Being an old dog in a loving home is an absolute paradise, but many senior dogs don’t get to spend their golden years in a loving home. Many are kicked out once the veterinary bills start piling up, or they don’t get adopted as puppies and grow up in shelters. That’s where Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary comes in.
The dog sanctuary is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and is dedicated to helping senior dogs live out their final years in comfort, surrounded by people who love them. Unlike many other sanctuaries, Old Friends doesn’t try to get their dogs adopted. The dogs either stay at the sanctuary or they’re take by “forever foster homes” – families that live within a 100-mile radius of the sanctuary and take the dogs in, while the sanctuary still pays for the medical bills and general upkeep.
The sanctuary was started by Zina and Michael Goodin, a retired couple who wanted to do meaningfuil volunteer work. After learning about the high concentration of dogs in shelters and high euthanasia rates in ther states, they wanted to help those senior dogs who don’t have chance of leaving the shelter with a family.
Today, Old Friends has over 100 dogs, and a massive social media following, with almost 2 million followers on Facebook and 150k on Instagram. They’re fans can follow the old dogs’ daily routine as they nap in the sun, play with each other and get belly rubs. The Old Friends dog prove to us all that old dogs are just as fun and loving companions as any dog.
