Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number: Methuselah Is In The House.

If Methusalah wasn't so happy we'd swear she was dead. And had been dead for quite a while.

Maybe it was the eyes. Or the missing jaw. Or the tongue. Or the tendency to sleep very, very deeply.

Tho the tongue thtickth out. It giveth me charm.
She certainly wasn't a spring chicken.

Don't get us wrong. We have a lot of experience adopting out senior pets. There was Chu...

I'm like the Sean Connery of cats. I look GOOD.
The cat that came to us with a microchip that had been implanted 19 years before.

And Mickey and Minnie..

We make arthritis medicine look good. 
the 13+ year old labs who proved that age wasn't nothing but a number...

Heck, we even have Angel...

I'm like the Vanna White of poodles. No one can tell how old I am.
Who makes 17 years old look good. But they all seemed a little more robust than Methuselah. 

Oh pleathe. 
Until we got to know her. 

When she first came in as a stray, the poor girl was exhausted. She crashed out on her bed in such a manner that inspired all sorts of pity and a constant urge to make sure she was still breathing. 

And then the singing started. A high volume, high pitched yowling that announced that Methuselah was awake, had caught up on her sleep and certainly wasn't going to tolerate this room nonsense for much longer. 

Cuddle me. NOW. 
Here's the thing with Methuselah: she's ancient. She's blind. On a good day she's about 80% deaf. For her age she's very healthy - her bloodwork is fantastic. And she is absolutely delighted to be alive. 

I jutht needed a little bath. Thith wath my 'before' pic.
Once we figured out this out, the next step was finding her a good foster home. Which really meant 'putting her in the path of Development Director Bridget.' Because while pretty much everyone who works here is a sucker, Bridget is Queen Sucker. She has an enormous heart for elderly and special needs pets. In her home of two dogs and two cats there is a cumulative total of fifteen legs and five eyes. Do the math on that.

Our foster team made that Bridget/Methuselah meeting happen and the next thing you know...

We sneakily inserted a pic of Bridget into the blog without her noticing she was being photographed.
Bridget began fostering Methuselah. Through Bridget we know that that Methuselah is well housebroken, loves to eat, enjoys the other dogs, is fine with cats and lives to be carried around. Hence this...

I have no problem sharing a cuddle. 
happens a lot. As does the baby bjorn thing. 

Methuselah's love for cuddling is epic. The caterwauling we originally heard from her that first day was not a cry of pain but rather a demand to be held. Once held, she falls asleep. She's so good at suckering people into carrying her that even Dr. Berger has been snookered into the routine with her. 

Thucker! 
When she's not being held, Methuselah motors around just fine on her own once she gets the lay of the land. It takes her a bit to adjust but once she does she's a mellow little love sponge that would be a wonderful fit for an elderly person, a TV junkie or anyone who spends a lot of time sitting down and enjoys the company of an affectionate little lap warmer.

But did we mention that Bridget is the biggest sucker ever?

Thith is the retht of the poth-ey. It'th how we roll.
Bridget is due to foster another dog next week. This incoming pooch needs to have an eye removed. As Bridget's been through this with her own dog, Ellie, she's an ace at handling the aftercare.

Exhibit A: Bridget being an ace at eye removal aftercare.
Methuselah is pretty ready to blow this pop stand for a forever home and we're hoping to help her (and Bridget) out by pushing really hard to find a forever home for Methuselah.

This is the point at which you jump out of your seat and say "Let me help! I'd love to adopt/tell my friends/repost this blog to give a hand to a sweet old gal!".


All you need ith a baby bjorn and a lap, folkth.
Great! Let's get to it! Will Methuselah be around for a long time? We don't know. Probably not. We knows she's happy, healthy and loving life right now. We also know that, like most senior pets, she has a ton of love to give in the time she does have left. She has a lot of companionship and joy to offer the right person.

Let's find that person. 

4 comments:

  1. I swear this girl could be my 18yr rescue chihuahua's mom. They look very very similar and the descriptions fit him to a "T". I can hear the caterwauling - didn't name mine Yippity Yodel for nuthin'. Oh, and I adopted him at age 12. Seniors rock!

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  2. Beautiful story! There is an Instagram/Facebook page called Susie Senior Dogs which helps senior dogs find their forever home, Methuselah would be a great feature!

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  3. I saw this article on facebook. I almost scrolled past not wanting to cry then I saw her name. Methueslah
    Was the name of my first rescue horse. Not only was he very special to me I havery started a rescue for older animals who need a loving home to spend the rest of their life in. I HAVE TO MEET THIS GIRL ♡♡

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