Home
Titles
Atlanta senior life.
August 31, 2020
Image 4
Atlanta senior life., August 31, 2020, Image 4
About Atlanta senior life. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2016-2023 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2020)
Prev
Page
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
of 24
Next
Prev
Page
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
of 24
Next
Newspaper Page Text
COVER STORY
Pfi
ANIMAL PROJf(
Volunteer Hope Gentle checks in on animals at the LifeLine shelter
grants for senior dog programs
to 190 nonprofit organizations
nationwide, according to its
website. Among them are grants
for programs that help seniors
adopt senior dogs.
Denise Fleck, president of the
organization’s board of directors,
said one benefit of choosing a
senior animal was, “with older
dogs, what you see is what you
get!”
“They have already grown into
their bodies and personalities,
are often more low-key and just
love to sit adoringly at your
side,” said Fleck, of Villa Rica.
“It is important to remember,
however, that a 7-year-old senior
dog can be quite different from
a 13-year-old. So senior dogs, like
senior people, have a range of
needs and activity levels, but all
still have so much love to give.”
PAWS Atlanta has partnered
with Grey Muzzle on projects
such as helping to pay for some
of the extra medical care senior
By Donna Williams Lewis
Shelters see it all the time. The
typical person looking to adopt a
pet will pass by older animals in
search of a puppy or a kitten.
Cumming resident Skeet
Wright has seen that for herself.
“You go and look at these
animals and your heart just
breaks. No one wants a senior
animal. They’re all just looking
for the younger dogs,” Wright
said.
She’d had a dog before and
didn’t want to go through
the puppy stage again. “I just
thought... let me find one that I
can give the best years to,” she
said.
She and her husband, Les, last
summer adopted a 7-year-old dog
whose teeth were in such bad
shape that PAWS Atlanta had
to remove all but three of them
before releasing her for adoption
to her new family. The dog was
also prescribed liver medication,
which she must take daily for the
MAKING
NEW FRIENDS
WITH OLD SOULS
rest of her life.
But the Wrights couldn’t be
happier with their choice of tiny,
5-pound “Miss Penny.” She eats
canned food and likes scrambled
eggs and rice for an occasional
special treat.
“She’s such a Miss Priss and
she’s very dainty. She is just the
best companion,” Wright said.
“She loves to sit in your lap. She’s
not super demanding. She’s
just there for us. She loves our
grandkids, too. She loves to play
with them.”
‘What you see is what you get’
LifeLine Animal Project,
which runs shelter operations
for Fulton and DeKalb counties,
has done “Golden Girls” and
“Golden Oldies” events to
promote adoption of older
animals. November is national
Adopt A Senior Pet Month, and
there are groups devoted solely
to senior animals. Among them
is the Grey Muzzle Organization.
Since 2008, Grey Muzzle has
provided more than $2 million in
AUGUST 2020
ATLANTASENIORLIFE.COM
FACEBOOK.COM/ATLANTASENIORLIFE