Getting a Puppy at Age 75 -by Fran Green
On April 1, 2019 we had to have our much-loved dachshund, Barley, put down because of serious heart and lung issues (see Barley’s obituary). It was heart wrenching to have to say goodbye to him and to come home to an empty house.
Long before he became ill we had talked about what we would name our next dog and in keeping with our “B” theme and our bread/grain theme we had chosen Biscotti should it be a male dog and Baguette should we choose a female dog. (We had already had dogs named Biscuit, Bagel and Barley and we once had a cat named Buckwheat. Our neighbor squirrels were all called Bread Crumb.)
Our plan had been to wait a while to find the right dog at a rescue shelter or at the Humane Society. BUT, the house seemed so empty I went online to start the search. Mostly I found Pitt Bull mixes and Chihuahuas. Neither would work for us.
I had three rules for getting a new dog:
1. Don’t buy a dog at a pet store.
2. Don’t get a white dog.
3. Don’t get a dog with a docked tail.
When nothing showed up from my search, I decided to stop in the pet store in Fort Collins. Oh dear! There were several adorable puppies but the one I liked best, a tan longhaired dachshund, was being held for someone. The next day I went back and she was gone. Bob was with me and of course every puppy there was adorable but we did not feel ready yet to violate rule number 1. After all, he was only a few weeks away from having a knee replaced.
On Thursday, April 4, we decided to drive to Denver, just to look at puppies in a store I had been to with our granddaughters. Alas, we got stuck in very slow moving traffic on I-25. We were near Westminster and I knew there was a pet store there, so we decide to exit and just take a look.
The minute we stepped inside, in the first puppy container, we spotted two white Toy Poodles, both with docked tails. We played with both but the younger one (four months old) seemed to like us better. We reminisced about how we had had two poodle mixes during our marriage and how those were two of the smartest dogs we had.
So, you can probably guess the rest of this story. We ended up violating all three of our rules and we came home with Baguette. If you are 75 and thinking about getting a puppy, think long and hard.
It did not take but a day or so before we realized what we had done. A Toy Poodle is a very high-energy dog. We are both 75. We had forgotten how much work it takes to housebreak a puppy. We had forgotten how sharp puppy teeth are when one chews on your hand, or on the woodwork, or on the chair legs. We have a small fenced yard at our condo but found that she could go between the pickets, so she required constant watching her to keep from escaping and to try to keep her from eating the mulch. If you are 75 and still thinking about getting a puppy think about your rugs, your grass, your inclination to get up early to walk a puppy that is not yet housebroken. Think longer and harder!
Now the mulch has been replaced by artificial turf, but she is still learning that it is OK to pee and poop on it. She is still, at eight months, full of energy and is fascinated by the world around her, especially squirrels. She is very smart, and the housebreaking was fairly easy. We have completed Puppy Kindergarten, Smart Dog One and are signed up for Smart Dog Two.
Baguette now weighs about 12 pounds, way too much for a Toy Poodle. I look at her and say, “Baguette, you are not a toy, you are a REAL dog.
She cocks her head and wins our heart every time. So, should you get a puppy when you are 75? Why not?
Fran Green grew up in western Virginia, graduated from The College of William and Mary and followed a career path into retail buying and management. She and her husband Bob moved to Fort Collins in 2013 to be closer to their son and his family, including 3 granddaughters. She and Bob have always been dog people. She is also a goat person, a musician and, when she finds the time, she writes.
