Adopt Don't Shop

Did you know that November is National Senior Pet Month? It’s a time to celebrate our older pets and consider adopting one too. In our previous blog post, we told you why WE adopt senior dogs and now we want to share why YOU should adopt one too.

When someone decides they want to add a dog to their family, most of the time it’s a puppy. Every dog requires patience, time, money, etc. but puppies, in my opinion, are a lot of work! They require a lot of consistent training, proper socialization, they chew your favorite shoes, they have accidents in the house and have a lot of energy. Don’t get me wrong, puppies are so cute I can’t stand it, but what some don’t realize is that senior dogs are just as cute, if not more. They may be older and have gray fur, but their cuteness comes from their quirky personality, the way they always must be by your side, and the endless amount of naps they can take.

With most senior dogs, they are well past the chewing stage, are already potty trained, have mellow energy with a few random bursts of the zoomies, and don’t require running a marathon for exercise. Senior pups have so much love to give, and their age doesn’t define their life’s worth. Seniors shouldn’t be discarded like trash just because they are old. Imagine if we had the same mentality about humans?!

We created Cogs Dogs in honor of our first three senior dogs we adopted, Champ, Diesel, and Bosley. They inspired us to continue our senior dog journey and help others in need. Senior dogs are the heart and soul of not only Cogs Dogs but are a part of me as well. I’ve personally seen senior dogs in shelters that were dumped simply because their “family” was moving or because the older dog didn’t like the new puppy they got for Christmas. 

While I may not know the entire story of these families that dumped their dogs, I can personally attest to the fact that these dogs didn’t deserve to be dumped in an overcrowded shelter with a risk of euthanasia just because of their age. They deserve to have a loving home through the end.

I understand adopting a senior dog isn’t for everyone, but I’m here to help in any way possible to showcase how amazing senior dogs are. I understand it can be scary and sad to think about the fact you may not have them long, but time doesn’t define the amount of love you’ll share. Plus, there’s a lot of senior pups out there that still have several years of life to live, treats to eat, and belly rubs to receive. 😊

I would love to answer your questions you have about caring for a senior pup, your concerns, your fears, and help you connect with local animal shelters rescues if you’re considering adding a furry member to your family.

Senior dogs are truly one of a kind. They teach you unconditional love, patience, to enjoy the small things in life, to slow down and enjoy the sunsets, and to celebrate every moment possible!

With love & pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

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With Christmas coming up, it’s a wonderful time of year where families and friends get to spend time together. Watching kids open gifts can be a magical feeling. This time of year, a lot of families get their kids or significant other a puppy for Christmas. While that is awesome they’ve decided to add a furry member to their family, there are often times that another dog pays the ultimate price.

After adopting our first senior dog Champ, I learned quite a bit about senior dogs. I’ve learned that shelters and rescues have a busy time of year when families get puppies and dump their older dog, which happens to be at Christmas time ☹. When your dog is older, getting a puppy isn’t always the best idea. I have often heard of times when a family gets a puppy and the older dog snaps at or tries to bite it. Do you know what then happens to that senior dog? It goes to the shelter or worse, gets euthanized.

If you already have an older dog in the home and/or you’re considering adding a puppy or younger dog, please consider the following:

1. Visit local rescues & shelters first – there are always puppies available
   • Do not support puppy mills and backyard breeders. These dogs are abused, severely mistreated, and do not get the care and love they need.
2. Do your research to better understand what the dog may require as it gets bigger & older
   • Understand what it will require as it gets older regarding exercise, cost of food & care, prone to health issues like allergies that may requires medication, training, etc.
3. Do not get a puppy if you’re going to dump your older dog when it doesn’t welcome the puppy with open paws
   • Many times, older dogs like their space and don’t like a lot of commotion. Older dogs tend to not like puppies jumping all over them and nibbling their face.
4. Do not get a puppy because you think your senior dog wants a friend
   • Trust me when I say that your senior dog doesn’t want a friend jumping all over them, nibbling their face, barking, & always running around. Your senior dog wants to be with you and do their favorite things with their favorite human(s).
5. Most importantly, do not get a puppy if you’re going to dump it at the shelter when it becomes too much to handle, too expensive, you don’t have enough time, etc.
   • Puppies require the same things as other dogs do: exercise, patience, training, money, vet care, & proper socialization. They may be cute but they are not disposable.

If you’ve considered all these things and you’re serious about being a responsible dog parent and won’t give up on the puppy and/or your senior dog, then congratulations! If you’ve realized that maybe a puppy isn’t for the best right now, then congratulations! There are other ways to get involved with the dog community without actually having a dog. You can donate to a local rescue or shelter, volunteer (always in need of more help), advocate for responsible dog parenting, share social media posts about dogs in need, and continue to educate yourself on how you can be a dog advocate.

For Christmas this year, I encourage you to visit a local shelter especially with your kids and start teaching them about dogs. Teach them that shelter dogs aren’t bad dogs, teach them about why they are there, teach them how to interact with dogs in the shelter and in other settings, teach them to be kind to dogs and all animals, and most of all teach them that old dogs are just as great as the puppies. 😊 That is the greatest gift you could give because the more we teach others, the less dogs that will end up in shelters.

With love & pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

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When people find out that we adopt senior dogs and our mission at Cogs Dogs is to help save more seniors, we often get questions and comments like “How can you adopt seniors knowing you won’t have them for long? How do you deal with the heartache of losing them so soon? I could never handle the heartbreak. I don’t know how you do what you do.” To say that every loss doesn’t make it hard to breathe or hard to get up in the morning, I would be lying. With every loss, no matter how long we’ve had our dogs, it is extremely heartbreaking, sad, confusing, and everything in between.

With all our seniors, we’ve never looked at them and thought that we couldn’t save them just because we may not have them for very long. We adopt older dogs for this exact reason, because we don’t know how long they have left. We always want to make damn sure that their final time is spent knowing nothing but love, feeling safe, and having a family through their final journey.

To me, having a dog in my family isn’t about the length of time we get to spend with them. While I would love to have every dog furever, my focus with our past, current, and future seniors is to give them the best of the rest of their life no matter how long or short that may be! With Champ, our first senior, we only had him for 2.5 months. During those months, we loved him so much and it felt like we had him for years because of how awesome everyday was with him. Yes, losing him so quickly was absolutely devastating because of this loss, I knew that saving seniors was my purpose in life and I had to continue with the journey. His death showed me the path of saving more seniors. We wanted his legacy to live on through every dog we saved after him.

Everyone deals with grief differently and there’s no right or wrong way, as long as there’s no harm involved. With me, my grief journey of losing Champ led me to our next seniors, Bosley & Diesel within a week of losing Champ. While no dog will ever replace another, Bosley & Diesel helped me personally with my grief of losing Champ. Each loss hurts so incredibly much and at the same time I know I must continue the journey, not just for the dogs but for me as well. This is now my life’s purpose! I’m 100% okay with my heart breaking if it means saving more seniors and being able to give them all the love they deserve, no matter how long or short that time may be. This is why we adopt senior dogs! Please consider opening your heart to adopt a senior in need!

With Love & Pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

#adoptdontshop #cogsdogs #seniordogs #dogs #adoptsavealife #dogsarefamily #adoptaseniordog #lifespurpose #dogadvocate #dogrescue #dogsarelife

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You’ve decided that now is the right time to add a furry companion to your family! That is so awesome! You go to your local shelter to walk around and look at all the dogs that are available for adoption. Great job on deciding to adopt and not shop! As you’re walking past all the dog kennels, you’ve noticed that a lot are barking and sound scary, don’t seem friendly, or are cowered in the back of their kennel looking very sad. There’s not a dog that comes up to you like a friendly puppy and they all seem too sad or scary to take home. So, you leave the shelter empty handed and go buy a puppy from Craigslist instead. NO! STOP! GO BACK!

You’ve got it all wrong! See, even though the dogs at the shelter are very well taken care of, they are very scared, confused, sad, and even sometimes depressed. Do you know how they got in that position to begin with? Yep, you guessed right. It was humans that did that to them. It could’ve been your friend, your next door neighbor, a co-worker, someone you trusted. Surrendering your dog to a shelter or rescue is not something that should be done because you’re fed up, mad, frustrated. It’s a decision that should be very well thought out and should be used as a last resort option. These are the heartbreaking reasons I’ve seen people dump their dog: “I’m moving and can’t take my dog with. I’m pregnant and the dog is acting weird. I just had a baby and I don’t have time for the dog anymore. The dog has pee accidents in the house.” Trust me, I’ve heard it all!

As a Canine Companion volunteer at Nebraska Humane Society, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several dogs. Dogs that are jumping like crazy because they have to go pee so bad and just want to get out. Dogs that are barking like crazy because I’m the 1,254,267^th person they’ve seen walk past their kennel. Dogs that are so scared and won’t come to me unless I sit in their kennel until they feel comfortable. Dogs that sound and even look scary because they are unsure of humans. But do you know what all these dogs have in common besides being a dog? They are NOTHING like that once you get them outside in the real world. Now, I’m not saying that some dogs don’t have issues that will still need to be worked on once adopted, but the first step is giving them the chance to begin with.

In my experience so far as a dog volunteer, dogs that are dumped at the shelter sometimes develop issues while at the shelter because of all the strangers around, other dogs barking, a million different unfamiliar smells, or confusion and sadness of their family leaving them there. I’m not a behavior expert by any means. This is simply just from my perspective and experience of spending time with dogs. It doesn’t mean these issues can’t be fixed but like with any dog, including puppies, it takes time, patience, love, & compassion. The dogs you see at the shelter are just like any other dog. Only because their humans failed them, doesn’t mean they are any less worthy. Some love to play fetch, some love to go on walks, some love humans, some love dogs, some don’t prefer other dogs, some love belly rubs, some love butt scratches, some aren’t good around kids, most of them love treats, and ALL of them are good dogs!

Giving the dogs a chance to meet you outside of their kennel is the best way to get to know the dog and even sometimes a meet and greet can be overwhelming for the dog and for you. First impressions aren’t always right! Keep in mind that getting a dog that best fits your lifestyle and being committed to the dog through the end of their life is what will keep that dog out of the shelter system. Please understand that these dogs aren’t like shopping for a new outfit. Some don’t look their best and some don’t act their best, but know that given the chance and time, they will show you their true personality and give you all the love. So next time you’re at your local shelter, give the dog barking like crazy a chance. Give the dog looking sad and just laying there a chance. Give the dog jumping up and down a chance. Give the senior dogs a chance. Give any dog a chance that you will be 150% committed to through the end of their life because by you choosing to adopt you are literally saving their life and other lives!

With Love & Pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

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Dogs are awesome, cute & goofy right? Yes, they are but they are also a responsibility and a commitment through the end of their life. I thought I knew quite a bit about dogs since I had one as a kid and wrote school papers about them, but it wasn't until about three years ago, where I started learning about dogs in shelters, dog abandonment, pet ownership responsibility, and BSL (breed specific legislation).

While I personally don't think of taking care of my senior dogs as "work" because I'm extremely passionate about dogs and it's part of my every day, I'm not naïve about the fact that dogs are "work" for a lot of people, and that's ok. What's important to know is that dogs don't just sit there and be quiet. They need exercise, guidance, stability, routines, vet care, love, etc. They cost money and they require time and energy from their humans to provide them with the best possible life!

Since volunteering at Nebraska Humane Society these past few months, I've been able to learn even more about dogs and why their families abandon them. There are times (very extreme cases) where the owner has passed away, got ill unexpectedly, etc. But for the most part, the reasons people abandon their dogs at the shelter or tied to a tree are just excuses to not be the responsible pet owner that they should be when making the decision to get a dog. Don’t get a puppy (or any age dog) just because you want a cute breed or because you think it will help you start working out. As that puppy gets older and bigger in size in some cases, the dog starts to show behaviors that aren't preferred, like chewing on things, having accidents in the house, pulling on leash while on walks, and even aggressive or reactive behaviors. In some cases, people have had their dog their entire life (I've seen over 10 years) and an inconvenience happens and they think the best possible outcome for their dog is to dump them at the shelter?! What people don't do is ask for help in these cases. There are so many options available to people that can help correct behaviors versus having to get rid of your dog. There are trainers you can hire and even some rescues/shelters provide free training classes if you adopt from them. The key here is consistency. Once the trainer leaves, YOU have to put in the time and work to keep the training consistent for your dog.

Some of the excuses I've read on surrender paperwork and read in so many stories are "I moved to an apartment that doesn't take dogs. I can't afford vet care. No reason at all. I had a baby and no longer have time for the dog." The list goes on and on. While some may argue that these are valid reasons, I wholeheartedly disagree. From my experience, people even lie on paperwork to justify the reasons for abandoning their dog. The story doesn't add up sometimes. In the case of not being able to afford vet care, they certainly can afford Netflix, going out on Saturday nights, buying the latest iPhone, etc. Again, there are several programs out there that help with this and even offer free food and low cost spay/neuter. People aren't willing to give up certain things because it's inconvenient or uncomfortable for them in order to take care of the dog they chose to get.

When you choose to get a dog, you are signing up for a lifetime commitment through better and worse. It's not until you don't feel like taking care of the dog anymore or when you get married, or have a baby, or move, or blah blah blah. Even as great as NHS and several other shelters and rescues are, the amount of emotional and physical stress it puts on a dog when you dump it at a shelter is unimaginable unless you've seen it and experienced it. I've seen super awesome dogs come into shelters and deteriorate to the point of no rehabilitation all because someone didn't take their commitment seriously and now that dog is not adoptable and humane euthanasia is the only alternative. Think about that! When you surrender your dog at a shelter, you are potentially giving them a death sentence. Not because the shelter or rescue wants to, but because the dog becomes in danger of themselves or others due to the amount of emotional and/or physical stress they experience.

Before you add a dog to your family, consider and be truthful to yourself about the following.

1. Can I afford to take care of a dog's basics needs including vet care, food, medicine, etc.?
2. Am I willing to sacrifice my own time to ensure my dog gets enough exercise and time with their humans?
3. Am I willing to make sacrifices to keep my dog through their entire life? i.e. Move to a place that accepts dogs? Hire a trainer? Adjust my lifestyle? Be patient while my dog decompresses & adjusts to a new environment?
4. Am I willing to keep my dog and others around them safe by setting boundaries for both humans and the dog?
5. Will I have a plan for the dog in the event of an emergency? i.e. Who will take care of my dog if I get sick and had to stay in the hospital?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you're serious about adding a furry member to your family! Now, go stop at your local shelter or rescue and be prepared to have your heart changed forever!

With Love & Pawsitivity,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

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