In this week’s issue, here’s what we are sniffing out

Some Hilarious Senior Stories to Bring You Joy

We’re still in Mental Health Awareness Month. I feel like a lot of the most recent newsletters have been heavy, even though they’re important topics. This time, let’s have some fun. I’m more interested in talking about the light that senior dogs can create in our lives; the joy they can bring. From my heart, I can tell you that some of the most joyful moments in my life have been the result of sweet memories and funny stories of times with our senior dogs. Adopting a senior dog seems too difficult or emotional an undertaking, but if you could just see the transformation an old dog takes in a new home, you wouldn’t hesitate. We’ve adopted so many old dogs who were given up on. They were depressed when they came to us. To me, there’s nothing like watching an old dog blossom with space to feel safe, cared for, and loved. Enjoy these stories…

Macy and her new (old) friend

Our first dog, Macy Roo, made an unlikely friend when she was a little old lady. That memory that still warms my heart to this day…

Even at 15, Macy still loved her walks. Our house was on a corner, and on good days, we’d walk to the other end of our street and back. A pretty marmalade cat named Joey lived about 6 houses up the street. I’d petted her before as she sat on the wall in front of her house. She was a remarkably friendly cat. One day, Joey joined us, and walked alongside Macy, waiting when Macy stopped to sniff something, and continuing on with us when she was ready. Joey walked with us all the way down the street and back to her house, where she hopped up back up onto her wall and watched us continue on home.

Even if this had only happened once, it would have been a great memory, but it became a regular activity for the two of them. Joey would meet us along walks multiple times in the week to walk together, sometimes even crossing under Macy’s body as they walked together. At that age, Macy was the sweetest old girl, but she’d never spent much time with cats. I still remember her happy face when Joey started walking with us. She really seemed to enjoy her new friend. As Macy got even older, there were days she wasn’t well enough to walk as far as Joey’s house. Joey starting coming to our house, looking for Macy, to be sure she was ok. We would bring Macy out to the yard, and often just walk next door to the neighbor’s driveway, and Joey would walk with us and back, going off to her house afterwards. I’ll never forget that unlikely friendship. Enjoy this old video (beware: it was from when IPhones were new tech)….

Ally at the beach

As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, Ally was our problem child. Her personality seemed to be controlled by a light switch. She could go from playful and smiling to stormy and dangerous in a flash. As she aged, there were many things that she didn’t like. One hot day when she was about 11, we all decided to go to the beach to take advantage of the cooler ocean breeze and the water. We took the dogs with us, and I was prepared to turn around and go right home with Ally when she took exception to any of the factors she didn’t care for there… the odd experience of sand moving under her toes, the noise and rush of the waves battering her ears, the unpredictability of other dogs and people making her angry. However, we discovered that Beach Ally was a thing… A lovely thing, actually. Our little spitfire unexpectedly turned into a little puddle of happiness and light there. She dug a deep hole down to cooler sand, curled up into a certified doggy ball in it, and took the happiest little nap there. She loved it so much that we made beach trips a regular habit in her senior days. One day, I decided to put her onto our boogie board. She didn’t love to swim, but she tolerated it as exercise well enough. Again, I expected her to lose her marbles, try to climb up the front of me and seek safety on top of my head. However, she laid on that boogie board as it bobbed gently in the waves, ears forward (a rarity for her), smiling happily. The water was very clear, and she perked up as a fish swam by underneath her, and watched him go past. Another moment I’ll never forget, and very fortunately, also one we caught on video. Enjoy…

Purdy tries to swim to flat island

Purdy was our one and only born and raised beach dog. We only had Purdy for a year, from 13-14, but she loved the beach like any self respecting Hawaii dog. Going to the beach to play swim-fetch was her favorite ever activity and she was really, really good at it. As she got older, her time spent swimming was shorter, but she still enjoyed it every bit as much. One morning, we forgot her bright yellow tennis ball. We had to improvise, and found a good sized stick to use instead. It worked a few times since we weren’t throwing the stick very far. Purdy saw the toss and took off, splashing clumsily into the water in her determined old lady way. She started off heading in the right direction, but then lost her stick. She didn’t lose her motivation though… she passed the stick and kept going. Of course she was a little hard of hearing, so she didn’t hear us call for her, not that she’d have listened anyway when she was on the hunt. I still remember my husband pulling everything out of his pockets so he could go swim after her and bring her back. Luckily she was a slow swimmer by that age, and we hadn’t thrown the stick far for that reason. My husband brought her back in before she made it off to the horizon, and she looked pretty proud of herself in that moment. After that I packed a few extra tennis balls in my car, just in case. Lesson learned!

Esther and the hiking trail

Esther had been a pig hunter in her former life, so I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about going back to the woods. She had NOT had a good life before she came to us, and she looked like she was about 13. We adopted her thinking her time at the shelter would be limited, and expected her to live maybe a year. She had old, poorly healed broken bones, horrible rotten teeth, scars all over her face. She’d had who knew how many litters of puppies, and a terrible fear of men. She was so depressed that the trainer we hired to help thought she might never recover. Happily, she was wrong. Esther blossomed into a fantastic dog. We quickly found out she loved the woods, and hiking became a regular activity. So she was about 10 when we started doing hikes led by the Hawaiian Humane Society. One Saturday a month, the group would meet in different locations to hike together. I remember the first hike we did. Any time we got near a hiking trail, whether we’d been to it or not, Esther would start barking like mad in the car, in her urgent hunting dog voice - it was LOUD. We rolled unapologetically into the parking lot, with Esther yelling in excitement “let’s get this party started, people!!!” All heads swiveled our way as the people in the parking lot turned to see who was causing the mayhem. The group waiting was very civilized; tiny little dogs with pristinely white, fluffy haircuts, some of them in dresses, sun hats, or sparkly shirts. We all introduced ourselves and started off on the fairly tame hiking path. We stayed at the front of the pack because we knew the trail and our dogs moved a bit faster than the others in our group. In no time at all, Esther sniffed something wonderful off-trail that she needed to investigate. She started baying in her intensely commanding coonhound voice, threw herself off the trail and crashed excitedly through the mud and brush, taking us, and ALL the fancy little city dogs in their various states of dress along with her. It was quite the scene. I expected we’d be uninvited from future hikes, but everyone was very kind about it. Just between us, I’m not sure I was ever prouder of my formerly depressed, scarred old pig hunter than that day!

Radar and Groot

Radar was another dog who was depressed when the local shelter gave him to us at age 16. The tiny little chihuahua soon came out of his shell, and my husband and our little dog Groot were the lights of his life. Uma and I were only just acceptable to him at first. Almost immediately, Radar developed a huge crush on Groot, who couldn’t have cared less about his unrequited love for her. Radar flirted with her, snuggled up to her, followed her relentlessly trying to win her affection, and Groot ignored his every move. One day, as he followed Groot in the backyard, nose to tail, Groot sneezed. Groot had a huge sneeze for a tiny body, often bonking her nose on the ground in her efforts. This particular time, Groot sneezed. There was a pause. Radar’s head came up, startled. Another pause. And Radar fell over on his side, like a felled tree. Groot ran off, leaving Radar to jump to his feet and catch up. One of my favorite moments of the two of them.

Another little tidbit of Radar: as the years went by, he did warm up to me, and he definitely loved me. Radar had a little dementia, and was not the snuggliest of dogs, though. I had surgery in what turned out to be his last weeks with us. I was confined to the couch to rest and recover for 2 weeks after my surgery. On a few of those days, suddenly I found Radar at my side, snuggled up to me as close as he could be. Once he even climbed onto me and lay on my chest, his head against my heart. I was so touched by that, and I thought it was him comforting me after my surgery. When we realized we had to let him go maybe a week later, I started to wonder if he had known. I’ve convinced myself those moments were his way of telling me how much he loved me, and that he was grateful for his years with us. Of course, I really don’t know that to be true, but it’s a memory that means everything to me either way.

Saint Uma

When we adopted Uma as a young dog, I hoped to take her into massage classes and use her as a demo dog for the students we taught. Her lifelong case of stranger danger meant that was not in her cards. We didn’t know at the time that Uma’s true superpower would turn out to exactly what we didn’t know we needed; an unfailing steward and safe haven for all the little old urchins who have come into our home. I have watched all the elderly dogs who come to us look to her to see how she felt about what was happening; how she responded to situations they were unsure of, if they had any reason to fear for their lives here. She has taught all of them that this is a home where they’ll be accepted, cared for in the best ways, and loved to no end. She’s let everyone literally walk and sleep on top of her, yell at her, steal her food, her beds and her toys. She’s never responded to snarls or snaps, and in the end, all the dogs have loved and trusted her so much that they snuggle as close to her as they can possibly be. It’s not surprising that she’s been dubbed Saint Uma.

🐶 Sniffing Out Senior Dog News 📰

❤️‍🩹 The 5 best orthopedic dog beds of 2025, tested for comfort and support with our pups

🛟 Mud rethinks dog care with instinct, interaction and ethics in mind

#️⃣ Dog owners who ruminate about work stress may pass anxiety to their pooch: study

Senior Dog Cartoon of the Week  

How did we do with this week’s newsletter?

• High Paws

• Pooped in the House