Did you know that November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month? So today I wanted to feature Loaf.

 

Loaf is a fun old soul. He originally came to HSHC from Animal Control in February of this year. It was a sad story so of course we wanted to find him his happy ending. And we hoped we had found that when he was adopted a month later by a couple. Unfortunately they returned him in October for what they thought was aggression lunging. In reality it seems they were completely reading Loaf’s body language wrong. What he is actually doing is leaping into your arms to smother your face with sloppy kisses. We have experienced this leaping several times ourselves, but even unprepared we adored it.  We  also suspect there were some issues with the grandchild in the home, although that was never verbalized to us.

 

We have experienced nothing but enduring love from Loaf since he was been back. He is most certainly a staff favorite (but don’t tell the others!). We call him Loafy. We have had him with several dogs of 50 lbs and up, and he has done very well with them. He actually likes to physically play, as long as the other dog isn’t dominating and jumping on his back. You see Loaf is a portly guy who needs to lose some weight, and with that weight and being elderly, he has some pain issues. He is on rimadyl for that, as well as weight management food, so he is a work in progress but doing great!

 

We have not had Loaf around any small dogs, because we know he doesn’t like cats. We think cats just don’t appreciate all the attention he wants to give and he harbors resentment towards that. We think Loaf might mistake a small dog for a cat, so we don’t want to risk anything happening. We also haven’t had him around children. Children might not be a good fit simply for the fact that Loaf prefers people his own age (adult) and a child inadvertently climbing or even just holding on to his back might create pain and cause him to lash out. Really the only bad habit we have witnessed from Loaf, is he HATES, getting his nails trimmed. But many dogs don’t like that, so we just chalk it up as a quirk of his. Plenty of walks on a concrete pad should help keep them trimmed up.

 

Loaf deserves a home, and not be in a shelter. He still has lots of love and fun energy to give. He would enjoy a house with a yard so he can run out, plop himself onto his back, and scratch/roll to his heart’s content. He deserves some walks in the woods to smell leaves and be curious of chipmunks.  He deserves a plush bed so he can stretch out and snore with comfort for his aches and pains. He deserves a big couch to snuggle up with you and watch “A Dog’s Journey” and maybe have a few pieces (just a few!) of popcorn.

 

Because it is Adopt A Senior Pet Month, Loaf will have a discounted adoption rate. But with that we need you to know that he will require weight management food (he is currently on Purina One Smart Blend). He will most likely need to remain on Rimadyl (which you will need prescribed from a veterinarian) or some sort of joint supplements. Because a dog is discounted doesn’t mean they don’t require the same funds it takes to care for a pet. Aging often require a little ‘extra’, so please be prepared for that. We are taking appointments only with an approved application. So go to www.hshcwv.org to start the process.