Curl up with a senior pet
Senior pets are mellow and ready for their new forever home. The Senior-to-Senior Program matches senior adopters with our senior pets.
Our goal is to provide people with loving companions, and to Provide our pets with a home Where they can live For The rest of their lives.
Why Adopt a Senior Pet?
The Animal League’s Senior-to-Senior program was designed to benefit both the seniors in our community and the senior pets at The Animal League. We strongly encourage seniors to consider adopting or fostering senior pets rather than puppies/kittens for the below reasons.
1. The Senior-to-Senior Discount
Seniors enjoy a $50 discount on our regularly priced senior dogs. This means cats and large breed dogs are just $50 and small breed dogs are $100. We understand that many seniors have retired and live on limited income. This discount program helps to ensure that seniors are able to afford a four-legged companion.
2. Senior Pets Typically Require Less Training
While everyone loves puppies, not everyone loves the messes they can make or the time and effort full training requires. Often times senior pets are already housetrained, calm, and even know a few commands.
3. Senior Pets are Low Maintenance
Senior pets are quite content to sit in their human’s lap or at their feet. Seniors are not yappy and do not require hours of exercise and stimulation.
4. Senior Pets Have Lots of Life Left
At The Animal League, senior pets start at age 9. Cats and smaller breed dogs can live well into their teen years, while larger breed dogs often live past the age of 10 with proper care. These seniors might not want to run a marathon, but they are certainly able to go for walks and even enjoy play time.
5. Senior Pets need Homes Too
Seniors are often passed over in shelters for younger and flashier pets. There will never be a shortage of homes for puppies and kittens.
6. Senior Pets Aren’t Likely to Outlive Their Owners
When a pet owner dies, the pet’s fate is left in the hands of surviving family members. Sadly, often relatives are unwilling to take on the responsibility of caring for someone else’s pet, and so it is surrendered to a shelter, confused, alone, and missing his/her pet parent.
Our Policy
Whether interested in a senior pet or a young adult, all of our senior adoptees are strongly encouraged to arrange a provision in the event that they become unable to care for their pet. This can include designating a caregiver, setting up a trust, or including pets in a will. Many of our pets came to us when their owners unexpectedly passed away without having made provisions for that pet.
In accordance with our goal to place pets in lifelong forever homes, The Animal League has developed guidelines to assist potential adopters in finding their best match:
Seniors aged 75+ must provide proof that they have made arrangements for the care of the pet they are interested in (trust, adult child, etc.). If the pet will be entrusted to an adult family member, they must meet our requirements for adoption.
Seniors 75+, regardless of arrangements, are approved to adopt senior pets (aged 9+). While we encourage all seniors to adopt older pets, this only applies to adoptees over 75 years of age.
