When a senior dog enters the shelter, they don’t have the best chance at a brand-new life. Most people, when searching for a pet, go for the younger puppies or kittens, ignoring the older animals altogether.
“Sadly, for many senior dogs awaiting adoption, age is seen as a number even if that number is only 5, and even if that same dog has 10 years or more to live, to love and be loved,” Second Chance Animal Rescue Society explains. “More difficult to adopt than younger dogs, and just as deserving of a permanent home, [senior dogs] are all too often overlooked and for all the wrong reasons.”
Mac, a 10-year-old boxer from Georgia, had been overlooked by his owner after being a part of the family for years.
Sadly, he was surrendered at a local shelter when his owner told the staff he was “too big” to keep— although Christina Wilson suspects there was more behind the decision.
Wilson, a board member for Out of the Box Boxer Rescue, believes Mac was abandoned because of his age. “You hear stories like this all the time,” she told The Dodo.
“A lot of people surrender senior dogs just because they don’t want to to take care of them when they get older.”
“It’s a sad situation, but it happens more often than people realize.”
When Mac arrived at the shelter, he was a bit overweight. Unfortunately, with the stress of being abandoned, he started shedding the pounds. “The two or three weeks when he was there, he had lost about 20 pounds,” Wilson recalled. “A lot of dogs, especially seniors, don’t do well in shelters.”
Wilson and her husband came across a photo of Mac on the animal shelter’s website. They had recently lost a boxer named Levi, and Mac reminded them of their late pet. That’s when they decided to foster him.
“He was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he reminds me of Levi. We have to get him.'”
Wilson and her husband quickly fell in love with old Mac, who loves snuggling on the couch and receiving pets. Wilson also loves the senior dog’s facial expressions, which constantly looks a bit grumpy, regardless of his mood.
“He has the same expression all the time, whether he’s happy or overly excited or anything,” she said.
“He just has this mopey face, and it’s really cute.”
After a while of caring for Mac, Wilson started searching for a forever home. One day, after making a trip to Virginia to visit potential adopters, she realized Mac had a few quirks they weren’t aware of— mainly, his dislike of other dogs which soon spread towards the Wilsons’ own family pets.
“That’s when we realized, ‘OK, maybe he just needs to be the only dog. That’s the best thing for him.”
Mac was placed in a foster home with Kenneth Wood, a man who owned no other dogs. “I’ve fattened him up a bit,” Woods said. “He looks perfect now.”
Although Mac is adjusting well to life with Woods, he may have actually found his new, forever home. A potential adopter from Florida has reached out to the organization and filled an application to adopt him, although an official date has not been set.
“I would absolutely love if Mac found a home,” Wilson said.
“He’s a real sweetheart.”
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