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SENIOR DOG ADOPTION

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* Senior Dog Adoption *

"A PEOPLE WHICH TAKES NO PRIDE IN THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF REMOTE ANCESTORS WILL NEVER ACHIEVE ANYTHING WORTHY TO BE REMEMBERED BY REMOTE DESCENDANTS." Thomas Babington Macaulay

Bart - the Gentle Giant
February 14, 2012

The story of Bart, our "Gentle Giant" bulldog goes back to the summer of 2004, when I became involved in the adoption of senior dogs. After stumbling across www.Petfinder.com, I learned that older dogs NEED homes and make great pets. I then had two Shih Tzus, Buddy and Fats, whom I inherited from a marriage gone bad. After a few months it just being me and the boys in the house, I got to thinking, these two are no trouble, there's room for one more.... and that's how Yogi came to be a part of my life. I found www.Petfinder.com, learned that older dogs NEED homes and make great pets. After some searching, I met Yogi, a one-eyed 9-10 year old Pug-Pekingese (maybe a little Chihuahua, too) mix who was being fostered by the Burlington County Animal Alliance. Yogi's description stated that he had to go to a home with more than one dog.... he liked company. It was a good fit!!!! 

Yogi fit right and the things had worked out so well that four months later I adopted another old dog, Shorty. Shorty was in pretty bad shape when he came home, but I knew that his time was short going in.... the point was, I had room in the home and room in the heart to give him a good home for the time he had left. Shorty was with us until July of 2005, when his time came. A few weeks before, another old dog was being dumped at the old West Jersey Animal Shelter in Pennsauken. I was there with a friend, was NOT looking for a dog, but I came home that day with Dominic. 

When it was time to put Shorty down I cried like a baby, then toughened up, because it not about me, it's about the dogs. I swore to myself that in time another old fella was going to have a home. 

In October of 2005, I found our new old fella, Bart the Bulldog. About 10 years of age, he had been found wandering around Philadelphia, and had been rescued and rehabilitated by a bulldog rescue in northern Virginia. Dominic and I drove down to bring him home. Of all the dogs in the pack, Yogi and Bart especially became fast friends, and usually could be found, when awake, in each others company. 

In 2006 Yogi started to slow down, if such a thing were possible.... speed and Yogi were never words that should have been in the same sentence. I took him to the vet, who discovered that he had an enlarged heart. That, coupled with a pug's appetite and his old age, meant that his days were coming to an end. He could no longer go on long walks, and by the fall of 2006 his stamina had declined to the point that he could only scamper about 20 feet before taking a breather. Bart never was much for long walks, either. Still, when at the park you would often see them walking together.

In November of 2006 Livia, a wonderful lady and fellow dog owner who I had met at Cooper River, and I got married. This brought a major change. The Funky Dogs were split up. I rented my house to my sons and their mother (a dog lover!). Yogi and Dominic came to Pennsauken, while Bart, Fats and Buddy remained in Camden with my sons, with me taking care of their food, grooming, and veterinary care. It was a heartache and a half, but as I passed by there every day on the way home from work, it was as ok as it was going to be. On weekends and in good weather, I would load everyone into the truck and we would all go to the park.

In August of 2007 Yogi went home to the great dog park in the sky. I used to kid that with his enlarged heart, one day he'd have a coronary and I would find him gone, and that was what happened.

Meanwhile, Bart became "king of the castle" in Camden. His waking hours...fewer and fewer as time went on.... were spent, weather permitting. under the trees in "his" yard, watching the world go by. 

Bart was quite old and somewhat arthritic when I got him, and his age began to really catch up with him in 2008. He was losing muscle mass in his rear legs, and eventually, like Shorty before him, was unable to get up or down the steps leading to and from the house unaided. Bart took a few falls, beginning in January of 2009. Although still showing a good appetite, he was losing weight. 78 pounds when I got him in the fall of 2005, by mid-February of 2009 he was down to 61 pounds. 

After a lot of soul-searching and consulting with the veterinarian, it was time to let Bart go. Now he's in Dog Heaven with his pal Yogi, making sure that every fence-pole is properly marked. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss the two of them. 

Below are a few photos I took on this, Bart's last day, and a lot of photos taken during the time Bart shared his life with me. Enjoy the pictures, support your local animal shelter, and if you've got the heart and the home, adopt an older dog. Take it from THIS old dog, you will be blessed a hundred times over.

Phil Cohen
February 12, 2009

October 20, 2005

My human, Phil, said that if you see a good thing that you CAN do, it means that it something that you SHOULD do.

He read about Bart at Petfinder.com and thought about him for a couple of weeks, Phil thinks that Bart and I have a lot in common, like sleeping, eating, snoring, and grunting.

He asked us dogs if we wanted another friend. Hey, why not.... it could mean more biscuits for all of us!!

Yogi

Say Hello To Bart the Bulldog
October 20, 2005

I'm Bart, the big, the beautiful, the sleepy..... hey, did you know that humans pay big money to get eyes this color????

He' is a pretty nice guy, and so is this other dog.... his name is Dominic, and he is old, like me.  I guess we'll have to share the human, though.

That must feel real good......  Dominic looks like he has more sense than to lie down on wet asphalt unless there was a real good reason!

Did you ever wonder what the inside of an English Bulldog looked like? If you click on my handsome face, the picture gets real big and you can see all the way down to China...
well, maybe all they way down to the biscuits.

I'm happy now... all they did was take my temperature

Oh yeah, they weighed me

Bart found a mud puddle!

Bart found a mud puddle!

Happy Bart
in the mud!

Bart:  I think they want us to run after each other.

Yogi: Run? you have got to be kidding!

for about 15 yards

Bart can move, too!

A walk in the sun... 

Look it up!

A
dog's eye view of
Bart

Yogi, Bart & Buddy

We is ACTIVE dogs!

Yogi, Bart & Buddy

See us in action!

Yogi, Bart & Buddy

OK, we're done.

Yogi, Bart & Buddy

Look Dad... we moved!!!!!

It's me... Bart! Would you believe, we actually had a girl dog around here for company! That Lucy, what a sweetheart. OK, so she's sort of stuck on Dominic, but so what... this place needed a little class... I mean, a little more class than I bring, that is!

Lucy was only here for a few days. She went back to take care of her pet human, Maria, on Saturday.

Lucy

Lucy

Lucy
with
Yogi & Bart
in the background

Yogi
Dominic
&
Bart

Bart:   If we stay right here, the bed won't escape.

Yogi:  Good Thinking!

Why Five Dogs????
January 2006

Bart dreams about food

Bart on the move

Dominic: 
I hope the little dog in the blue jacket is what Bart is looking at...

Bart:
Hey Yogi.... wait up! 
Help me find my contact lens...

Ready, Set, Go!

Yogi:
You think Phil has a biscuit?

Fats:
I don't care

Bart heads for his favorite trash can, 
Fats and Gigi have their eyes on something!!

Bart:

These dogs obviously don't know what I'm really capable of...

Bart:

...and when I came out of the trance, there were mermaids....

Bart:

Yogi, I kid you not, when you see the mud puddle, you can tell were the mermaids were....

Bart

Waiting for Mermaids

Bart:

Go ahead, YOU tell him!

Dog Mothers
&
Bench Hounds

Here are the pictures
that Livia took!

from right to left at front:
Buddy, Bart, Tate, Dominic, Phil, Yogi, Fats, and Dylan 

Bart & Livia

Ella: PLAY WITH ME!!!!

Bart: I'm supposed to chase a Jack Russell terrier puppy? I 'm really getting too old for this....

"Two poodle walk and to a bar..."

Bart: nope, I can't eat him

September 1, 2007
Livia with Gigi, Dominic, Bart, and Otis

September 1, 2007

September 1, 2007

Click on Image to Enlarge

Bart is very old, but he got up when this pug walked by. Maybe he recognized the walk (or waddle).... It looked like Bart was checking him out to see if this was his pal Yogi. After the little guy left Bart nosed around some more before going back under the bench to sit in the shade.

Bart

Click on Image to Enlarge

September 1, 2007

September 1, 2007

Bart

Click on Image to Enlarge

In the previous picture above, from September of 2007, you can see that Bart's back legs were getting kind of scrawny. The vet commented that although his general health was pretty good, his legs were obviously giving him trouble. By the time this photo was taken, walking had become difficult, steps virtually impossible. Despite his obvious discomfort, Bart's gentle temperment was a constant.

Once I got him inside the vet's office and into an examination room, Bart could lay down and be comfortable. From that moment on, he would not have to experience the pain in his old bones and joints. Although the years had taken their toll physically... and his sight and hearing by this point had become a matter of concern as well, he was still, as my entire family has always described him and as evident from the photos from years past, a HAM!

These are the last three pictures I took of Bart. I put the camera away, rolled him over and gave him a good belly rub while waiting for the vet to come back and administer a sedative. Once that was done I sat cross-legged on the floor and maneuvered him around so his head was in my lap. It didn't take long for Bart to fall asleep.... falling asleep may have been his greatest skill... goodness knows he sure had a lot of practice doing it. With his head in my lap, he began to quietly (for him) snore. 

A few minutes later the vet came back in and gave him another shot, and my dear boy left for a better place, where it's always spring, the trees always provide shade, the world is his bathroom, and his pal Yogi is waiting for him on a nice comfortable bed they can share.

I miss them and I always will. Maybe, if I'm real lucky, and if I've earned it in this life, I'll see them again..

Phil Cohen
February 12, 2009

Thank you for visiting this page. If you have room in your house and your heart for an older dog... or cat, consider adopting one. If adoption isn't practical, please support you local animal shelter.

Phil Cohen.

These two high energy individuals own a very nice human named Jodi Spector, who is affiliated with American Bulldog Rescue in Newtown PA. 

A question that many people have asked... and many others should ask... is "What can I do to help my country in this time of war. The answer is in the link below. This program was started by the operator of the animal information site www.netpets.org, shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks, after learning of thousands of pets put to sleep during the first Gulf War because service men and women had nowhere to board them.

STEP UP AND DO YOU PART FOR AMERICA!

 Phil Cohen
September 14, 2007

The most important link on this website4

LINKS

Petfinder.com

Please Support Camden County's Newest Animal Shelter

Almost Home Animal Shelter and Adoption Center
9140C Pennsauken Highway
Pennsauken, NJ 08109
Phone: (856) 663-3058
almosthomeshelter@comcast.net 

Burlington County Animal Alliance

West Jersey Volunteers for Animals - West Jersey Animal Shelter

The Animal Orphanage

Return to The Funky Dogs Home Page

Phil and his Funky Dogs:
More of the Funky Dogs!

Go to Bart: The Gentle Giant
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Close Encounters of the Funky Dog Kind
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Go to Funky Dogs: Thanksgiving 2008
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Go to Funky Dogs: Animal Adoption Center October 2007 Dog Walk
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Go to Funky Dogs: Gigi's Birthday
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Go to Funky Dogs: When Will spring Get here?
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Go to Funky Dogs: Animal Adoption Center October 2007 Dog Walk
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Go to Funky Dogs: Labor Day Weekend, 2007
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Go to Funky Dogs: A Year of Change
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Go to Yogi - Everyone's Best Friend
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Go to Parking with the Funky Dogs (Labor Day)
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Go to Parking with the Funky Dogs - Chapter 2
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Go to The Funky Dogs of Summer
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Go to A New Year With the Funky Dogs
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Go to A Six-Pack of Funky Dogs
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Go The Continuing Adventures of Phil and his Funky Dogs
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Go to Phil and his Funky Dogs (is not a band)