OLD DOGS AND PEOPLE

This is Buddy, my new dog. He never tires of playing fetch, as you can see. He's waiting for me to throw it again, one more time. I've had a lot of dogs in my life and now that I'm older I really like adopting an older dog. I wish more people would consider adopting these sweet old souls rather than getting a puppy. I grew up with dogs and they all started out their life with us as puppies. When I married and got my first dog, I got a puppy. She lived with us 17 years and drove me nuts most of the early years. There was a lot of digging, escaping the yard to roam the neighborhood, and I seem to remember torn up screens when she was trying to get in the house. Our next dog was a Golden Retriever and we got her as a puppy. GR's seem to remain very puppyish for much of their life and ours was no exception. During her puppy years she tore up our wicker lawn furniture, chewed all the sprinkler heads, ruined every throw pillow I had, ripped down a bamboo shade from the patio cover, and ate quite a few of my children's socks which I would find later while cleaning up dog poo from the yard. We had her for 131/2 years and when she died, I mourned for her terribly. I didn't want another dog. I didn't want that heartache again. Then, about 2 years later, I started missing having a dog around. I decided to get an adult dog, one that had already been through the puppy years. I contacted the Golden Retriever Club of Greater Los Angeles Rescue and applied for adoption. After having a home check done, we were approved and Willie came into our lives.

Willie was a 7 year old male Golden Retriever. His owners were going through a divorce, had to sell their home, and re-home their 9 dogs. For me it was love at first sight. "The Boss" and I drove down to Coto de Caza to meet Willie. The first thing the dog did was stand on his hind legs-all 90 pounds of him-and put his front paws on my shoulders. Following the "new family picture" he hopped into my car for the ride home. We had him until he was 13 1/2 years old. He came to us fully housebroken. He understood many commands and was easy to teach tricks to. He learned to shake, roll over, sit up, and high five in no time. He and I walked every morning. He loved everyone and was the official greeter when people came to visit. He was the sweetest and most loveable dog I'd ever owned and when he died of a brain tumor I was broken hearted again. I swore I was finished with dogs. No more broken hearts over a dog. Almost 2 years went by before we got the bug for a dog again. I wanted an older one again. Also a smaller dog that wouldn't be as difficult to hold onto while walking (Willie wanted to chase cats and squirrels and 90 lbs. is a lot to stop when the dog is determined. "The Boss" wanted a smart dog that would play fetch with him and was sweet. Knowing Border Collies are among the smartest dogs and are smaller than Goldens, I looked on Craigslist and up popper Whiskey/Larry/Jack/Jackson, an 8 or 9 year old Border Collie being fostered in the Palm Desert area. And, this dog loved to play fetch! I told "The Boss" it looked like we'd found our dog, and the next thing I knew, to rescuer was driving in with the dog to do a home check and let us meet him. She left him with us that day. His name is now Buddy.

Buddy is very, very smart. I know Border Collies can be a challenge when they're young, but getting one that's older means the dog has calmed down a lot. He's also very affectionate and loves everyone he meets. We've met other dogs on our walks and he's okay with them, too, but not as interested in dogs as he is in people. We've seen cats on our walks and he could care less. A Mallard duck walking down the street didn't generate much interest, either. He's only barked a total of 8 times in 2 weeks. Not much of a watch dog, but I put up beware of dog signs anyway. You never know. He might surprise me. He loves to play fetch and looks longingly at the spot where his fetch toy is kept. He would play non-stop, but I know he's got some arthritis so I make him stop when I think he's tired. He's completely housebroken. We can leave him inside for several hours at a time without a problem. He's been trained to stay off the furniture, and he doesn't beg (two things my other dogs did that were pretty annoying). I've signed him up for a basic obedience class because I can tell he's a thinking dog and needs something to do. He's already learned "sit" and "down", "out", and "No". When I feed him, he watches me and waits until I give him permission to eat before he chows down. The laundry room is also his bedroom. His bed is in there and I close him in at night with a child's gate over the door opening. He's very contented to stay in his room. He's an extremely sweet, well behaved dog and has very soft fur! I love to pet him. For those that don't know, when you pet an animal, it releases the hormone oxytocin and makes you more relaxed. It also relaxes the dog, too.

To sum up, I'd like to encourage anyone out there who's thinking about getting a dog to get an older dog. Maybe you won't have it as long, but you'll have lots and lots of quality time! Oh, and I'd like to put in a plug for the Central Coast Herding Dog Rescue organization who listed Buddy on Craigslist. I'd also like to thank Jann and Kitty for their wonderful care of him. He's a great dog.