Embracing the Joys and Challenges of Senior Pet Adoption

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Ever wondered about the joys and challenges of giving love and companionship to senior pets? Join us for the heartwarming journey of our special guest, Katie Shelby, who opened her heart and home to two senior dachshunds, Fred and Barney. Initially agreeing to foster these loveable seniors, Katie and her husband soon found themselves enchanted by their unique personalities and decided to adopt them.
 In this episode of The Story of My Pet, your host, Julie Marty-Pearson, chats with Katie, a devoted pet owner and advocate for senior dog adoption. Katie shares her inspiring tale of love and care for her two precious pups, Fred and Barney, who were rescued by her uncle's organization, Pet Rescue Network in St. Louis, Missouri. From fostering to adoption, their journey with these two senior Dachshunds is filled with touching moments, overcoming health challenges, and embarking on exciting adventures. Join us as Katie shares her experience of welcoming Fred and Barney into her home, and how they've become local celebrities with their own Facebook page, featuring their many delightful escapades.
 Get ready to be touched by Katie's dedication to providing a loving and fulfilling life for her furry companions and be inspired to consider senior dog adoption. As first-time pet owners as a married couple, they share their experiences and the antics of Fred and Barney, who've now become integral members of their "neighborhood watch". But the fun doesn't stop there; Katie takes us along on their many road trips with Fred and Barney, turning their life into an incredible adventure. Get a firsthand account of the trials, triumphs, and abundant love that comes with fostering and adopting senior dogs. Be inspired by Katie's shoutout to the rescue organization that linked them with Fred and Barney, and the dedicated doctors who help manage their health. So, come along on this emotional rollercoaster as we explore the significance of giving older dogs a second chance at a happy, loving home.
 To learn more about Fred and Barney, follow their adventures on their Facebook page.
To learn more about Pet Rescue Netw

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happy to have you back to listento a brand new episode.
This is a fun and heartwarmingstory of how a couple agreed to
foster, then adopt, a bondedpair of senior doxons.

(00:25):
It's a really great story ofhow they opened their heart to
older dogs that needed a homeafter their owner was no longer
able to care for them, and howthat's turned into many grand
adventures of these two adorabledogs.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand remember to share it with
your family and friends.

(00:46):
Hello, I'm excited to welcome anew guest, katie Selby.
Hi, katie, thank you for beinghere.
Thank you for having me.
And she has her two preciouspups in her lap.
We will be talking a lot aboutFred and Barney.
They're like yes, it is allabout us.

(01:09):
Yes, so before we get into thetale of Fred and Barney, have
you always been an animal lover,a dog lover, since you were a
kid?

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yes, growing up, I've had several dogs.
As a child and throughout myfamily, my whole family is dog
lovers.
My husband never had petsgrowing up, so this is the first
experience with dog living withdogs, but he likes it.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
So how long ago did your story with Fred and Barney
start?
It started two years ago, okay,and did you have any dogs
together with your husbandbefore that, or was this his
first pet ever?
This was his first pet ever,wow, so a big change for him.
Yeah, how did you first meetFred and Barney?

Speaker 2 (01:59):
On September 4th 2021 , I received a text message from
my uncle, roy, who plays animportant part of an
organization called Pet RescueNetwork in the St Louis
metropolitan area, and he askedme if my husband and I would
take in two dogs to foster.

(02:20):
And we said, sure, we'd love totake them in because we were
thinking about getting a dog andthis would be a good
opportunity to see if dogs wouldbe a good fit in their family.
And, of course, yes they are.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Yeah, I was just talking about this with someone
else I interviewed for thepodcast about how fostering can
be a really great way to dipyour toe into the pet world if
you haven't had a pet for a longtime, or someone like your
husband who's never had one.
There's never any requirementyou have to keep them with
fostering, obviously, but it's agreat way to get to know the

(02:56):
animal for you, to see how theyfit into your life.
So it sounds like that's whathappened with you guys.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yes, it did.
The two dogs, who we now callthe boys, were first found by my
uncle's rescue friend in Rala,missouri, who then asked Rita,
who is also part of Pet RescueNetwork along with my uncle Roy,
if she would take in the boysand she's the owner of the pet
club facility in the St Louismetropolitan area, and between

(03:25):
the two of them she and my uncleknew that they would find them
a great forever home.
The dogs both had kennel coughand needed somewhere to stay
while they were recovering fromtheir illness?
Had they been found on thestreet or were they in a shelter
or they were living with agentleman who was older and who

(03:48):
had a terminal illness and theyjust they needed somewhere to go
.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
I've heard within the shelter I a lot of times
animals end up at shelters ifsomeone's become ill or had to
be put into assisted living orpasses away, and so it's great
that your uncle is a part of anetwork that helped find the
boys a new home.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yes, yes, and after three days of having them we
knew we wanted to keep them,because their previous owner
asked if they could staytogether because they're
littermates, and we just knew,with their cute, entertaining
antics, that we just had to keepthem.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, it's so important when animals are
bonded and they've been in ahome together to keep them
together, but that's not alwaysas easy to do, so it's great
that you were able to take bothof them and keep them.
Yes.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
And there are two senior doxons.
They're 11 now.
They were nine when they cameto us and everyone asks about
their names and how we came upwith them.
They were named that when theycame to us and we were going to
change their names at nine yearsold.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
It's funny because when I was going through my
notes before we recorded, I waslooking at them and I go oh,
Fred and Barney, like theFlintstones, why?
But they're super cute names.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
So tell me a little bit about Fred and Barney.
What are their personalitieslike?
Fred is more like active.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
He loves to get out of the kennel, houdini out of
the kennel and Houdini out ofhis collar.
He just does it for fun, thoselittle antics, and Barney just
loves to snuggle.
And they also have aneighborhood watchpin that leads
up.
There's steps that leads up tothe neighborhood watchpins to

(05:36):
look out the window and besecurity guards for us.
And sometimes Fred's only onduty and Barney is in the big
bed under the blanket barkingbecause Fred's barking.
Then he runs in here and runsup the steps and looks out the
window to make sure everythingis safe too.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
I could just picture all of that happening too.
I can just see Fred therebarking and little Barney's
under the blanket barking.
That's always so funny when youhave multiple animals and they
react just because the other oneis they don't know, why?
But if he's barking, I mustneed two too.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yes, they both have outgoing personalities and
Barney is a dog with kyposisscoliosis, where he came to us
with his back arched and Fred'swasn't.
We had the diagnosis in Marchof 2022.
And then, to step back on that,barney had an IVD moment

(06:36):
vaginal disc disease I don'tknow how to pronounce that, but
he had that moment in Decemberof 2021.
And he was just scoochingaround on the floor and we
weren't sure what was going on.
So we called the vet and wecouldn't get him into the vet
office because it was holidaytime.

(06:59):
So we took him to the emergencyvet clinic near us and they
said he had IVDD.
So he had to be crate, trainedand in recovery and all that.
So that's why we now put themboth in the kennel when we're
gone long periods of time.
Growing up, I never dealt withany animals, any dogs, that had

(07:23):
that.
They're prone to that becausethey're miniature doxins.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
I was going to ask if that has something to do with
their breed, because doxins areso low to the ground and
sometimes if their bellies arebigger, it pulls on their spine
and their back a little bit.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yes, and then after his diagnosis with that, I was
like you know what?
His back is arched, so whydon't we get him into the vet?
And we did that.
And he got that diagnosis inMarch 2022.
And his doctor suggested thathe gets laser therapy treatments
and chiropractic care.
And we really make sure that wecontinue to do that and he gets

(08:01):
chiropractic care every eightweeks, as needed, and then laser
therapy every two weeks.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
Wow, has that really helped him in his mobility?
Yes, I've heard a lot of greatthings, especially with dogs,
with senior dogs, withchiropractic care.
I've never experienced itmyself with a pet, but it sounds
like it's a really great optionfor people.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yes, and then on that day we learned that why Barney
and Fred cannot be separated.
Because I had to go to thedoctor.
I stayed home with Fred becauseI knew exactly what was going
to happen.
He had real bad separationanxiety.
I went to the doctor and leftFred at home in the kennel and

(08:44):
he was just really had a hardtime with missing brother,
wondering where I was.
And there was a crate outsideof his kennel, a wooden crate
that he nodded at with his pawsbecause he was so upset I'm
wondering where brother was.
So then when I got home fromthe doctor, my husband and I

(09:06):
took Fred and we both all threeof us went to go pick up Barney
and he was so happy to bereunited with his brother.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
That's so sweet.
Separation anxiety is such animportant thing to talk about.
People don't realize how easilypets get them.
I've seen it a lot with dogs inshelters too, especially if
they've been at home and nowthey're not.
So I can imagine those two whohave lived their whole lives
together would be hard if one ofthem isn't there.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Yes, and speaking of that, past couple weeks ago
Barney had to get his teethcleaned and dental extractions,
so I purposely scheduled hisdental extractions and teeth
cleaning for a day that I hadoff work so that I could take
Fred out all day and he was notat home.

(09:54):
We went to local stores thatare pet friendly to dogs, into a
park and we were home for anhour so that he wouldn't be
looking for his brother all day.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
That's so great.
Yeah, I think that's soimportant.
You have to prepare for that ifyou can, and it sounds like
that's exactly what you do for afun day out, with you keeping
him distracted from his brotherbeing gone, because it's one
thing to take them to the vettogether, but when one of them
is having a procedure, there'sno way for them to be together.
What kind of things do Fred andBarney like to do?

(10:27):
Do they like to go out onadventures and go to different
places, meet people?

Speaker 2 (10:32):
Oh, yes, yes, they do .
They love going on adventuresand, speaking of adventures,
they have a Facebook page calledthe many adventures of Barney
and Fred, and my husband'shockey friend suggested that we
set up a Facebook page for them,so I did that November of 2021,

(10:53):
and starting out they had 100followers, but as of one o'clock
this afternoon, they had 9,200followers.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
Wow, they had more followers than me.
They had more than me.
So do you post like fun storiesof them regularly for people to
get to hear about and thingslike that?

Speaker 2 (11:16):
Yes, and the one we love to do is to go to Yatties
Yummies.
It is a pet bakery and peoplefor disabilities are employed
there, and all most of theirproceeds from the sales go to

(11:38):
help animals and shelters.

Speaker 1 (11:40):
That's great.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (11:42):
I love hearing about businesses small businesses,
whether they're virtual or brickand mortar that support animals
.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yes, and some other events that they like to go to
is to get pictures taken withSanta Mrs Claus.
They go to Barca de Mayo andBarthober Fest.

Speaker 1 (12:01):
Oh my gosh, that sounds like a lot of fun I can
just imagine.
And, speaking of people withdisabilities, I know that you
and your husband are both paraeducators a little bit.

Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yes, we're both para educators in the St Louis area.
We work with children withdisabilities and support them
each and every day.
And as we were working andhaving the boys after Barney's
IVDD moment and scoliosis, weknew that we probably needed to

(12:33):
adapt the house for them.
So we got some ramps that leadup to the couch, the steps that
lead up to the bench and a rampthat leads up to their bed in
our bedroom Say, their bed,because it's their bed and my
uncle Roy also helped uscustomize a ramp outside our

(12:55):
backyard because we hadPreviously we'd had to carry
them, wish them, tack them upand go out down the steps
through a gate so they can gooutside.
But now they use a ramp andthey're just little torpedoes
that just run down the ramp andrace down the ramp.
They race each other.

(13:16):
Yes, they race each other.

Speaker 1 (13:19):
That's so great.
I think that's so important.
You know, when we foster oradopt an animal that a dog or a
cat that might have some type ofphysical disability, we often
fear like they're not gonna beable to do the same things that
used to, or maybe they're notgonna be able to navigate the
house.
But it sounds like you guyshave made all of the you know
different changes to your housepossible to be able to allow

(13:42):
Barney to participate just likeyou did before.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
Yes, and Fred loves it too.

Speaker 1 (13:48):
He gets the benefit of all of the ramps.
I'm sure, and I think that evenin common with senior dogs,
sometimes they need a littleassistance, because it's so much
better for them to remainactive and keep being active
than not be able to do some ofthe things that.
Used to.
Have Fred and Barney ever goneon road trips or anything like

(14:10):
that with you?

Speaker 2 (14:11):
Oh yes, they've been on many road trips.
They've been to Branson,missouri, several times, lake of
the Ozarks and this pastSeptember we took them on their
first out of state trip toTennessee and on that trip they
decided to use a hotel's towelas a bed and I took a picture of

(14:31):
them laying on the towel.
You wanna believe this?
On their Facebook page.
They got 7,300 reactions onthat picture.

Speaker 1 (14:41):
It's so.
We get our pets the mostluxurious blankets and beds, and
then all they wanted the hotelto have yes, oh, that's so funny
.

Speaker 2 (14:51):
And at one of the restaurants at Lake of the
Ozarks.
We took them to the summer.
It's called Jolly Rogers.
They actually had a petfriendly menu and they both they
ordered a peanut butter sickle.
It's like a popsicle and it wasbig enough for them both to
share, so they went ahead andhad that and then, speaking of

(15:12):
sharing, my favorite thing thatthey do is share their water
together out of their waterbowls.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
They both have to drink at the same time.
Yes, definitely sounds likethese two.
Keep your life full of funnymoments and very entertained.
Yes, so if someone were to sayto you I've thought about
fostering or I've thought aboutadopting an older dog, but I'm
just worried that I'm not gonnahave enough time with them or I

(15:41):
worry about their health, whatwould you say to them in terms
of your experience, having donethat?

Speaker 2 (15:47):
I would say senior dogs.
They're really calm and they'retrained and everything and I
felt I just wanted to take themin because they needed a place
to live and I didn't mindcarrying in their unique needs.

Speaker 1 (16:03):
And senior dogs still have lots of love to give.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yes, so much.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
Yeah, and I think what you said is so true that
sometimes, even if it's just acouple year old dog, whatever it
may be they've already, likeyou said, learned things and
trained things.
They're not gonna have the sametendencies of puppywood, but
they're still all they want ahome and a person to love.
Yeah, Everybody will definitelyhave to check out your Facebook
page so they can follow alongon all of the Barney and Fred's

(16:31):
adventures.
Do you have any other specificadventures you'd like to talk?

Speaker 2 (16:35):
about Sure.
I would just like to say thatBarney and Fred are local
celebrities.
They have been on TV six times.

Speaker 1 (16:44):
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
They were on Fox2 St Louis's Putracast Twice.
They've been featured on KLDfor St Louis.
The first time they shared aglimpse of their story finding a
forever home, along with aphoto of them enjoying a pop cup
.
And then the boys are alsofeatured in a photo of two of
them going on a walk in theirnew stroller.

(17:06):
And they were featured on KSDchannel five St Louis three
times.
The first time they were pet ofthe week for show me St Louis
and the boys were on TV at KSDKPlaza while show me St Louis was
airing and they were featuredon Worson Woods pet supply plus

(17:28):
Facebook wage quite a few times.
And those are just a fewhighlights of their adventures,
and I love to say that I'm theiragent who helps get them their
15 minutes of fame.

Speaker 1 (17:42):
Sounds like they've had multiple 15 minutes of fame.
That's so great.
I'm sure it was hard for themto leave the owner they've
always had and for their ownerto have to give them up, but for
them to find such an incrediblefamily with you and your
husband that not only do youtake care of them and help them
with physical issues thatthey've had, but literally
you've made them so happy to bea part of the town you live in

(18:05):
to yes, and I'd also like togive a shout out to the amazing
doctors at Animal Medical CenterMid America, maryland Heights,
because since I didn't reallyknow what IVDD was and what
Barney's needs were, we found agreat, amazing doctor who
communicates really well with meand lets me ask the questions

(18:26):
that I need.
That's so important Having a vetnot only that you like, but you
trust and feel like they'regoing to give you.
Sometimes it's so hard, they'reso busy, you feel like you
can't get your questionsanswered, so that's really great
that they have such an endplace to go.
Yes, I can't wait to sharepictures of friend Barney with
everyone and everybody to checkout your Facebook page so they

(18:50):
can read all about theiradventures, and I also wanted to
shout out again Pet RescueNetwork, which is the rescue
that coordinated you gettingFred and Barney in St Louis,
surrey, and I will tag them aswell in any post or anything for
this episode, though thatpeople can learn more about them
too.
Thank you so much, katie.

(19:13):
It was really great meeting youvirtually here and getting to
learn about Fred and Barney andtheir adventures with you.
It sounds like you have areally amazing fur family, and,
while you've really just thrownyour husband into being a dog
dad, yes, I'm sure he loves it,though, with those two
characters.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yes, he does.

Speaker 1 (19:32):
He probably would say how could we ever not have dogs
again?
Right.

Speaker 2 (19:36):
Especially the smaller ones.

Speaker 1 (19:38):
Oh and Docsons I've had, friends have had them, and
they are such little characters.
They have so much personalityin those little bodies.
Thank you, katie, for beinghere.
It's been really great to hearyour story and hopefully inspire
some other people to thinkabout fostering and adopting
older dogs, because they stillhave so much life to live and
they just want a happy familylike yours have.

(20:02):
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(20:24):
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(20:45):
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