues and problems compound.   The problems can multiply faster than the dogs and the ability to deal with them drops off dramatically.

But this blog is about Rescue, not breeders.   Well, what is the connection?

How old is too old for someone to adopt a dog?  Hmm. I guess it depends on the person, their mental and physical status, the age of the dog, and what other options I have when I am trying to place a specific dog.

The case in hand is “Champ”.  This little guy has had two visits with potential adopters, plus a visit from another dog, and after more than 50 days, he is still here.  On the plus side, his weight is falling into line, he is already under 23#.  Within the next month, he should be at the goal of 19-20# and a lot healthier for it.  He hasn’t shown any adverse effects from the harsh diet.  He doesn’t know it but there is real food in his future.

He tried his first sleepover after a prior visit from the potential adopter, who brought along her alpha bitch to see if they could get along.  They got along  just fine in our backyard.  After a weekend of mulling over the placement , he was sent off to be the member of a small pack.  Sadly, it didn’t last through the first night.  While they gotten along here, in our back yard, the alpha took exception to Champ lusting after her empty food dish, on her home grounds.  New home grounds, new rules. In the tussle, she suffered a wound to her foot.  Given that she would always be the alpha in that pack, we decided that she shouldn’t have to  live with the turmoil that the Champs was likely to generate over time.  So, he was quickly back home with his buddies.

One more attempt to place him looked good on paper and during the interview.  Over time, his sleepover introduced some tension between the couple that wanted to adopt him.  In my book, family always comes before the dog, I will find another adopter, so regretfully, he came back.

Champ had issues with their neighborhood community park and event center which backed onto their property.  It is very active, and some time things are going on at night.  Champ had to continually tell everyone that he owned all that he could see and they didn’t ask his permission to be there. Why didn’t they understand that? Bark, bark.

Part of the criteria for him to be adopted was that they wanted a dog with personality.  That he had, that he brought with him, in spades, but he also brought a penchant for constantly licking anyone who showed him any attention.  Like the cat that knows who the cat hater in a room is  and then rubs against them or jumps in their lap, Champ knew who really loved him and who was just putting up with him.  You can guess who he picked to use as his favorite licking block.  Early in this visit, I had gotten a small clue, well, maybe not a clue but at least a hint that something might not be perfect in Champelot.  I had placed two phone calls to check on his status after he went out, one the next day and then another about 3 days later.  Both times, the Licking Block answered the phone.  The calls were both very short, “yes, he is doing fine”, ” yes, he has enough personality”.  Usually these followup calls will get a very effusive response about the great little dog.  It didn’t happen with  Champ.

While I was disappointed, after the fact, I can recognize the issue. Excessive barking, night time barking, extreme licking were the reasons given but the real reason was that in a couple, both people need to be committed to a project dog or the dog  will always be represent a reason why the  two of them might  not agree with each other, about anything.  It was a good thing that the couple decided early on that he didn’t fit .  It is sad that he came back, but  he didn’t care, his buds are here.  And, we will find a good home for him.

It took all of 2 days for another call. This would just be a visit.  The couple lived in an area I would call “the country”.  Sounds like a good place for a barker.  While I didn’t consider him a problem barker if there is not an outside stimulus, I needed to remember his last placement issues.  I told the couple about his last placement and all of the problems  mentioned .  None were issues for them, they still wanted to come and visit and to asked to bring along their large dog, a border collie/Labrador mix.

We met in the park.  Champ did the typical Cairn vs Large Black Dog thing.  Still, the two of them managed to get past that, accepting of each other’s presence over time although not exactly friends.  So, I made offered to let their dog meet the rest of the pack at my home, in the back yard.  I walked over and they brought their dog.  Before LBD could get pat the side yard, Champ had to demonstrate to his packmates that he had a prize to show them.  He succeeded in getting them all riled up, actually tried to get to the LBD’s  hind quarters before being rolled by the LBD.  The visit was extremely brief, the LBD never got all the way to the backyard.

That could have been the end of the story butthe way I read the people, they just didn’t seem put off about the dog issues, they actually left while telling me that they were considering him but they would let me know.  Finally, I did get an e-mail which declined the offer to adopt him but their reason reflected a well considered reaction.  Barking, no issue, licking, no issue, harsh interaction with their dog, no issue, the issue was expressed by the lady who watched me deal with Champ at he park.  She would be the principal care giver, and her comment was “I would not be able to be as forceful as needed since he is so strong willed.”   A very honest evaluation.  She did say they would keep looking but a terrier would no longer be on their list. (Probably the same for the first couple.)

Too add to Champ’s tale, yesterday, my wife went out to the garage and spotted more tuffs of hair on the floor and a new area of pink skin showing on his haunch.   It isn’t fleas, not likely to be his diet given it’s blandness, could be boredom but not likely with 3 pack mates.  Maybe he just likes to scratch.  I don’t know.

Wait, what has all of this to do with “How old is too old?”?

The next call was from a lady who had adopted a dog directly from a prior owner which I had facilitated.  After a long year with a variety of health issues, her little guy had recently died of pancreatitis.  (My brother’s Cairn died suddenly of the same disease, so I had a personal connection with it.)

I knew from her e-mail that her little guy had received extensive vet care.   This is good, experienced with Cairns and willing to commit to Cairns. I got a follow up e-mail and then I made the phone call.  But first, I had one question that had to be answered.

“I see from your e-mail that you are 81 years old.  This dog is 5 years old and will be around for another 10 years.  What will happen when you are no longer able to care for him?”

“I have talked to my children, both are dog lovers and they have already agreed to take care of my dogs if I can no longer do it.  He won’t be put back in Rescue. He will always have a home.”

Super, she had already made arrangements before we had talked.  My favorite kind of response.  I invited her over.  She drove over, using a GPS to find me.  Another plus,  active and willing to still engage the world.  I gave her the latest news about Champ and his hair removal system, reviewed the barking and licking issues, plus anything else I could think of.   She went out back and evaluated Champ, I talked to her and evaluated her.  The hair loss was simply not an issue, she had been through it with the last dog and had the meds, the vet, and the Elizabethan collar.   She had been around German Shepherd rescues for 30 years.  She had Cairn experience.  She was active and ready to take on this project dog.  While we were on the outside deck, he tried to force his way past me, she quickly and forcefully corrected him, for his benefit, not mine.  Things are looking up.

Champ for his part, gave her an initial lick, just because, but he had one more thing in his resume to impress her with.  This lady has 3 cats, Champ demonstrated his acceptance of cats by walking right by our curious, 1 year old male cat, without blinking an eye.  There are other important things for him to deal with in daily life, c*ts are sort of OK.

Then tere was that last detail that impressed  me, Champ was put in a harness, placed in a doggie booster seat, seatbelted in, off to a new life.  All of the canned pumpkin, non-fat cottage cheese,and rice cereal were in his grocery bag, at his side.

So,” How old is too old?’

It depends, the bar gets higher as the years advance but with proper preparation, we may be able to work something out.  It depends on the person, their mental and physical status, the age of the dog, and what other options I have when I am trying to place a specific dog.  As always, it is about the dog, not the adopter.

May they grow old together.

( As a side note, a form authorizing the handling of your dogs if you are no longer able to take care of them is available on ctcnc.net.)