When Tillie was surrendered to a Philadelphia animal shelter, her owners requested euthanasia. They told staff that the senior dog was struggling to walk and was not eating.
“We prepared ourselves for what was going to come through this door,” said Gillian Kocher, director of public relations at the Pennsylvania SPCA, adding that she anticipated Tillie would be at the end of her life.
But staff members were surprised by what they saw.
“She was very happily wagging her tail,” Kocher said.
The shelter’s medical team examined Tillie and found that she was eating and walking normally. Apart from routine vaccines, she had no medical needs.
“They determined that Tillie had a lot of life left in her,” Kocher said. “She deserved to live that out in a home rather than a shelter.”
Tillie — short for Matilda — had first been adopted from the Pennsylvania SPCA in 2015 when she was about 1.
Tillie’s owner told the shelter she was 16, though Kocher said the SPCA’s records list her as just under 12. The Washington Post could not reach the owner for a comment, as the shelter was unable to share their information.
Kocher said Tillie, a Great Pyrenees mix, had clearly been loved and cared for, based on her physical condition.
“All we can do is look for the best future for this animal, and that’s what we try to focus on, rather than the reasons she ended up here,” Kocher said.
Tillie was surrendered to a city shelter last month before being transferred to the SPCA on Sept. 23, and was held temporarily in a quarantine space to avoid spreading any infections. She was made available for adoption on Oct. 14.
Staff shared a Facebook post about Tillie’s story, which quickly drew an outpouring of attention online.
“Matilda greets everyone who comes to see her with a happy wag. She’s sweet, and she’s clearly not finished yet,” the post read. “She deserves to live the rest of her days, no matter how many there may be, on a soft bed in a home of her own.”
“Matilda has already given one family 11 years,” the post continued. “Now we’re looking for someone who will give her the same promise … but this time forever.”
Victoria Caldwell — who lives about 30 minutes from the shelter in Cherry Hill, New Jersey — saw the post and immediately became emotional, she said.
Caldwell has adopted eight rescue dogs and has a magnet on her car that says, “rescue is my favorite breed.” She got her first rescue dog when she was 20.
In recent years, Caldwell has developed a soft spot for senior dogs. Her dog Hazel is 12, and she adopted her prior dog, Sammy, when he was 11. He died at age 15 in May.
“They still have a lot of love to give,” said Caldwell, 55. “I just want to make the rest of their life the best of their life.”
Caldwell and her fiancé were holding off on getting another dog because Hazel has health issues. But after she saw Tillie’s post, Caldwell began to reconsider.
“If Tillie isn’t adopted by the weekend, I want to go and see her and get her out of there,” Caldwell told her to fiancé, Joby Parendier.
His response: “Deal.”
On Oct. 18, Caldwell and Parendier drove to the shelter with Hazel, so she could meet her potential new dog sibling. The meeting went smoothly, and the couple decided to bring Tillie home.
“She was a little nervous, but she’s a sweetheart,” Caldwell said. “We had no issues.”
“She’s now a part of our family,” she said.
Although some other adoption requests came through for Tillie, Kocher said, few followed through with a mandatory in-person visit. Kocher said it is considerably harder for senior dogs to get adopted — despite the attention they often draw on social media.
“It breaks our heart to have senior animals here, so we do try to share them as much as possible, but it could certainly take weeks, sometimes longer,” Kocher said. “Although we love them and care for them, a shelter is no place for them to be.”
She said it takes a certain patience and love to adopt a senior dog.
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“You know going into this that time is limited,” Kocher said. “It takes such special individuals to do that and those warm my heart the most.”
Caldwell said the companionship of a senior dog outweighs the pain of losing them. When she adopted her dog Sammy in 2021, they were told to expect to have him for a year. They got nearly five. The same was true for Hazel, who was only supposed to live about six months when they adopted her. It’s been nearly three years.
“It’s the quality of time you’re going to have, not the quantity,” Caldwell said. “The amount of devotion and affection you will get — and get quickly — from a senior dog is amazing… don’t discount them because they’re old. They surprise you.”
Plus, she said, they are relatively low maintenance.
“You have all the benefits of the loving companionship without having to be on 24/7 with them. It’s like having an older child versus a toddler,” Caldwell said.
She said losing a dog can be devastating, but it is more devastating to think of them spending their remaining days in a shelter.
“Many of them had a family or several families, and then they’re just dropped off like you would drop off a sweater at Goodwill,” Caldwell said.
She said Tillie is adjusting well to her new home. Caldwell described her personality as affectionate and docile. If you stop petting her, Caldwell said, she nudges you to keep going.
“She definitely can work a room,” Caldwell said.
And for a senior dog, Tillie is very alert.
“Her eyes are very bright; her hearing is phenomenal. Boy, she can hear a cheese wrapper,” Caldwell said. “In my opinion, she’s not going anywhere. She’s a young senior.”
Caldwell said she and Parendier intend to fill Tillie’s life with joy — for however long she has left.
“I may not have been at the beginning of her life but I’m at the end, and I am now her forever home,” she said.
The post This senior dog was given up for euthanasia. A stranger offered her a new life. appeared first on Washington Post.
