Life-Long Dog Lover Is Not Allowed To Adopt A Puppy

Once you reach a certain point in life, people start treating you differently.

Doctors start to say things like “at your age….” and “as you get older…” and the words start to chafe a little bit.

And you know, the other thing that happens is that you start to feel lonely and maybe you want a furry friend…

When an active, cheerful woman named Mary found herself alone when she was nearing 70 years of age, she decided she wanted a companion dog.

And she wanted to be sure she got one that was just as active as she was.

She traveled a lot and wanted a small dog that could fly in the cabin with her on an airplane, in a crate beneath her seat.

She wanted a dog she could pick up and carry with her when she walked and went on tours.

In short, Mary wanted a dog that could keep up with her! And when she visited the Fluffy Dog Rescue, she fell in love with a cute little 1-year-old Yorkie mix.

She placed her application to adopt and began making her plans. She was a good applicant; she had the financial means and she was perfectly suited to be a dog owner.

After all, she’d always had dogs around! So, she waited for the response telling her when she could pick up her new companion.

Except, instead of an acceptance letter, she received a very confusing note. It read:

“[We have] a philosophy of ‘adoption for life’… we feel there are other dogs that may be more suitable for you.

In your case, it would be a dog aged three or older.”

Mary couldn’t understand how two years could make any difference. Obviously, she would make arrangements for her pet to be cared for in the event of her being unable to do so.

Being 70 years old didn’t mean she couldn’t have the 12-15 years left in her life that the dog she wanted to adopt would possibly have!

“I planned to get a young dog so that it will fly with me and be able to go under my seat and go wherever I go,” said Mary.

“I think they made a very poor judgment, in the fact they don’t know me.”

It’s admirable that the shelter is careful in screening potential homes, but it’s ridiculous to believe that you can put people into tiny slots, when each person and each situation is quite different.

Mary’s daughter, Melissa, emailed the organization about their decision.

“To just write it off because of a number, it was really upsetting,” Melissa said.

Fluffy Dog Rescue sent back another email saying:

“We have established a formula for our older applicants to do our best to accomplish this.

With that said, your mother fits into a category of only being able to adopt a dog that is three years or older.”

Mary still doesn’t understand why she wasn’t allowed to adopt the Yorkie-mix.

“I just feel like I’m a good, loving person, and I could give a lot of love to a little dog, any dog,” she said.

What do you think? Do you think older people should only have older dogs? And can you see a lot of difference in adopting a 1-year-old dog as opposed to a 3-year-old dog?

Do you think each situation should be judged on its own merit?

We hope the little Yorkie mix did find a good home, and we’re sure Mary will find a shelter that will be happy to work with someone offering such an active and fun home to one of their dogs!

Good luck, Mary. We know you’ll be a great dog mom!

Source: Little Things