How picking the easy path can bring unimaginable blessings

I love Yule. While everyone else sees it as the start of winter, for me it heralds the promise of better days to come. From here on in, the days will start getting a little longer.
That doesn't mean the chilliest days are all behind us .... unless the weather breaks pattern in unprecedented fashion, the coldest days are still ahead of us. Nor do I expect that tonight's bluster will be our last stormy day before spring.
Still.... shortly after we ring in 2010, it won't be dark until dinnertime. By the time February's frigid weather sets in, at least it will be light after suppertime.
Anyone who reads this blog, or has been to the site, knows what a special affection I have for the homeless senior pets in our province. Perhaps it is born of knowing I personally am middle aged, not elderly. I could probably leave a lot of younger people behind me when I'm climbing up the ridge ... or even just hiking over hill and dale with the dogs.
Or perhaps its because I've always believed that pets are for life ... so I'm no stranger to the special rewards in store for those sharing space with senior pets.
Senior pets are particularly vulnerable when they become homeless. Potential adopters often skip past their listings ... usually out of concern for possible expenses of health issues or shorter time spans that might be left to share. Its not all that long ago that senior pets were automatically killed when they became homeless.
There is a promise of better days to come for homeless senior pets. Just outside Nova Scotia, fully a third of the pets listed with the Moncton SPCA are over eight. Closer to home, both the LA Animal Shelter and the Metro Shelter both charge a lower adoption fee for their Seniors. In many instances this year, the Yarmouth SPCA has completely waived the adoption fee for its seniors.
Does that mean there are no cold days ahead for senior pets in Nova Scotia? Of course not. What it does mean is the chance for senior pets to be their own best ambassadors. Everyone who meets Andy isn't just taken with how well behaved he is or by how quickly he settled in with the other pets. No ... they are amazed by how much energy and spunk he has.
Right now there are ten sweet and engaging senior pets listed on Petfinder in Nova Scotia - Benson , Logan , Elsa , Hobo, Bonnie , Clank, Bruin , Penney , Smokey and Josephina. Benson's sweet personality saved him from the gas chamber in Goergia. Logan is so full of get up and go that NS Labrador Rescue is looking for a family that can keep up with him!
I know I say it all the time wherever I feature the mature pets, but all the cliches are true. Senior pets are more experienced at love. They really are Zen companions. Anyone who has adopted a senior pet really does get to embrace the love without the sleepless nights.
There is nothing wrong with wanting an easy life. It really is just frosting on the cake that picking the easy path by adopting a senior pet can be rewarded with more love and devotion than anyone could possibly imagine.
"Every time we love, every time we give, its Christmas" Dale Evans