The Beginning of Our Senior Dog Journey

After we lost Champ, especially so suddenly after we adopted him, we knew we wanted to continue our senior dog journey (at least I knew it right away 😊). The day after losing Champ, we received so many heartfelt messages from friends and family. I cried reading every single one. There was one particular post that really tugged at my heart. It was from our friend Amy and she shared a post about two bonded senior dogs that were looking for a home. I told myself to not click on it in the event we wouldn't be able to adopt them and I wasn't ready to feel that pain while grieving for Champ. But what did I do?! I clicked on it!

The post was about two bonded senior dogs named Bosley and Diesel. Bosley was a 10 year old boxer/pit mix and Diesel was a 12 year old yellow lab. They had been looking for a home for over three months and I didn't think they would still be available for adoption since the post I saw was over three months old. I contacted the rescue, PAWS-itive Partners located in North Platte, NE, and chatted with one of the kindest women I know named Barb. She was so excited someone was interested in meeting these senior pups!

A few days later, we scheduled a meet and greet in North Platte, NE which was about 4 hours (8 hours roundtrip) away from where we live. We met Barb and Josie (former volunteer at Paws-itive Partners). They both are now very dear friends of ours and have helped us so much in dog journey (another story for another time). I remember Diesel being this happy go lucky, mellow, older gentleman. He loved everything and everyone. Bosley was a sweet gal with a little more spunk. She barked at people and dogs passing by, was quicker on her paws, and was very curious about the cats that were in the house where we were at. We also had cats at home so we weren't sure if it would be a good fit based on that alone. The rest of the meet and greet went great and I knew even before we met them that I needed to be their mom.

After we left and was on our way home, I thought to myself that there was no way my husband was on the same page as me. Compared to our first dog Champ, these two dogs required much more and there were TWO of them! Were we ready to have two dogs plus four cats? I don't think anyone is ready for anything in life, but you sometimes just do what you feel is right and you figure it out along the way (same as baby humans, right?). To my surprise, my husband was on the same page as me and said he wanted to bring them home too. I'm pretty sure he didn't feel like he had a choice but he made the right choice nonetheless.

Fast forward to another week later (two weeks after we lost Champ), we brought home Diesel & Bosley! We were still very new dog parents and didn't have any experience with having two dogs, and dogs that were more active than Champ. For the next few weeks, we had several challenges including explosive diarrhea, peeing accidents, ear infections, figuring out sleeping routines & arrangements, dog anxiety, etc. I wish I knew then what I know now which is that every dog needs a few weeks minimum to adjust to their new home, surroundings, and humans. We just thought everything would be great for them but they both took time to adjust and both required different things to make them feel more safe and comfortable. All the pee and poop accidents were from Bosley having health conditions that just needed some medication to manage. After a few weeks, they both settled in great and we figured out what worked best for them to make sure they felt safe, comfortable, and loved.

Isn't it weird and crazy how one single moment can change your entire life? That's exactly what that Facebook message did for me the day when I clicked on Bosley & Diesel's picture.

Love,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

#adoptdontshop #cogsdogs #seniordogs #seniordogjourney #adoptaseniordog #cleartheshelters #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #dogs #dog #bondedseniordogs #dogmomaf #dogrescue #doglover

Read more

With the hectic lifestyle of an IT Project Manager and a traveling Sales Engineer, how could we ever adopt a dog? We have a nice house with nice furniture. We have cats. We don't even have a fence. We don't have ANY free time. We don't know anything about dogs. Yes, we had dogs when we were children, but it has been a while. We like to travel.  We had every excuse in the book.

Fast forward to a nice day in July, we see a courtesy post on Facebook from a senior dog rescue called Promise 4 Paws. Champ is a 14 year old lab that needs help. We don't know what to expect, we don't know the exact situation, but maybe we can help this guy for a little while.  Worst case, we can foster for a couple weeks until we find him a permanent home. His humans are moving and he can't go with. How heartbreaking for him that his humans are moving and they picked the one apartment complex in the city that won't take dogs. What a poor excuse to abandon this old boy. Well, anyways, their loss.  We'll step up and help this old guy for at least a couple weeks.

A day later, we meet the family at Champ's house. They aren't home yet but should be there in a few minutes.  We go inside and there he is!  Wait a minute, there is NOTHING in the house but Champ.  He is laying on a worn spot on the carpet.  No bed, no blankets, and no furniture.  "We had to move last week and we've been coming back once or twice a day to let him out to stretch his legs." Once or twice a day? This dog is 14 years old. Enough said, we'll take him home.

The next day, he walks nervously through the front doors of his new home. He is a little timid from the high ceilings, but at least he'll have furniture, a soft bed, and a couple cat companions to snuggle with. Champ immediately fits right in and we know that we aren't ONLY fostering him.  He doesn't bark, he doesn't beg for anything, he doesn't make a mess.  He fits right in with our laid back lifestyle and you can tell that he is immediately grateful that he is home and his family is living in the house with him.

We didn't consider that Champ's time could be short although he was a very senior dog.  We provided him with the best care possible. We unfortunately found out he had some terminal health problems that he wouldn't overcome. He went over the Rainbow Bridge only two months after we brought him home. Time moves so fast and we are eternally grateful for two short months of time that he gave us. This experience was a piece of our lives that we didn't realize we were missing. This short experience was difficult, but we gained so much more than we lost.  We get asked all the time how we can do this because it is so daunting to think about rescuing a pup and having to say goodbye only a couples months later.  The answer that we always give is "how couldn't we do this?"

Only two weeks later (and through another friend posting on Facebook), we began chapter two in our dog rescuing journey.

Love,

Troy Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Dad

#adoptdontshop #cogsdogs #seniordogs #seniordogjourney #adoptaseniordog #cleartheshelters #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #dogs #dog

Read more