My Old Dog by Laura T. Coffey

Author:Laura T. Coffey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New World Library

Erin worked full-time for a jewelry designer in Manhattan when she first started Susie’s Senior Dogs at age twenty-nine. In the beginning, she’d spend her evenings scouring the internet for postings of senior dogs languishing in shelters. “I basically would work, come home, break for an hour, and then write until like one or two in the morning — and have no life!” she said.

As months passed, senior dogs soared in significance for Erin as her job receded. In June 2014, she quit her full-time gig to focus on Susie’s Senior Dogs exclusively. At first, she was scared to take that leap — but now she’s nothing but grateful to Susie.

“When I was at my old job, I felt like I was in a room with no windows or no doors,” Erin said. “Finally, this was presented to me as a window. Yes, I didn’t necessarily know how I was going to pay my rent long-term. . . .But I knew that if I didn’t walk through this window with faith — when everything on the inside was telling me, ‘Oh, you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do this!’ — then that’s my own fault. . . .Even if I can only do this for a year, I knew I had to take advantage of it.”

The extra time has allowed Erin to visit overburdened public shelters firsthand to see what workers there are up against. She’s also been able to work more closely with reputable, and often cash-strapped, dog-rescue groups. Erin’s Facebook posts have become more nuanced — and her efforts are producing results.

“Susie’s Senior Dogs is a huge deal, especially for a little grassroots rescue like mine,” said Jaime Bunny McKnight, founder of Pawlicious Poochie Pet Rescue in St. Petersburg, Florida. Jaime gratefully remembered the time Erin helped her get the word out about Molly, a sweet-natured senior poodle who needed to have fourteen infected teeth removed so she could eat properly again. “I had people from all over the world calling and emailing me about Molly within moments,” Jaime said. “Even if I couldn’t find a perfect adoption here locally, people were willing to fly here to adopt her.”

Success stories like Molly’s are popular, and plentiful, on the Susie’s Senior Dogs page. A close-knit pair of older female dogs who should be placed in a home together? Adopted. A twelve-year-old American Staffordshire terrier whose owners gave her up because they could no longer afford a dog? Adopted. An eleven-year-old black Lab overlooked at a shelter for more than three months? Adopted.

Susie’s reach has extended far beyond the United States. In August and September 2014, Erin traveled with Brandon on part of his Humans of New York “world tour” in partnership with the United Nations. (While they were away, Susie relaxed in her regular New York digs and got cared for by Brandon’s best friend, who crashed at his apartment.)

The epic journey took Brandon and Erin to Jordan, Israel, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Ukraine, India, Nepal,

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