Neb, a 24-year-old cat looking for a home, recently captured the hearts of hundreds with his soulful baby blues after Big Sky Ranch/CATNIP Foundation, an animal rescue nonprofit in Folsom, Louisiana, posted his picture and story on their Facebook page.
“He was surrendered when his owner passed away,” the post reads. “He lived his whole life with the same family, and now he is in his twilight years living in a strange place as one of many. We hope we can find a place for Neb where he can receive the same kind of attention he has enjoyed his whole life.”
Neb is one of many pets in the area who have outlived their owners or their owners’ capacity to take care of them and are looking for new homes, according to Catherine Wilbert, co-founder of Big Sky Ranch. (Neb and others are available for adoption here.)
“It’s actually tons of adults being surrendered from people passing away and abandoning animals and not being able to take care of them,” Wilbert says. “It’s a crazy time. I’ve been doing this a long time … and it’s definitely the worst we’ve seen.”
Gary Cecchine and his family are long-time fosters for Animal Rescue New Orleans, and in more recent years, they’ve focused on fostering senior dogs. Cecchine estimates they’ve fostered a total of 165 dogs through various organizations over the years.
Taco the Chihuahua
“The seniors, they come to you with — for lack of a better phrase — some seasoning, so they've been around the block,” Cecchine says. “They're typically house trained. They're pretty mellow …. The cool thing about the seniors is they're just so happy to be here.”
Older dogs are typically already trained, so they can be a good fit for someone who doesn’t have the time needed to train a puppy or keep up with a young, energetic dog.
Before fostering or adopting an older animal, you’ll want to consider the size of the pet and your home. If you have stairs, you’ll probably want to consider a smaller animal that you’ll be able to carry or help up and down the stairs. Getting a ramp is also an option. Because their house is raised, the Cecchines stick to fostering dogs under 60 pounds.
Once you do adopt or foster, you should expect it to take a few days for older pets to adjust and become familiar with their settings, especially if they have hearing or vision impairments.
“We have a thing my wife and I call the three-day rule,” Cecchine says. “Usually by day three, they're set. It takes about three days for them to get set in their ways … and to understand the rules of the house.”
You should also expect to pay more attention to the animal’s diet to make sure they’re eating their food and the medication that you may be putting with it. Similarly, you’ll want to keep a closer eye on your pet to see if they’re showing any signs of pain or of common conditions like kidney disease, cancer or arthritis. It’s important to have a good vet to guide you through this.

ChiChi and Watson
“You have to kind of have that doggy divining rod about when is this dog in pain and when is this dog happy,” Cecchine says.
For blind dogs, the Cecchines will put them on a slip lead leash and walk them through the house and the yard so they can learn where the walls are. Sometimes, they’ll put a soft head harness on the dog to protect them from hurting themselves if they run into something.
They teach their deaf dogs a simple sign language: One finger in the air means sit and two fingers means come. Cecchine says the five dogs they own already know the commands, so it’s easy for the new dogs to pick up on them.

Tess
“You'd be amazed at how quickly you know the senior deaf dog just kind of looks around, and goes, ‘Oh, OK, he held up one finger, I'm going to sit down now,’” he says.
The Cecchines have around 10 dogs in their house at any given time, dubbing it “The Cecchine Hotel for Dogs.” His wife Danielle posts photos of the pups on their Facebook page and Petfinder to help them get adopted.
Cecchine says what’s surprised them the most about fostering older dogs is that there’s a community of people who want to adopt them, though breeds like dachshunds and cocker spaniels tend to get adopted more quickly than mutts. A few months ago, a lady even flew down from Manhattan to adopt a 14-year-old cocker spaniel they were fostering.
“My message to people is: Don't be afraid of the older dogs,” Cecchine says. “They can be the absolute best companions and … they are the most grateful pets that we've ever had. They look at you like, ‘I'm just so happy to be here. I'm just so happy to be in a place that's safe.’ You can't replace that. You just can't.”
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