Seniors Helping Seniors by Anna

Seniors Helping Seniors by Anna - February 2020 Scholarship Essay

His eyes met mine, the dark orbs surrounded by wrinkles that told of years of pain and desperation. The nameplate on his kennel told me that he was twelve years old and had spent four of those years locked up in the no-kill dog shelter. Glancing over to his right, I saw another rescue dog, this one a delicate puppy with soft, golden fur and large, warm eyes. To no surprise, his sign said that he was adopted.

I felt an overwhelming desire to save these older dogs that no one seemed to want, but I knew I could not take them myself. Considering the possible places they could go, I was struck with an idea. If I had learned one thing about senior citizens from volunteering at my local retirement home, it was that they adore company and companionship: exactly what a dog provides. If I could somehow match the residents with an older dog in need of love and care, I would be helping them find a way to keep active and fight loneliness, while simultaneously providing these senior dogs with a home.

To accomplish this, I would create a non-profit organization that relies on the help of volunteers and donations to ensure that each adoptee goes to its new home with the basic requirements: food, toys, a leash, a bed, etc. Though ambitious, it would be incredible if this organization could also cover the dog’s medical bills, saving the owners from any future stress. Even if I only succeed in getting one senior dog into a new home, that would be one less abandoned dog in the shelters, one less lonely resident of the senior home, and one more unbreakable bond tying two souls together for life.