Appreciating Antiques

I've been doing some reflecting lately.  In one month, on September 20, Lilac will be fifteen years old.  That is rather aged for a Greyhound and she's definitely showing her age, but she's still humming merrily along.

It's hard to believe that we thought she was a senior dog when we adopted her seven years ago at the tender age of eight years old.  We weren't particularly looking to adopt a senior dog, but we had her as a foster after she arrived on a dog haul after having recently weaned her last litter of puppies.  After months with not one single person offering to adopt her, we decided that she should stay here with us.  Actually, she'd decided that she should stay here with us from the moment she laid eyes on me at the adoption group president's house where she'd come off the hauler.  It just took me a while to figure out that she'd made her decision.

We weren't adverse to adopting a senior, but we lead an active lifestyle and we thought when we added to our pack again, it would be a younger dog so that we could give Treat and Hawk a break.  Obviously, it didn't work out that way.  Later, we did keep Blueberry here, but that's a story for another day.  Aside from her penchant for garbage and candy theft, Lilac was actually very unassuming, just coming up to us when she wanted some love and wrapping her head around our necks. 

I had no idea that Lilac would end up outliving Treat and Hawk when we decided to keep her here.  I thought we'd be blessed with her company for a few golden years and that we'd make her life comfortable and pleasant.  Little did I know that a sassy, independent and opinionated old lady lurked inside that dark brindle fur coat.  I'm so excited that we're going to be celebrating her fifteenth year next month.  We want to do something really special for her, but we haven't decided what that will be yet. 

In spite of the middle of the night wake up calls and some of the other negative things that accompany old age, we wouldn't trade a minute of our time with our Grande Dame.  I realize now that every day we have together is a gift and it's one we need to make the most of.  There is something infinitely sweet about life with an old dog.

It makes me think about all the senior dogs out there, waiting for homes, who are passed over because someone wants more time together, or they think these dogs aren't as attractive, or a host of other reasons.  The dog I thought I'd have for the longest, who was always ready to go on an adventure, passed away much too soon at only ten years old.  You never know how things will end up working out.  If Lilac leaves any kind of legacy from her life, I hope that it's letting people know that you can't discount the joys of adopting an older dog.  The rewards that you will reap far outweigh the costs.  We have been unbelievably lucky that Lilac decided we were hers all those years ago!

We're participating in the Pet Blog Hop again today.  We're very thankful to Life With Dogs, Confessions of the Plume and Two Little Cavaliers for hosting the hop.  If you'd like to join in, it's pretty simple.  Add your link to the McLinky tool, copy the code and paste it into your html code editor, and follow the three hosts.