5 Reasons to adopt an adult dog

“Haaaa!” I gasped as I walked into the second room at Pets Alive Tarrytown in Austin, TX.

Sat up on a square bed among about seven or eight smaller dogs running around a fenced in area, sat a black and white, smooched-face 20-some-pound dog.

We locked eyes and she came straight to me. I reached down into the group and it was as if this little dog only gave all her energy that day solely to come to say hi to me. The dog wouldn’t let any of the others get so much as a scratch or a lick in as she jumped up to give me kisses and held onto my arm with her two curled paws.

This dog chose me.

My husband, who unlike me had dogs his entire life, kept telling me to wait for it to happen. We had been to Pets Alive at least four times trying to find a dog that fit our apartment complex’s pet restrictions as well as one that connected with us. We decided that our first visit to Tarrytown would be our last attempt to adopt, because it was getting too hard.

And then…we were chosen.

My husband quickly followed in after he heard my delight and the dog tied onto his heart strings just the same as it did me. He walked over to the description card that best suited our dog. As he read out the dog’s profile-it matched nothing that we were after during our time looking for a dog.

Chata was the dog’s name. We wanted a male, Chata was female. We wanted a dog one to two years old, Chata was five. We wanted a dog as big as our apartment allowed, 35lbs, Chata was a dainty 20lbs. Chata was the complete opposite of what we had been looking for, but none of that mattered, the little Boston Terrier with big brown eyes from Tarrytown chose us and we immediately chose her.

It’s rare to find a full-bred Boston Terrier in shelters so we knew there had to be a story. It was obvious by her belly that Chata had given birth not long before being given up. Pets Alive also believed that was true and said the only history they had on her was that she was en route to a new home a few days before, that home fell through, so she was given up to a high kill shelter that immediately called Pets Alive to say this dog will be adopted quickly at your shelter, we’re worried about her chances here.

Like us, this dog had a story.

Because we knew her past was rough, we decided in the play area at Pets Alive that we would give her an amazing new life. To start off, we renamed her. Chata was nice, but a dog as beautiful as this one deserved something a bit more glamorous, so of course we named her after the most beautiful Hollywood starlet to ever live, Ava Gardner.

I, like many, am puppy-obsessed. They’re cute, soft and like anything new to this world, innocent and open to everyone. They’re the easy choice when getting a dog, because let’s face it — they’re darn adorable. But adopting an adult dog is a slow-growing relationship with immediate benefits and long-term rewards that I never really considered. This was apparent the moment after we signed all the adoption papers for Ava.

They immediately appreciate their new family and home.

We were sat on the couch with her, going over some things with a volunteer at Tarrytown, when another dog named Whiskey was being walked out to the play area with another couple looking to adopt. Ava perked up, her ears went back and she started to growl.

“Whoa, she’s never done that before,” said the volunteer as Ava started barking and going towards Whiskey. “We’ve noticed that the other dogs sort of bullied her, but we’ve never seen her bark back.”

We knew we would have to work on Ava’s canine interactions, but it was clear that she had become bold because she finally had a pack to back her up. She finally had a family.

They’re excited and adorable about having their own things.

From the adoption center, it was straight to the pet store to collect the basics; food, bowels, treats and a bed. As we took Ava out of the shopping cart to try out everything, there was a level of excitement that proved she’s never had things to herself before.

This happened again when opening her first present on Christmas a few weeks after we adopted her.

We asked Ava, “What’s this?” as we unwrapped it for her.

Her ears went straight up and head tilted as her excitement grew. We pulled out a stuffed honey comb with three small stuffed, squeaky squirrels in it. Ava’s eyes widened as we handed it over to her. She simply took it with her mouth and ran off to her bed where she stayed the rest of the day licking it.

They may have issues, but earning their trust is the greatest feeling.

We think Ava’s reaction to her Christmas present was a mixture of it maybe being her first real toy, but also a reminder of the pups we believe she gave just prior to us adopting her.

Most who have adopted adult dogs will tell you that they have tendencies or issues that may have resulted from bad things that have happened to them in the past or even just spending time in a shelter. Ava has had problems learning to play with other dogs. She’s a nervous wreck when she hears the ping on a phone. She scrambles and runs away when she’s sniffing around in the kitchen and one of us walks in. She has a large scar on her front, left leg that looks like it came from being tied up for a long time.

But all of these issues have gotten better and better as she’s gotten to know us and realize that she can trust us. Thinking back to her actions and looking at pictures from when we first adopted her to today, it’s like she’s a completely different dog. She’s calmer and though she still can’t stop giving kisses once she starts, she doesn’t try as hard for our affection, but rather just chills out knowing that we are here for her.

They’re usually house-trained.

Out of all the things we’ve had to work with Ava on, peeing outside was not one of them. True statement: Ava has never peed or pooped in our apartment — not one single time. She has peed in the pet store and once at a house she was being watched at, which houses a lot of different dogs. Talking to friends’ with puppies, I feel pretty lucky that I didn’t have to clean up pee and poop the first few months of having my first dog.

They can be taught new tricks.

While we didn’t have to house-train Ava, we have had fun teaching her other things. The saying should go, “You can teach an old dog new tricks, it just takes a bit longer”. By building her trust and of course using treats, we’ve trained Ava to not pull on her leash, to come back to us when she’s off her leash, to not nip at other dogs (this one is still a work in progress), to sit, wait and even give her paw. It might take a bit longer to teach an adult dog, but my one word of advice is…bacon.

If you don’t, who will?

Petfinder.com did a survey among their listed shelters and rescue groups to find which pets they have the hardest time placing in homes. They answered that the number one hardest to find homes for (28%) were senior dogs and that “less adoptable” pets stay at shelters four times longer, sometimes staying for up to two years. —
While my mother-in-law was visiting from England recently, she met Ava for the first time and spent a lot of time with all of us together. She said something at the end that stuck with me.

“You may think you saved her and that’s true, but she also saved you,” she said. “She was sent to look after you two.”

My husband and I both live very far away from our parents and our families. I think we needed the nurturing and loving side of a mother in our home to brighten each bad day and make the good days even better. We need Ava as much as she needs us.

An adult dog might not be right for you, but you should at least consider whether or not it is. Looking at how perfectly Ava fits into our lives and work schedules right now and how much love she has to give, I would say hands down she was the best age option for us.

Puppies are amazing and I think we will own more than one throughout our lives, but at this point, an adult dog was right for us and there are so many living in shelters right now that may be be right for you.