Kate Bendix, ex BBC TV producer, journalist, author and animal lover, is campaigning. For the older rescue dog, that is. She explains why she chose an older dog to share her home and life with, and the benefits of a middle-aged mutt over a bouncy pup.
Kate Bendix
In praise of older rescue dogs
Posted on: Thu 20-Nov-14 16:19:48
(13 comments )
If you're thinking of getting a dog it's hard enough to work out what type or breed might be right for you. But when you add part-time residents into the mix, in the form of grandchildren, even if they are just on 'day release' as my friend calls it, it makes getting the right one even more important. Which is why I want to champion the older rescue dog.
Dogs go into rescue for all sorts of reasons, not just because they were badly treated. Some owners just can't cope - due to illness, redundancy, or because they've had to move and can't take the dog. This happens more often to older dogs, which are always harder to place, who just somewhere nice to live, with lovely people to curl up next to and go for walks with. Any rescue centre worth its salt will only place a dog with a family set up that works for everyone.
As a prime example, last year I adopted a wee stray dog called Nikita. She had mange, tatty fur and no meat on her sad little bones. The vet estimated her age at between 6 and 7. I took my new middle-aged aged friend home and, over the next few months, a feisty yet timid little character emerged. She's now the most spoilt dog in the history of all mutts! She likes her sofa - it was mine - her routine and walks. The cat is still in charge though and I am definitely third in the pecking order in my house. Not that I mind.
She had mange, tatty fur and no meat on her sad little bones. The vet estimated her age at between 6 and 7. I took my new middle-aged aged friend home and, over the next few months, a feisty yet timid little character emerged.
However, my circumstances are similar to that of a grandparent in that I am a middle aged woman who has her small godchildren to come and stay - three and six year old girls, Edie and Iris. Bearing in mind that it quickly became apparent Nikita has been kicked by schoolchildren and avoids them at all costs I can't tell you what a success we've had with all three of them.
Edie, and Iris especially are wary of dogs, and rightly so, and Nikita is nervous around small children, so we introduced them to each other slowly. We made sure they had their own space and that Nikita had a place to get away from it all when she needed to. We told Edie and Iris to ignore Nikita and let her come to them.
Everyone was respected and allowed to occupy a part of the house they felt safe in. We talked to the girls about what Nikita needed (no cuddles, thanks very much!) and explained how a dog says hello "Nikita just licked my knee and sniffed my hand", meaning the stress levels were kept to a minimum. By letting everyone do their 'thing' and behave in their own way, within 24 hours all three of them were sharing a sofa and we could watch Frozen for the umpteenth time with no dramas.
The great thing about Nikita being an older dog is that, like the rest of us, she's been there, done that and is far more relaxed and happy to take a load off than a bouncy, "Hi! I’m Ralph! Whatchya doin’?" puppy. As long as she's got her happy space, a walk and a treat at the end of it, she's willing to snooze through yet another Disney binge.
Kate's book Top Dog: How to Make Your Mutt Marvellous is published by Short Books and is available from Amazon.