The HSUS/Michelle Riley

Angela Moxley with Tess.

By Angela Moxley

When they see me coming with my cocker spaniel mix in tow, the first thing people ask about is her name.

The next thing they want to know is her age. And when they find out 10-year-old Tess only recently joined my household, their reaction is almost always the same: "What a lucky dog!"

But they've got it all wrong. My husband and I didn't adopt Tess in spite of her age. We adopted her because of it.

Bucking the Trend

Our affection for older animals is rooted in my experiences running a rescue for “pocket pets,” where I frequently see people pass the wonderful adult animals by in favor of the cute babies.

Two-and-a-half years ago, I decided to buck that trend by adopting my first senior pet, Alma, a sweet 10-year-old kitty who hadn't had any takers during her entire month at the shelter. If we hadn't taken her home, she might have lived her last days without ever knowing the comforts of a loving home—and without having the chance to show off her amazing personality.

The Perfect Dog

While we weren't necessarily looking for another senior animal when we set our sights on adopting a dog a few months ago, Tess stole our hearts. She's friendly to everyone, loves car rides, is obsessed with taking walks and is the perfect cuddling buddy to melt our stress away. She just might be the perfect dog—and yet she'd been in rescue for about five months because no one was willing to give an old gal a chance.

Special Care, But A Grown-Up Perspective

I'm not naïve. I know that with old age comes extra care: more trips to the vet, more attention to seemingly benign conditions, special food. Tess can't hear very well and is starting to get cataracts, and Alma is showing early signs of kidney disease.

But one advantage of adopting an older pet is that with age comes a grown-up perspective on life. Both Tess and Alma moved seamlessly into our home; they know their place in a house where humans rule the roost. It was as if we had adopted two adult children without suffering the angst of those trying teenage years.

Alma already knew how to use the litter box and isn't prone to destructive kitten tendencies. We didn't have to spend weeks housetraining Tess and getting her to stop chewing everything in sight. The little lady knows her manners; she sits and waits for us to wipe her paws or put on her leash. Dogs, cats, cars, dog parks, garbage men—she's seen it all before!

The Best of Both Worlds

When we just want to veg out and read a book or watch a movie, our aging companions are content to curl up by our side and veg out, too. But "old" doesn't mean "sedentary." Tess loves acting goofy, rolling around for belly rubs, and galloping after tennis balls. Alma goes crazy for the cat dancer toy. And at the end of a vivacious playtime romp, they're perfectly happy to listen when we say "No more."

I know people mean well when they say how lucky our old animals are, but they're missing the point. We are the lucky ones, to have found them.