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“…Consider Quality vs. Quantity”
When thinking of adopting a new dog, the majority of people typically seek out puppies or younger dogs. Sadly, this means that older dogs that have no home suffer in shelters and are most often the first to be put down. Judged upon their age, the way they look or the fewer years that they have left in their lives, thousands of senior dogs are the first to be overlooked, but a woman in Minnesota says she’s doing everything she can to change that.
Jean Beuning is the owner of Top Dog Country Club in New Germany, an all-encompassing dog kennel for the special canine in your life. Because dogs have been the center of her world since a young age, it prompted her to start a rescue effort called Top Dog Foundation, facilitating the fostering and rehoming of shelter dogs considered past their optimal age of adoption.
Unofficially started in 2000 when she began rescuing senior Shelties, now Beuning and her volunteers work together to provide a loving and permanent home for dogs that are deemed “un-adoptable” because of age and health, and would otherwise be unnecessarily euthanized.
The rewards of adopting a senior dog are immense, taking in an elderly dog can be easier than adding a younger dog to the family, because they are usually housebroken and understand some commands. Somehow they are always so very thankful too.
In 2010, Top Dog Foundation launched “A Home For Every Aging Heart”, a rescue and adoption program specifically designed to place senior dogs with senior people, matching the needs and filling the loneliness for companionship for one another.
Within the next year, Jean hopes to launch a capital campaign to raise enough funding to build a permanent sanctuary for senior dogs. The facility will offer services to the public including training, hydrotherapy and cremation, which will in turn provide ongoing revenue to support her rescue efforts. The goal is to become the source for all things senior dog.
SPCA International is proud to stand by Top Dog Foundation’s remarkable efforts for aging canines through our Shelter Grant Program.