Vent

We adopted an 8 year old dog, which at least for adoption price purposes was considered a "senior" (our vet still considers her an adult, though, and given her size and likely breed she could potentially live to be 15, you never know.) It still kills me to think of the conversation I had w/the adoption coordinator when she said she was so grateful we were taking her, "Because I just didn't want to euth her even though she's older, she's so sweet, I was so afraid of what was going to happen to her here." She even had a 50% off tag on her cage. It was horribly sad.
 
I am almost, almost positive that this dog was given away because of her age at this point. There is NOTHING wrong with her. She's not all pep and zip though, like a puppy is, and I have a feeling she wasn't "exciting" enough for them anymore. They even wrote something on the surrender form like, "she will not do any tricks." (In addition to their main reason which were "she has fleas" (their fault for not taking care of it!), and "we have too many animals". [8|])  Well sure, she didn't do any tricks because they didn't TEACH her any. I've already taught her a few in addition to the basic commands she already had mastered (sit, stay, etc.) And I've had her for less than two MONTHS.
 
I never would have thought I would feel this way, but after such a good experience with Lady, I may always adopt older dogs. I'm taking a stand against the way so many people treat their older animals. When it's a puppy, it's a cherished member of the family, when it gets older, it's "just a dog." []

Forpaws - the information lokis_mom gave you is exactly what our shelter does, too.  In fact while I was there today a dog was being temperament tested in the training enclosure.  She said the dog had been brought in last Friday.   I watched for a while and chatted with the woman doing the testing.  After finishing my visit with all the dogs and filling out my forms, I ran into her again.  Five minutes after she put up the info card about the dog she had been testing, someone asked to adopt him.  This shelter is the one that runs the training classes that Ben took, so I know one member of staff relatively well - they are fanatical about ensuring that anyone who takes a dog home knows what they should expect; not just with any dog, but with THAT dog.  
They also run family fun days, with dog shows that give prizes for "cutest puppy", "waggiest tail" etc....taking a dog home from this shelter is not the end of a person's association with it, or it doesn't have to be.  They are a great source of support after the dog has been taken home.  I didn't get Ben from the shelter, but having taken him to training there I can now call up and talk to his trainer or anyone else about any difficulties I may be experiencing. 
 
If you're interested in numbers, I have the shelter statistics from last year - stray dogs found, owner surrenders, rehoming percentages.  Let me know if you want those.
 
Oh, and Billy....my apologies.  Offending your delicate sensibilities has devastated me.  []
 
Kate