There’s no greater feeling in the world and nothing better for my soul, then when I welcome an old dog into my heart and home. It is the old dog that is my heart dog, the being that truly gives my life purpose and meaning.
Am I waxing a little too poetic? What can I say, I believe we all have a reason for being here, a destiny to fulfil, and I know that rescuing seniors is mine.
It’s a big responsibility
Caring for another living being is a great responsibility no matter what type of being that is. Caring for an old dog can often bring with it even more responsibility, particularly if they are dealing with health issues. Vacations are sometimes postponed, bank accounts lighter than we would like, and stress levels elevated. Having said all that, there is great joy to sharing your life with a senior dog, and it goes without saying we will move heaven and earth to give them the absolute best care we can.
Promises
I never really thought of them as “promises” per se, rather simply the way I care for my animals. I do my absolute best no matter what, it’s a given, but I thought it would be interesting to write about all the ways I care for my fur babies in terms of promises I make to them…every day.
These are my promises
To do my best, every day, to make up for all the suffering you endured at the hands of another
To give you my undivided attention
To have my lap available anytime you want it
Feed you the best and most appropriate food
I will always comfort you when you’re scared
Your vet will always treat you with respect no matter how old you are
You will always have the best veterinary care
You will always have a comfortable bed to rest on
You will always have a space in my bed no matter who else is there
You will always be an important part of my family…okay THE most important!
I will take you with me as much as possible – day trips, in cars, on trains and planes
I promise to be there on the bad days
I will never let anyone dismiss you as old and therefore unworthy
I will never knowingly hurt you…it wasn’t my fault I stepped on you when you were standing behind me!!
I promise to walk at your pace and not expect you to give me the cardio workout I so desperately need!
I promise to hand feed you when you no longer remember how to eat on your own
When things get tough I will remember to take care of myself so I can take better care of you
I will always show you how much I love you
I will do my best to not get frustrated with you because I know it’s not your fault
I will always keep you warm – that’s why I have a cupboard full of sweaters and coats
I will never dress you up like a doll in cutesy outfits. Okay maybe just for Halloween!
I will have to hug and kiss you regularly
You will never know the concrete floor of a shelter ever again
I promise to never stop advocating for senior dog rescue
I promise to give what’s left of my heart to another old dog after you’re gone
I will never let you suffer, so I will give you your wings when it’s time, even though it will leave me heartbroken
I promise to never forget you
What promises do you make your senior dog?
When is a Dog Considered a Senior
This is beautiful and brought tears to my eyes. I make similar promises to my old cats. I love them more with each passing year.
It was a little hard for me to write this as well!
That is a beautiful sentiment, and I make that promise to my dogs, regardless of their age. I know too well that not every dog is lucky enough to become a senior dog.
So true, we should make these promises no matter how old our pups are!
Fantastic post and I promise that to Layla daily plus our favorite is when she climbs on my belly at night for extra cuddles and I tell her everything. She is getting older so I am trying to take her everywhere possible, work out of the house and LOL I am Jewish so when I do leave her at home I run around like a lunatic to get home quicker for her.
From layla’s weekly updates it sounds like she certainly gets out and about with you quite regularly and has a fabulous life!! Before Red got dementia she would fall asleep on top of me, or in the crook of my arm and that would be our extra special bonding time. Sadly she wasn’t able to do that for quite some time before she died.
I promise to be there on bad days – I just LOVE that! That’s really when it counts – the difficult, less than perfect days!
We almost welcomed a 14 year old foster dog into our home for the holidays. He is blind and about the same size as Ruby. Another family filled out a foster application before us so he went to stay with them.
Absolutely, the test really is when you’re going through the rough patches. Oh bless you for looking to foster an old dog, sadly there are too many out there I’m sure you’ll find another one soon.
Awww Hindy! I love this sweet endearing post. Sharing. This made me smile and get teary eyed all in one shot! I couldn’t agree more with your promises. Really and truly this is the perfect promise list for use cat lovers too. Love love love.
I know what you mean, I find myself tearing up when I write certain types of posts. The list definitely applies to cats too!! Thanks for sharing.
Red was quite a dog and I know you must miss her. I know my cat Harvey curls up beside me and I consider it a special honour because he feels safe and loved too.
She absolutely was and I do!! I like the way you see it as an honour, that’s a beautiful way to look at it.
The same is true for senior cats. It is so important to stay committed to the senior pets, pets are for life not just when they are young and cute. I love my old boys.
Absolutely true. Pets are for life not just for as long as they are convenient.
I love this so so so much. Your devotion truly sets a wonderful example for all of us.
Thanks Lindsay, so kind of you to say.
I only make one promise to my dog(s) – I will give you all I can every day of your life.
That’s a great promise and covers all the bases!!
We should make these promises to any of our fur children! We should always be there for them.
I absolutely agree! We welcome them into our hearts and homes, and that right there is a promise to always be there and care for them.
Hindy, this is so heartfelt and beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. With all of Huskies now seniors, and my Harley having some health concerns as she nears 14, I promise to always love her, care for her, and right now am handfeeding her all kinds of homemade items in with her food just to get to her to eat because the medication she is on for two bad ear infections results in loss of appetite, which is not good for any dog, especially a senior. Since she is deaf I give her all kinds of pleading hand signals to eat, including kisses on her top of her fuzzy nose and lots of rubs and scritches! I also ask to please stay healthy and strong, after all, she is the alpha pack queen and surrogate momma to my three Pupsters (who are going to be 11 in a few weeks! Where does all the time fly???) Pinning to share this touching post!
Poor Harley, do you know why she’s getting those ear infections? Loss of appetite certainly isn’t good for an old dog, but hopefully handfeeding will help entice her. At least it sounds like a temporary problem, once she’s off the medication her appetite should return to normal right? Don’t even get me started on how quickly time flies!!