Senior Dog & Senior Citizen Care

 Pattie’s Waggin’ Tails Senior Sanctuary exists to protect the dignity, comfort, and quality of life of senior dogs while addressing the growing social, emotional, and economic needs of senior citizens through compassionate, sustainable companionship. Our mission is grounded in the belief that aging—whether human or canine—should never be a reason for neglect, isolation, or disposability. Through our Senior Citizens for Senior Dogs Forever Foster Program, we intentionally connect two vulnerable populations in ways that honor their needs, remove financial barriers, and create meaningful, life-affirming bonds.

Senior dogs are among the most at-risk animals in the welfare system. As dogs age, their chances of adoption decline sharply, particularly once they reach double-digit ages. Dogs over the age of ten are often bypassed in shelters due to assumptions about medical cost, shortened lifespan, or behavioral challenges related to trauma, sensory loss, or chronic illness. Those over age eleven are frequently deemed unadoptable altogether. Many arrive at shelters not because they are unwanted, but because their owners have experienced illness, death, housing instability, or financial hardship. These dogs often lose not only their homes, but the routines and relationships that once defined their lives.

Pattie’s Waggin’ Tails Senior Sanctuary was founded to intervene at this critical point. We commit to covering every expense for the lifetime of each senior dog age eleven and older who enters our care. This includes all veterinary services, emergency and routine medical treatment, medications, food, specialty diets, monthly preventatives, and transportation. This lifetime-care commitment allows us to say yes to dogs others cannot and ensures that no placement decision is driven by cost rather than compassion.

Yet rescue alone is not enough. Senior dogs do not simply need survival—they need homes where they are known, loved, and prioritized. They thrive in calm, stable environments where they can form attachments, maintain routines, and receive individualized attention. The Senior Citizens for Senior Dogs Forever Foster Program was created to meet this need while also addressing a parallel, often overlooked issue: social isolation and a lack of companionship among senior citizens.

Across our communities, older adults face increasing isolation due to retirement, loss of spouses or peers, health limitations, and reduced mobility. Many live on fixed incomes and are deeply aware of the rising costs associated with pet ownership, particularly veterinary care. While companionship animals are proven to reduce loneliness, support mental health, and provide structure and purpose, many seniors are advised against adopting pets due to financial risk or concerns about long-term responsibility. As a result, countless seniors who would benefit most from companionship go without it.

Our Forever Foster Program was designed to eliminate these barriers entirely. Through this program, 

Pattie’s Waggin’ Tails Senior Sanctuary pairs senior citizens age sixty and older with senior dogs age ten and older, creating carefully considered matches based on temperament, activity level, and lifestyle. The sanctuary remains fully responsible for all financial and medical aspects of the dog’s care, allowing the foster caregiver to focus solely on companionship, daily care, and emotional connection. There is no adoption fee, no veterinary expense, and no financial obligation at any point.

This model is intentionally different from traditional fostering or adoption. It recognizes that companionship should not be a privilege reserved only for those with financial security. By removing economic pressure, the program allows senior citizens to experience the joy and benefits of pet companionship without fear, uncertainty, or guilt. It also ensures that senior dogs receive consistent, loving care in home environments that prioritize their comfort and emotional well-being.

Transportation support is a critical component of this mission. Pattie’s Waggin’ Tails Senior Sanctuary provides transportation to and from veterinary appointments and sanctuary support visits within a 60 mile radius of our home base in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. This service ensures that limited mobility, lack of transportation, or health constraints do not prevent seniors from participating in the program or dogs from receiving timely medical care.

The impact of this program extends far beyond individual placements. By placing senior dogs in loving homes, we reduce pressure on shelters, decrease the likelihood of euthanasia due to age or medical cost, and create a sustainable model of care that honors both animal welfare and human well-being. For senior citizens, the program offers companionship, routine, emotional connection, and renewed purpose. For senior dogs, it offers stability, comfort, and the chance to be the center of attention once more.

Pattie’s Waggin’ Tails Senior Sanctuary currently cares for an ever-changing pack of approximately twenty-four senior dogs, each with a unique history and set of needs. Our sanctuary is not a retirement home; it is a halfway house for senior dogs on their journey to families where they can experience life in a home again. We welcome visitors, community members, and potential foster participants to meet our dogs, learn about senior animal care, and understand the importance of compassionate end-of-life planning.

While adoption is available for dogs under the age of ten and for adopters under the age of sixty, our core mission remains centered on senior dogs and senior citizens. Every program decision is guided by the belief that aging populations—human and animal alike—deserve respect, stability, and thoughtful support systems.

At its heart, Pattie’s Waggin’ Tails Senior Sanctuary exists to challenge the notion that age diminishes worth. Through lifelong care commitments and innovative companionship programs, we strive to ensure that no senior dog spends their final years forgotten and no senior human is denied the comfort of companionship due to financial constraint. We believe that love does not expire with age—and that when senior dogs and senior citizens are given the chance to care for one another, both lives are immeasurably enriched.