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Originally Posted by livingdustmops  The cutoff we had in our rescue was 70 but if the person was willing to talk about an adult dog then we have placed some of the rescue's in those homes with the full understanding the dog came back to us or we met the children of these people and how involved they were with the dog.
Just dealing with statistics but what are the odds this person will outlive their yorkie if the dog stays healthy...and how sharp will they be. I clearly think someone 60 has a bigger chance then someone 80. My mother passed at 85 and was still driving, taking care of hospice patients, heavily involved in her church etc..and in one day she was gone. Her mother and grandmother lived to be 99 but both were bedridden. My mother loved dogs but fully understood it was not fair if she passed and no one would take her dog...she knew I would but she was in Michigan and I was in Colorado... so she helped foster and she helped raise $$$ for the rescue...
Every breeder has to make choices but 80 to me for a puppy is ...... 
My girlfriends Yorkie is 19 and still going...they can live a long life if well taken care of... |
In other words, she couldn't get a dog from most rescues either. Just as all 20 year olds aren't mature enough to care for a puppy, some are, and age should only be only indicator in making a decision. I guess it's your opinion that this person should not ever have a dog again? Yet, she comes with the best reference of all, having cared for a dog who lived 16 years, and I believe she should be rewarded for this. As you say, your rescue had the full understanding that the dog would come back to them, and Jim intends to do look into this.
I believe that one of the best indicators on how long we will live is our "will to live." I've seen too many examples of people beating all odds, when there is a great will to live. While I think it's important to put the dog's needs first, I do not believe in overlooking human needs. The dog could live very happily with them for 5 or so years, and blend with another family fairly easy, if it's been raised well, and her previous experience indicates she knows something about raising a dog well. I don't think it's necessarily a horrible thing for a dog to be rehomed, I've adopted dogs from shelters, and they never seemed traumatized over the new home.