Every single adoption is a cause for celebration, but when a senior animal is adopted, the celebration takes on an extra special meaning. It means that a senior pet won’t have to live out the end of their life in a loud, scary, confusing shelter. It means that they’ll get to rest their old joints on a soft couch, enjoy yummy treats, and be doted on as they live out their final years (or months or days). It means that amid all the options, all the adorable and deserving puppies and kittens, someone chose them. It means that someone is willing to have their heart break sooner than it would have otherwise, just so that they can love that senior animal for as long as that animal has left.
It takes a really special heart to adopt a senior animal, and Susan and Darrell are two such special hearts. They have fostered and adopted animals of all ages from Lawrence Humane for years – they’ve socialized feral kittens, bottle-fed neonatal kittens, adopted senior dogs, and befriended scared cats. And last fall, Susan received messages from several Lawrence Humane staff members asking if she might be interested in fostering Lou, a 14-year old cat who had been transferred to Lawrence Humane from another shelter. Lou had a weak hind end and struggled with some typical cat behaviors (like jumping on things) and required an appetite stimulant in order to eat. Because of his poor health, Lou had been living in the clinic and all of the medical staff had fallen head over heels for him. So Lou went home with Susan, and after fostering him for a while, Susan and Darrell fell in love with Lou too and made the decision to adopt him.
“[Lou] came home with me and enriched our lives ever since. He was a hisser extraordinaire, hissing at every other pet but never going beyond that. You could almost hear the other animals just mutter, “Oh that’s just Lou” as they rolled their eyes. He was nearly totally blind, so our furniture got a new look with padding everywhere. Oh, and that boy could purr and snuggle. Once we got him started on Solensia injections, no lap was safe from his biscuit-making and mega-purrs. Well, I could go on, but the long and short of it is that Lou was a totally beloved and wonderful member of our family, and it was our privilege to bestow all the love on him as he bestowed on us.”
– Susan
Over months he spent with Susan and Darrell, Lou grew to have many nicknames – Louie, Doodleloodle, and LouLou. He spent his time alternating whose lap he slept on, stretching out in sunbeams, enjoying yummy treats, and basking in the glow of Susan and Darrell’s love. Sadly, earlier this year and at age 15, Lou passed away, but did so peacefully, while being snuggled and whispered to. At the very end of his life, Lou knew what love was. He knew what it was like to be cherished, doted upon, and be an integral part of a family. He knew what it was like to be chosen.
“I thank all of the foster and clinic staff who brought this old man into our lives. So, if ever you get a message about fostering a geriatric animal, don’t shy away from that privilege. Your heart will grow.”
While Lawrence Humane staff always provide the best possible care and love for the animals at the shelter, foster care will almost always be preferred. In foster care animals don’t have as much stress or noise, they’re able to decompress, and they can be the apple of their foster’s eye, basking in attention and affection. The importance of foster care exponentially grows when addressing the needs of very young, very old, ill or injured animals. We could not have imagined a better outcome for Lou, and that is 100% because of people like Susan and Darrell.
If you think that you might be interested in fostering or adopting a senior pet, please let us know. You can sign up to be a foster at lawrencehumane.org/foster and learn more about adoption at lawrencehumane.org/adopt !
