The saying goes you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but Malcolm Wright has done just that.
He adopted Bella, a 16-year-old stray kelpie, and in a matter of days she's gone from walking around with her head down, to wagging her tail and getting excited.
"My dog had died last week and she was an older dog and I thought because I'm 78, it's no good adopting a puppy," Wright says.
"I thought it would be good to give an old dog a home — an old dog that need a last place to go."
Bella was found as a stray in Whyalla, South Australia. When the owner was located, they chose to surrender Bella and she was moved to the Lonsdale RSPCA shelter in Adelaide where Wright adopted her.
"We hit if off straight away," he says.
Bella is deaf which has made the process a learning curve for both of them, but she's learning fast.
She doesn't move fast and is docile — two things that appeal to Wright, a former book author.
Even his 21-year-old cat, who normally doesn't get along with dogs, has warmed to Bella.
"I think people need to understand if they show kindness to an animal like this, you get it returned in the love from the animal," Wright says.
"It's a great pleasure you feel."
A perfect addition
As someone who works in education, nurturing others comes naturally to Georgia Bell. It's how she knew an older animal would be the perfect addition to her fur family.
Bell, an assistant principal in Melbourne, says she'd been following the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) in Victoria for some time when a post appeared for Lilly.
"I needed a dog who was going to be okay with being home alone for long hours due to my work commitments and able to have other dogs around them as I have another greyhound (Steve, five) and a dachshund (Roy, four)," Bell says.
Bell says she had trouble finding another dog who would get along with Roy, who has what she calls 'small man syndrome' but was advised by GAP that Lilly could be perfect.
"They were not wrong! When I met Lilly with Roy, there was instant calm," she says.
"I couldn't believe it. When she walked out of the kennel to do a meet and greet, I actually became teary because her nature was so gentle and sweet."
Lilly has a number of challenges — she has Pannus, an eye disorder common in greyhounds, and is missing most of her teeth and only able to eat soft foods.
However Bell says the biggest challenge is coming to terms with the short time they'll have together.
"I have fallen in love with this dog for so many reasons, and I know that she may have only a good year or two left with me," she says.
"Me and my close family members have a plan for how we will manage her final days – weighing up when the time is right to put her to sleep peacefully or what to do if she naturally passes in her bed.
"I have also had people question if my heart will be strong enough to cope with losing her.
"However, Lilly's last few years are all about her – not about me. It is as simple as that."
'Won't grow into a terror'
Grace, a six-year-old Rottweiler had been in an animal shelter for six months and in a pound even longer before Ruby Black and her partner found her.
She says Grace kept getting overlooked at Blue Cross Animals Society in Wonga Park, as an older dog who had just had surgery and potentially needed more.
"At the shelter she was unhappy and manic, we knew she needed to get out of there.
"Even though we knew she might cost us some money in the future I also knew that she was a great dog with such a gentle soul. She deserved a shot at a loving home for the rest of her life, even if it might be short."
Grace has been the perfect choice. Black, a tattoo artist, has discovered how well she was already trained.
"The other day we went to teach her 'shake' and she just did it no questions asked and no hesitation," she says. "Her previous owners must have taught it to her.
"She's also going to be the same dog forever, what you see is what you get with an older dog so we knew that this personality is truly her and she won't grow into a terror later in life."
Grace says although there can be challenges from not knowing a dog's history, the shelter she was adopted from had screened for any training issues.
Grace has settled in well with their seven-year-old greyhound, but still has some training to go.
Black says an older dog has been a great alternative to a puppy.
"Having a dog will always be a challenge and a big responsibility, but getting an older dog takes off a lot of the pressure and negates a lot of the problems that younger dogs might have, so in several ways it's a lot easier and more accessible," she says.
"If you want to get a dog but know you won't be able to handle the commitment of a puppy, an older dog is definitely a better choice rather than getting a puppy, being unable to handle it, and giving it to a shelter.
"I think people really underestimate how much work a puppy or a very young dog is."
