(Hi... new member)
I come from a rescue background and I have to say, we ADORE retirees. You are home a lot more, are generally more patient, usually quieter & gentler, more likely 2 shrug and laugh, more tolerant and more responsible...
The only worry, as for all of us, is worry of pet outliving you.
There are so MANY options for you. If U have a tight budget and the great unknown of vet bills or insurance costs worry, you can foster but you can short term foster or foster a permanent dog, through some rescues or the Cinnamon Trust
Foster homes are SO desperately needed, you CAN say I would prefer big or little dogs, puppies or middle aged dogs - OR cats. You can offer quarantine foster, if you have no other pets, so they can send you animals that have something that their species can catch, but people cannot. You can specialise in fostering, with experience, raising orphan kittens or puppies, sometimes bottle fed, sometimes eating OR take a pregnant bitch through her birthing & puppy raising and NO guilt at breeding when there aren't enough homes. (Exhausting , but often huge joys but occasional heartbreaks).
I have made the decision to have only own older dogs, as my health is poor & I have no partner, but I also rescue wild cats - mostly feral kittens, taming & then for rehoming.
You are SO needed as fosters, you can say, we ONLY want very quiet, old dogs and we want to travel through summer. Rescues will bend over backwards 2 keep you happy
I would also highly recommend the UK site OLDIES CLUB, which has dogs from all over the UK, needing permanent adoption, advertised mostly, by well established rescues, some RSPCAs etc and you can ask for dogs that are active, not active, cat friendly, very easy going etc
All are 7 years or over, so the puppy madness is long over EXCEPT in cases where a bonded pair has 1 dog over 7 and a younger loved companion. Once in a while, there is even a dog & cat bonded pair, needing home
If you have a very big heart, you can browse dogs with Special Needs
Traumatised, diabetic, needing injections, blind, deaf, occasionally wheelchair dogs AND there are BONDED PAIRS, dogs that ADORE each other and can't be parted. My long experience is Bonded Pairs settle faster, their shared joy you can see, often makes you tear up and you get so many extra AWWW moments/laughs, with Bonded Pairs and it really is only about 25% more work than one. Plus, they are happy together, when you go out. I know Oldies Club does occasionally offer permanent foster dogs, usually old, with medical conditions, but they pay the vet bills. Usually, you have to live nearish the vets the different rescues use.
I am ALWAYS happy to suggest dogs from contacts, if you want to adopt, if you tell me what sort of dog you are looking for... I don't need anything more than your city or county and description of what your dream dog sounds like. I can then suggest some dogs you might like to visit, in your area, or look at online & talk about with rescues
Rescues ARE the best way to go, rather than pounds/shelters, IF you don't want to take the chance of taking an unknown dog you barely know, after a couple of visits. NO KILL rescues use a lot of fosterers & try to get the dogs into loving homes with experienced people. They report honestly about the good & sometimes awkward problems a dog has, & often try to fix them, because they want the dog to be happy and THAT means you have to be happy & want to keep it and not want to return it. Often fosterers have cats as well, so you can SEE, when you visit, that the dog IS great with cats! HOWEVER, if there IS a problem, and you go through a NO KILL rescue, they will always take the animal back, IF something goes wrong and the BIG thing is that you know it will still be safe, still find the perfect human some day. Go through a KILL centre & take it back & you could be returning it to a death sentence
By the way, you can also foster until you fall in love with a dog. It's called FAILED FOSTER and it's bitter sweet for the rescue. They know the dog has lovely home BUT they lose a foster.
U can foster or adopt some heartbreaking dogs. Dumped 18 years old & blind etc and give them a loving family for their probable last year. It is heartbreaking, but your heart almost bursts to see them relax, to start to show personality, to see ancient, tottery cheeriness, EVEN cheekiness & SEE that they TRUST you.
That feeling is often too big for your chest and no 10,000 quid dog could EVER give you that feeling. It is fierce joy & self pride and tenderness & it is far more addictive than any drug, tho ends in tears, at some point - but that dog dies calm and happy, peaceful and loved and you take on another, in memory, of the beloved lost dog & see that slow blossom again.
One more thing I would genuinely advise. If U have a diabetic grandchild, one of the best things you can do is get a diabetic cat or dog. They will WANT to learn about the problem because they love the animal. They will absorb discipline, learn not to be slack, to watch for signs. They will never feel alone and not understood & sometimes a cry with grans or their own dog/cat, down the back garden, can ease worry and frustration, at not being understood & it all being so unfair
Sorry for the ramble. It's a subject close to my heart
) but since they've been in foster homes, we know all their bad (and good!) habits and what kind of home they need. They always leave us in much better condition than when they came in. We also take them back if they ever need to come back. We recently took back a dog we rehomed 5 years ago as the owner could no longer look after him.