By Ruth Ann Replogle
BRECKINRIDGE — Just like older humans, senior dogs sometimes find themselves alone, abandoned in a place they didn’t choose, or no longer able to get around and do things they always did.
That’s where Old Paws Rescue Ranch comes in.
“No one does what we do,” said Bob Archer, who owns the senior dog sanctuary with his wife Wendy Adams. The couple — who met nearly a decade ago at the Enid Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) where he worked and she volunteered — strives to give senior dogs the life they feel these four-legged (sometimes three-legged) companions deserve. This includes rescue, rehab and even hospice care.
According to the ASPCA, senior dogs have a 25% adoption rate compared to the 60% adoption rate of younger dogs or puppies.
Senior dogs are usually the last to be adopted, if at all. They’re more likely to be abandoned or surrendered to animal shelters because their owners often are senior adults who have either died, are no longer able-bodied to care for their dogs or have moved into housing that doesn’t allow pets.
And while senior dogs mature and outgrow destructive habits a puppy has not, their age puts them at risk for health issues that require medication or health care that may not be affordable to a financially strapped senior adult.
“We’ve taken in the older dogs, which are the most expensive dogs to take care for,” Archer said. Old Paws’ No. 1 expense continues to be doggie health care such as dental care and medicine.
That, however, doesn’t deter the couple from doing what they’ve been doing since 2017.
“I’ve had dogs all my life,” said Adams, who is a professional pet groomer at The Brass Poodle in Enid. Archer nodded in agreement as several of their dogs milled around their legs and rested heads in laps.
In November 2017, Old Paws officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. And while many of the senior dog sanctuaries across the U.S. focus on rescuing them, fostering them, and then adopting them out, Old Paws rescues, rehabilitates, and keeps them. Archer and Adams have no plans of parting with their fur babies, no matter what the cost.
Old Paws originally intended on only rescuing a few small senior dogs; but as of this month, 30 dogs ranging in age and size live in the three-story home outside of Breckinridge.
The oldest is Lucky at 21. Most of the dogs range in age from 10-17. To keep these seniors active, Archer said they “had to have young-ins” in the house; otherwise everyone just lays around. The youngest in the home are Miss Puggy and Annie, both whom are only a year old.
Every animal who comes to Old Paws to live out the remainder of their days — no matter how long, whether it’s final days or final years — is treated like a member of the family. Just like parents know the names and birthdates of all their kids, Archer and Adams know all their dogs’ names and when they were rescued. Every rescued dog gets a birthday party each year too.
“They’re special and unique and have their own personalities,” Adams said.
Not all of the dogs who come to Old Paws live at the sanctuary long term.
“We take the ones five minutes from death,” Archer previously told the Enid News in 2021. Some may live only hours or days after being rescued from places like Enid Animal Welfare (also known as Enid Animal Shelter; formerly Enid Animal Control).
According to the American Kennel Club, the goal of hospice at dog sanctuaries is to provide dogs with a dignified death that’s as peaceful, humane and pain-free as possible. That might mean managing pain and making the senior dog comfortable during a natural death or providing relief for unmanageable suffering via euthanasia.
“Our rescue is a caring home-based rescue where seniors can live their lives in comfort and love with proper vet care provided,” Archer said.
For those not battling disease or debilitation in their golden years, a select few with gentle dispositions are trained as therapy dogs. The most popular therapy pup from Old Paws is Huey, who is now 4, and human senior adults in the local nursing homes and hospice care “just eat him up,” Archer said.
“We have a fair amount of luck with patients,” Archer said. People who are dying or considered to be unresponsive often respond to Huey, he said, and their eyes will light up or flicker. Occasionally a person will speak for the first time in months, bringing staff and family to tears.
“It amazes me,” Archer said. “Huey crawls up on them and nuzzles them and they will pet him or say ‘puppy.’”
The pandemic limited Old Paws from visiting such facilities for a while, but they finally resumed taking therapy dogs out and about in September 2022. At present Huey makes appearances at three nursing homes for six patients with Hospice Circle of Love, and he regularly sees residents at Greenbrier Nursing Home on Fridays.
Others trained to patiently be petted and stroked or lie next to a dying patient as “an end-of-life specialist” are Casper and Radar, both of whom are 15. Ten-year-old Smokey, who looks very similar to Huey, will be therapy trained some day, but is “too barky right now” to volunteer around the elderly, Archer said. Baby Annie also has potential to one day be a therapy dog as well.
Several senior dogs have retired from their therapy days such as 17-year-olds Teddi (Archer’s original pet since she was 8 months old) and Bentley (the hat and outfit lover who serves as Old Paws’ spokesdog).
Old Paws therapy dogs will not only visit nursing facilities, but schools and public events (i.e. Enid Home Show) too, Archer said. Anywhere in the Enid area they’re invited, Old Paws is willing to come.
The senior dog sanctuary relies on donors’ support to keep the dogs fed, medicated, safe and happy. Otherwise funding is directly out of Archer and Adams’ pockets, which these days can be extremely difficult.
Since they opened, they’ve lost three key partners: PetSense, United Supermarkets and Enid’s roller derby team.
Then Archer had pancreatic cancer in the fall of 2021. He credits Huey with saving his life as Huey kept nosing that area of Archer’s torso, leading doctors to discover the source of his pain. In addition, Adams’ autoimmune system went into overdrive, compounded by her rheumatoid arthritis, when she had long COVID-19.
Archer is cancer-free now, but Old Paws went 18 months without any fundraising efforts, and “we were clobbered with medical bills last year,” Archer said.
He said to maintain Old Paws usually costs on average $10,000 to $12,000 a year. However, with inflation and some of the dogs having special medical needs, 2023 may require more help.
In an effort to offset expenses, the senior dog sanctuary recently installed solar panels and blew in insulation.
“They make me happy,” Adams said of all her dogs. She and her husband will keep rescuing and running Old Paws until they can’t anymore.
For those interested in helping Old Paws Rescue Ranch, they can either donate monetarily so funds can directly go where immediate needs are such as vet bills or purchase from the provided list of supplies including food, cleaning products, pet hygiene, etc.
To connect with Old Paws Rescue Ranch:
• Follow their Facebook page @OldPawsRR for daily updates.
• Donate through PayPal or Venmo and/or set up reoccurring donations at oldpawsrescue.org.
• Call or text (351) 352-9615.
• Email oldpawsrr@gmail.com or director@oldpawsrescue.org.
• Check out Chewy.com, “give back” tab, click on “donate to a rescue” for their wish list.
Replogle previously worked for the Enid News & Eagle and is now a freelance writer who provides content for the News & Eagle, a CNHI LLC publication.
