Rescue and fostering pets can also be very rewarding. I have been doing so for years, including several moms and pups. Although sad to see them go, hearing back from new owners is also rewarding.
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As most have already said, I, too, was a bit anxious opening your thread. I was afraid Norm had passed over that rainbow bridge. I’m so glad he has reached retirement, and as @Robyn_H said, is now able to nap more. I have lost 2 doggies and a kitty myself this past year and know the terrible heartache.
I think Norm has earned his position in society to accompany you anywhere you might go. He is still able to alert you, and do his important job, and maybe more importantly, he still loves you. I don’t agree with any sort of discrimination, human or animal.
May Norm continue his happy life with you! I’m so glad you have him and he you! He’s a beauty!
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Just the fact that Norm, a yellow Lab, has lived to the age of 14 is a testament to the good life that you have given him.
I have always had a dog in my life except for the last 2 years after the last of my Airedales, a rescue, died. At almost 81 years of age, I am reluctant to get another dog. I would rather miss a dog than have a dog miss me. Dogs’ lives are too short; our lives, too long.
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Check if there is a senior dog program near you if interested. I am fostering for group that will take back dogs, and encourages senior adoptions.
Here is one example
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I had the same reaction as some others when I read the title of your post…afraid that Norm had gone over the rainbow bridge. So glad to hear that he’s still with you, if a bit less “accurate” with the alerts.
I’ve always wanted a dog, but because my folks wouldn’t let me have one when I was growing up and then, after going out on my own and living in apartments where pets were not allowed, I never got a dog. I did end up with cats (almost got evicted once), but I do love animals of all sorts and have been an activist for many years regarding animal issues, especially promoting TNR for feral cats,
Having pets in apartments seems to be getting more acceptance for the past five years. I live in a condo now, which I own, but selling it in the spring and going back to apartment living. I would sooooo love to have an alert dog, but simply can’t afford one.
One of my previous cats did occasionally alert, but my current cat would probably hiss at me and turn her back if I went too low…she’s the first “typical” cat I’ve ever had…affectionate only on HER terms, lol.
I really enjoyed reading about Norm, Terry…such a special bond you two have!
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Just goes to show how using words can be a slippery business. I had not once considered using the word “retired” would be interpreted that way. What I had not thought about is that this audience is not familiar with service dogs as I am.
Service dogs complete about two years of training before they are placed into “service” with their human partner. That service ends when they “retire.” There’s no equivalent in the pet world, the context that almost everyone here is aware of.
Retirement happens when the dog is judged to be incapable of providing their service in the usual context of doctors’ offices, restaurants, public transit and any other place where animals are not normally present.
I was one of seven children in my family. My mother firmly put her foot down when it came to adopting a pet. Like you, I always wanted a dog but jobs and career made that difficult. When I learned about diabetes service dogs, I saw my chance and took it.
My employer at the time was reluctant but they ultimately came to see the sense of what I proposed. More importantly, the Americans with Disabilities Act was on my side. I only worked for 10 more months before I retired. I’m grateful that I jumped at the chance to team up with Norm.
For anyone who might consider a pet dog, I encourage them to consider it. It doesn’t work for everyone but if it does, the rewards are tremendous.
Another way to look at this is that you can train the perfect pet that another family will be thrilled to adopt, if and when you depart. It’s the ultimate kind act of “pay it forward”!
We humans often think of animal emotions through a human lens. The big word for this is anthropomorphize. We see human emotions in animals that are just not there. If you provide food, water, shelter, medical needs and love, that’s all that’s required. And the pet will return your love.
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@MM1, my last 2 Airedales were over 5 years old and rescues. Both were lovely dogs.
@Terry4, But I live alone on a large farm out in the boonies. I would hate to have a dog “lose” me with no one else to take care of it until I was found. I already have the remnant of my herd of horses, all over the age of 25, that could probably survive for a few days. I have no cattle nor chickens left either. Just cutting down on dependents. But my dogs were always my soulmates.
I was afraid of much the same thing, even though I live in an urban high-rise apartment. My daughter lives in the same town but we don’t maintain daily contact. I talked to her about it and after some research she recommended an app that lives on my smartphone. I “check-in” every day and if I don’t then she gets a message to look after my welfare.
I spend all of 10 seconds every morning to check in by 8:30 am. My daughter was concerned about this exact issue but had not yet raised it with me.
The app that I use is called Snug.
I have no connection or financial relationship with this company. They maintain several levels of service and I use the free one. I’ve been using it for about six weeks now.
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I don’t know if I could be sure that my dog would go to a good home, if we died and the dog was older. Two of the dogs we adopted were from people who never should have owned animals. They were both abused for different reasons. Many, many people should never own dogs, because they do not care for them properly. Dog abuse is very real and it is very common. I am well aware that animals aren’t human, but I do respect their wants, needs and feelings. Both of these dogs went on to make wonderful pets.
We thought of leaving our dog with our son and his wife, but at present they have 6 cats and dogs. Hopefully we would outlive any dog we adopted now, but since our last dog lived for 17 years, we just don’t know.
Snug sounds like just the thing to have! Now all I need is an iphone and a nearby tower…
You could adopt an older dog. Older dogs are harder to place and are usually euthanized.
But the are usually already potty trained and will be able to respect limits etc. of course not always.
You can visit a shelter and tell them you want to rescue an older dog, and you can meet some to see how it goes.
Don’t let your age prevent you from loving a dog. Yes there is a chance you could go first, but you are saving them from that fate one day 1.
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We have thought about an older dog Timothy. Actually we probably would have adopted a dog over year ago, but it was very hard to find any dogs in the Northwest at that time. We would have had to adopt a dog from Texas. These feral cats needed a home, so we are cat owners again.
Well cats need homes too. So I’m glad you took them in.
I don’t know how cuddly feral cats are, but I would do it. Except we have so many coyotes, there is little chance a feral cat would have.
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Norm is great and that is great you are keeping him and will get another service dog at some point. Furry companions creatures bring so much love to us. My cats are my support system, nearly all rescues from outside and shelters. I have one now I just took in and he is not totally tame and needs a lot of healing, it is a lot of work. My only pb kitty is a wacky amazing siamese- somehow I thought I could train him to be a diabetic alert cat but he too strong-willed to be trained. My wiz though always knew when I was low and came to be with me.
Was it very expensive to have norm as your service dog? I heard it was.
You can probably have him be an emotional support dog and still bring him into stores etc.
I received Norm from a non-profit agency that did not charge me. I know that there are for-profit concerns that charge people a lot of money to train a service dog. While I realize that there are legitimate people in this business, I’ve also heard horror stories of people who spent thousands of dollars and then did not receive the ongoing support necessary to ensure a successful long term placement.
By dealing with an agency that doesn’t make a profit, that relieves prospective clients to assess whether their provider is conflicted by that large amount of money.
My ongoing expenses with Norm are much the same as any dog owner. I do buy him more expensive food and he sees the vet regularly.
I’ve never lived with a cat but know that many people benefit from them. While you cannot benefit from the service animal designation, getting dependable hypo-alerts from a cat is a blessing just the same. And the companionship, together with the emotional support they provide is amazing.
I’m not up to speed on the legal effects of getting Norm designated an emotional support animal. At this point, I am not unduly impacted by his lack of legal access. He’s mostly a home dog now and seems content with that role.
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Terry, what a great service dog and much more!
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Thank-you, Steve. Welcome to TuD! I hope you find it interesting and useful.
@Willow4 ,
A phone, but not a tower:
When my sons were riding around the boonies of the USA on motorcycles, they would send me an SMS (or something) by satphone once a day. I guess that in a sense, I was the app.
This is an update on the app I wrote about above, Snug. This is a free daily check-in service for seniors living alone. A few days ago I deliberately failed to check-in in order to verify that this service delivered as advertised. Once I reached the agreed upon deadline of 8:30 am, following several attempts by the service to prompt a response from me via texts, they sent my daughter a text.
That text informed her that I failed to check-in and she should look into my welfare. Her text also included a map that showed my location, a useful tactic for seniors who can wander. It’s only useful, of course, if the senior takes her/his phone with them. (By the way, I told my daughter in advance that I intended to give Snug at test.)
My preliminary experience with Snug is highly favorable.
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What a great dog! He’s a blessing. I adopted a lost parakeet found in my neighborhood during lock down. I was always dog person but this little bird has been a wonderful pet. Learning about birds and how to train him was a great quarantine project for me. Birds are easy to care for and are much smarter and more clever than you think. His cheerful singing every morning reminds me to get up and greet the world the same way!
If you’re not feeling up to caring for a dog or have limited space, adopt a parakeet or two. They are often treated like little throw away pets and the shelters have plenty.
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