I’ve been focusing on senior dogs this month, in honor of Adopt-a-Senior-Pet Month.  Today, I have a special treat for you – a guest post from one of my favorite bloggers about the joys of having a senior pet!  

 Editor-at-Large for LIFE+DOG Magazine and Founder of Grouchy Puppy,
Sharon Castellanos writes to educate and inspire people to focus on the
beauty and joy of having a dog in their life.  She shares stories
and interviews that strive to illustrate how we all have it in us to
give fearlessly and influence positively.  She’s contributed to this blog before, and I’m thrilled to have her back again! I was lucky enough to finally
meet her in person during BlogPaws in spite of that whole hurricane thing – take it from me, she’s awesome.

Aged to perfection, this is how I would describe a senior dog. My dog
Cleo is like fine wine, an Opus One. Rather than inside glass, she gets
decanted by having belly rubs, cuddles and brushing. Cleo is a rare dog,
a hard to find vintage. It wouldn’t be fair to keep so much delight on a
shelf getting dusty, or bottled up.

When you decant wine, the process opens up the wine giving you its full
flavor. If Cleo gets enough cuddles her true perky nature comes out. You
get the sense that she is half her age. Often on our walks in the
neighborhood, after strangers stop us to pet her, they ask Cleo’s age
and then react in disbelief. But as an older dog, she a professional at
managing her aches and pains.

In addition to her sparkling personality, Cleo’s ability to put forward
her mission to collect admirers is something to behold.  She sees
someone she likes, or another dog she wants to meet, and watch out. With
laser like focus, Cleo heads straight to her target, either winning
them over immediately, or getting a straight arm or leash, rejection.
Like some wines, you know pretty quickly, once you get a sniff, you’re
happy or your nose becomes wrinkled in distaste.

Fortunately for Cleo, she has mad skills which have only gotten more
refined with age. She wins hearts and virtual ribbons. Her age and
aging, only seems to add to her fan base. Cleo shows others that a
senior dog is a treasure, a rare experience that one shouldn’t pass up
when given the opportunity. With November being Adopt a Senior Pet
Month, consider going “wine tasting”, and check out the vintage dogs at
your local shelter or rescue. You might discover a rare dog of your own.

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