About this Exhibit:
Sounds like something you might read on a dating website? That’s intentional. It’s hard enough for us to find someone to spend our lives with in today’s busy world. At least we can look online, or in a club or even in an old-fashioned newspaper. But what if you lost your companion – often the only family you’ve ever known, through no fault of your own – and had no way of getting any sort of home life back?
Senior animals are, without a doubt, some of the most misunderstood of all companion animals. Too often, they are left homeless when their senior owner dies, or worse, dumped off at a shelter by a busy family because they are “too old”. After a lifetime of home living, they are disoriented, depressed and stressed out… and can’t compete with the perky pups and kittens also vying for adoption. Suddenly, the senior animal finds itself in uncharted and difficult territory.
But look past the grey muzzle and measured gait and you will find gold. Senior animals are typically extremely socialized, mellow and (no small matter!) already house-broken. Even more importantly, they still have plenty of life and love to share.
Inspired by the beautiful and evocative rescue photography of Lori Fusaro, we set about to search for photos and stories from around the country highlighting senior animal rescue. And find we did! Crowd-sourced from our Facebook community, we’ve taken a sort of snapshot documenting the small moments, the day-to-day-ness, of one quiet decision to give someone a second chance. While everyone’s story is different, one common theme ran throughout: that the hardest part of opening home and heart to a relationship that may not last more than a season is just making the decision to say yes. To the greatest extent possible, we’ve tried to allow all of our contributors to speak in their own voices. We hope you’ll find your voice here too.