Recently, I have seen a lot of posts in regards to why people should adopt a senior dog. It is entirely understandable that one would be frightened to become attached to a dog that wouldn’t stay around as long.

I even cried at the fact that my dog would only be around for the full 15 plus years. We got my dog when she was just a puppy.

When I was just 8-years-old, my dad showed up on our front porch step with the cutest black dog with long droopy ears. We decided to name her Pepper because she was black with a white patch on her chest.

It was the absolute best day of my life and I fell in love instantaneously. She never failed to be happy and energetic. Though, like most dog owners, I dreaded the day that she would one day grow old.

It broke my heart to think that maybe one day old age would get the best of my sweet and loving Pepper.

Fast forward to today, 13 years later, I have seen her at all of her stages of life, and she has just gotten cuter and sweeter with age.

Even though she moves a little slower than she used to, she is surprisingly healthy for a dog about to be 14-years-old, and I am constantly thankful for that.

If anything, she has slowed down as I have. I used to run around our backyard with her and play all day long when I was a kid, but now that I’m in college and we have both matured, we just love to nap as much as possible.

As an old woman, all Pepper wants in life is to be cuddled, get plenty of treats, and have a comfy place to nap.

I can honestly say that this is my favorite stage in her life. The simple things make her happy, and she is the more well-behaved than she ever has been.

If you asked me to adopt a senior dog more than five years ago, I would have been too scared to take that on that responsibility, but now I know it would be the absolute biggest blessing for both the dog I decide to adopt and myself.

Most of us can easily agree that dogs deserve to be on this Earth for so much longer than 10-15 years.

Though we can’t control how long they live, we can control the quality of life for some of these sweet animals. Senior dogs don’t deserve to be locked up in a cage until it’s time for them to pass.

I can say from personal experience that senior dogs are the sweetest and possibly most low maintenance dogs you will ever meet. They deserve to be adopted just as much as any other animal.

You have the power to make their golden years their best years, and If you ask me, there is nothing better than that.