Home

     Make Donation
 
View Available Pets
Adoption Procedure
Membership
Be a Volunteer
Lost & Found
Memorial
Calendar
Programs
Adopt-a-Pet
Foster
Pet Partner
Spay/Neuter Help
55 - 5 Program
Newsletter
Contacts
Good News
Links
 
Email

Feed shelter animals at
no cost to you by visiting
www.freekibble.com 

55-5 Gives Senior Animals a Second Chance

Walking into the Calaveras Animal Shelter, one can see lively puppies and young adults clamoring for the attention of the visitor...however, huddled in a kennel, sitting quietly and paying little attention to the others, is an older dog. Animals Services think he may be 5 years or older. If you watch and listen, he probably has a story to tell. "Why am I here? Yesterday, I was sleeping at the foot of the bed in a home with a nice family. All of a sudden, they're gone. Why didn't they take me? Was it my fault?"

Unfortunately with today's economy and foreclosed homes, the pet's welfare is the last thing on the family's mind. They figure if they take him to the shelter, someone is bound to adopt him. "After all, he's a perfect pet." Little do these folks know that when families come to the shelter, their attention is grabbed by those puppies and young adults.

 About six weeks ago, the Calaveras Humane Society formed a program, with support of Calaveras Animal Services, to help find homes for older dogs and cats. The program is deemed 55-5 and aims to pair senior adults over the age of 55 and dogs or cats over the age of 5. The adoption fee is paid by the program, as well as any spay/neuter fees, if needed. If the animal is not licensed, chipped or current on rabies vaccine, the senior who chooses to adopt will cover these costs. The program is a win-win situation ... senior citizens and senior animals have so much to give…why not give it to one another?

The adoption process is simple. Seniors must fill out an application before the process begins and must be approved by either Animal Services or the Humane Society. There is a simple screening to see if the human and animal are a match.

 Funding for the program is through fund-raisers specified for 55-5 and through donations.

Since its inception, five senior dogs have found their forever home.
Most recently, a couple from LaGrange saw Buckley, a 7 year old lab on Petfinder. Buckley's owner had passed away and was in CHS foster care. Bill and Aleen Kinsella fell in love with him and his story. They adopted him with only the info they received from Petfinder.

Recently, Bill wrote: