Senior dog still has much to offer, enjoy in new home

Some people go straight to the puppies when they are looking to adopt a new dog.

Sally Miller found herself drawn to a senior poodle mix who had been taken to the Pima Animal Care Center as a stray several months earlier.

The little dog’s teeth were in such bad shape they had needed to be pulled. The shelter’s veterinary team removed cancerous mammary tumors, and later discovered she had bone cancer.

Miller first saw the dog around November when she had gone to check on the status of another stray. She returned to visit the senior dog, whom the shelter staff called Lynn, several times.

“She looked so sad and lonely,” said Miller, who took the dog’s medical paperwork to her own veterinarian before adopting so she knew the commitment she was making. Then she took her home.

As a senior, Miller said, “she comes house trained and accepting of people’s oddities. She’s a great dog.”

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Now called CD, the little dog happily welcomes Miller home and has bonded with her grandsons and two other rescued dogs. “Her health seems to be pretty good,” Miller said. “She’s so well-trained — there was nothing to do. It’s amazing how many animals out there have interesting lives that make them totally adoptable,” she said.

Karen Hollish, PACC’s development director, said at any given time 5 to 8 percent of PACC’s population is considered senior — at least 8 years old or above.

CD’s adoption was very different from when Miller adopted Mabel, a young black Laborador Retriever who had been trained as a service dog, then taken to PACC in 2008 when her owner fell ill. The shelter was so crowded that Mabel was slated to be euthanized that night.

“She and I just connected. I walked out the door with her,” Miller said.

Miller is very happy with PACC’s increased focus on saving lives. “I think the veterinarians out there are just wonderful. ... It’s a really a nice place to go out to visit with a dog, and find a dog,” said Miller, whose daughter adopted a three-legged dog. “They keep a nice facility out there.”