Adopting as a Senior: What You Should Know

GRRMF does adopt to senior citizens

Many senior adopters make wonderful golden owners, and GRRMF is proud to place dogs with older adults who can provide a safe, loving home. Our goal is to help you find a golden whose needs match your lifestyle so both of you can thrive.

Balancing the needs of goldens and caregivers

As always, we try to balance the needs of our golden retrievers with the needs of the human caregivers.

We recommend an adult dog 5 or older

We recommend senior citizens consider a dog 5 or older. Goldens are very active dogs that can live 10–12 or more years and beyond. We look carefully at the lifestyle of senior applicants to make sure it fits the age of the dog requested.

What senior adopters should keep in mind

If you are in your late 70s or 80s, we ask that you consider the following to ensure a safe and stable match:

• Be physically and financially able to care for a large dog
• Adopt an adult dog
• Have a care plan in place in case of emergency

Life for any applicant can change in an instant. As we get older, there is an even greater chance that a health incident might change our ability to care for a dog, so we feel these precautions are justified.

Safety

Young goldens are very strong and can easily pull an adult down while on a walk.

Exercise Level

Young dogs need regular daily exercise where they can run and play. Walks alone are not enough for most goldens. A tired dog is a happy dog. An inadequately exercised dog can be bored or destructive.

Life of the Dog

We believe that a dog is a lifetime commitment. While we cannot foresee every circumstance, we try to minimize the chance that the dog will need to come back into our program and be placed into yet another home.

For more information please read: Spending the Golden Years with Dogs

Help Us Make a Difference

Every donation, volunteer hour, or foster home directly supports goldens in our care.