Breaking down the walls ......

I love my friends blog!   To be perfectly honest, The 'splorin' Wolfies is one of the sweetest little spots in my day :)  It is more than an endearing testament to the joy that Janice finds with her dogs ... all the lovely little vignettes and goofy bits come with a solid underpinning of home truths.
Many of these nuggets cut to the chase and truly transcend the 'wolfie' world.   Today, when Guinness was explaining  "We often hear people say "Oh! I could never get a wolfhound--it is too sad!" I ask you: Will it not be just as sad to lose a beloved pet after 15, 18 or even 20 years? Of course. Silly humans. You deny us our very life when you confine us to your receding walls of time. " ... that could ever so easily apply to mature and senior pets.
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, a pet is not an appliance or a car.   My beautiful boy Ben never made it to his sixth birthday.  Yet years ago, back before we knew so much about pet food, the labrador I fed grocery store food to lived to be eighteen. 
The only guarantee we have is that our pets will love us completely and unconditionally every day of their lives.    
Still, anyone adopting a seasoned pal IS getting a sure thing!  Why do I say that?  Because all the cliches I am so fond of using on the senior pet site ARE true. 
Mature pets are already as big and beautiful as they are going to be.  It really is easier to tell if they are going to be kindred spirits!  Senior pets actually do like a good nights sleep as much as you do!  They make grrreat companions!  Purrfect pals! 
So why do so many sit 'on the shelf' for so long?   It is often the darned time thing.  Some folks are afraid to give their hearts to a pet that might not have fifteen or twenty years of love to offer.
Like Guinness says ... time is relative!   Andy and Rascal are as dear to me as any young dog or pup that ever came in the door.     It is not necessary to be a dog's first love ... the important bit is to 'seize the days' that the Goddess grants.  As Dad used to say ... peel the apple in your hand, not the one on the tree.
Does that mean that everything is all staid and predictable!  Not a chance!   It is a hoot to watch Rascal discovering the joys of barrelling around with Ruby!   It is hilarious to discover that my littlest hobo is so full of terrier feist!
The old geezers love to go to the woods every morning as much as the big dogs!   They are just as happy to get belly rubs and cuddles!  And to be perfectly honest, the younger dogs nap just as much as the old geezers do!
Believe me, it takes a lot of restraint when I am doing the senior pet site.   Deep down I know I cannot invite them all in ... but that doesn't stop me from seeing how lovely they all are!
Shera is like a poster girl for all the best bits about senior pets.   She is quiet and well behaved.   She is settled enough to be good company  .... yet is still full of fun when the opportunity for play arises!  In fact, she is still peppy enough to be a bit dominant with other dogs ... although the kind folks at the Metro Shelter believe she might do well with a younger pup.
Why did such a beautiful girl become homeless?  The short version is that her family were evicted and could no longer care for their faithful friend.
Shera lives up to the Aramaic meaning of her name, which is light!  She is bright and beautiful and still has ever so much to offer.   If you are not one of the 'silly humans' who are hung up on 'receding walls of time' ...  Shera might just be the love you have been waiting for.
All that amstaf love with all that experience?  Sheesh!  I could almost envy the kind heart who does not need to be her first love to become the light of Shera's life!