Georgia Magazine - November 2021 - 26

The golden oldies
Shelters give hope, a future to abandoned senior dogs
By Sarah Russell
T
hey are old and homeless, darting into alleys or
woods and hiding in the darkness for protection.
Some bear the scars of beatings. For all,
it's a constant game of wits against hunger, illness
and the elements. To see an abandoned senior dog
shivering in the cold is to feel your heart break.
November is National Adopt a Senior Pet Month, and
organizations in Georgia are striving to provide a better future
for these old, homeless dogs.
" Humans can be cruel, " says Penny Miller, founder and
director of Frankie and Andy's Place, a Winder sanctuary for
senior dogs.
Miller and rescuers like her have seen much cruelty. Every
day, owners leave their pets at shelters or abandon them on
the sides of roads-sometimes just tossing the dogs out of car
windows. Veterinarians see many pets brought in to be euthanized
simply because of their age and/or health. When dogs are
rescued from hoarders, puppy mills or dog-fighting rings, the
number of displaced dogs in shelters expands exponentially,
making senior dogs' chances of adoption even smaller.
Then, too, life happens to humans. Divorce, death, loss of
income, medical issues-any and all of these can challenge a
pet's place in the home.
Thus, streets and shelters become the harsh reality for
many senior dogs fighting to stay alive. The very fortunate ones
will find their way to the few rescue centers focused on helping
26 Georgia Magazine November 2021
older dogs.
" We don't think that, after the commitment a dog gives to
someone for years, it deserves to end its life in a shelter, " says
Heather Zaresky, founder and director of Georgia Canine
Rescue and Rehabilitation in Cochran.
Zaresky created a special division for senior dogs and other
special-needs pets: The Flawed Dog. The goal is to take the
least-adoptable dogs out of shelters and get them into homes.
She says that the effort is facing a lot of added pressures
this year.
" Summers are bad in general, [but then] added with the
second year of COVID, we have had an overwhelming amount
of neglect and [senior pets] being dumped, " she says.
If humans can be cruel, the numbers can be even more so.
Zaresky estimates that only 20 percent to 25 percent of the
senior dogs in shelters are adopted. What happens to the
remaining three out of four dogs? Many die from physical and
medical issues endured both before and after they come to the
shelters. For others? Well, while each shelter's space is limited,
the flow of incoming dogs is not. Georgia's high euthanization
rate reflects the lack of available permanent or foster homes.
Top left: Frankie and Andy's Place supporter Pat Mitchell takes
Morgan Freeman, a 15-year-old Labrador mix, for a " joyride " in her
convertible. Top right: Despite a cancer diagnosis, adoptable Bruno
at The Flawed Dog is a happy, well-behaved and loved senior.
COURTESY THE FLAWED DOG
COURTESY FRANKIE AND ANDY'S PLACE
Georgia Magazine - November 2021

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