When the autumn of their years arrives, lucky dogs get to spend their days with the people they love. Unfortunately, not all dogs get the privilege. That's where Vintage Pet Rescue comes in.
Clarence, a senior pug, was pulled from a shelter and given a retirement home that will be his for as long as he lives. He's one of the lucky ones. Vintage Pet Rescue searches the shelters near them in Providence, RI. A kindly couple, Kristen and Marc Peralta, don't think older dogs should spend their golden years in a shelter. So, they adopt them and take them home.
Clarence was already a resident at Vintage Pet Rescue when Nougat came along. Clarence was always friendly with the other dogs, but he didn't really have a best friend... until Nougat.
The 10-year-old Chihuahua had been picked up as a stray and taken to the local shelter. When Kristen saw him, he was depressed and overwhelmed by the situation. He wasn't outgoing and didn't show her much attention. Still, something told her to give him a chance. That's when the magic started.
“Nougat was really shut down at the shelter in Providence. He avoided me in the play yard and jumped off my lap immediately. But when he met Clarence, Nougat really started to blossom,” Kristen said.
Although Nougat was aloof and didn't seem to want anything to do with Kristen at the shelter, once she got him home it was a different story. He shadowed her around her home until he met Clarence. The "odd couple" were immediate friends.
Their story proves again what Marc and Kristen already knew. You can't judge a dog by the way he acts in a shelter.
Marc and Kristen aren't at this time looking for homes for the dogs in their care. Turns out, these senior dogs fit the lifestyle of the Peraltas perfectly. “They don’t need long walks or hikes and they are perfectly happy sleeping on your lap for most of the day. We think vintage (senior) dogs are amazing and they shouldn’t spend their last months or years in a shelter,” they said.
What the Peraltas are doing is simply amazing. Share their story and next time you walk into a rescue shelter, take a second look at the senior dogs. Imagine how happy taking one home to live out his old age would make you, and the dog, too!