How Adopting Luna Saved My Life
Earlier this month, we emailed our adopters to ask for heartfelt stories to share about their senior adoptees. This letter from Aaron S. about his journey through sobriety, and the important role his senior dog Luna plays in it, really moved us. We are honored he shared it with us so we can share it with you... Dear BARCS Supporter, To say I was struggling is an understatement. For eight long years, I was in a…
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How Field Trip Changed Our Lives
Dear BARCS Supporter, My husband and I adopted "Field Trip" back in March from BARCS. When we got him, he was almost nine years old; his fee was waived thanks to the "Love Lasts Forever" program. Trip, as we now call him, had been in and out of BARCS for the better part of two years, and he had a thick stack of papers that made up his extensive medical record. It seemed that no one wanted to give this sweet, olde…
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Pippa's Bucket List
10-year-old Pippa's story began like many others in our shelter: she arrived at BARCS through no fault of her own after her owner could no longer care for her. She was a happy, spunky gal who loved spending time outside and munching on treats. During her intake examination, our skilled and caring veterinary staff noted that Pippa had several mammary masses. During her spay surgery, our team removed two masses and sent them to a …
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Moose Didn't Have Many Days Left...
Dear BARCS Supporter, In 2020, my family moved to Pennsylvania from Boston. My husband always promised if we moved out of the city we could adopt more "elderbulls," our favorite, and help them live out their final days in a loving family. At that time, we had two old pups. But when I saw Moose’s picture online, I knew he would be ours. He was just too cute with his big smile and personality as a goofy, wigg…
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Brownie's Happy Tail
Do you happen to remember this face? We sent an email about Brownie two years ago. At the time, she was part of our Giving Tuesday campaign because she was one of the oldest and most overlooked dogs at our shelter. In 2020, she was found wandering around Baltimore city streets by herself. Our team was able to track down her owner, but the outcome wasn't the fairy tale we hoped for. Heartbreakingly, her former owner indicated that B…
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Frankie's Journey to Peace
My senior cat, Frankie, has undoubtedly changed my life for the better. I met Frankie in May 2019 when I was at BARCS to volunteer and walk dogs. The same day that I met him, I fell in love, and I welcomed him home. Frankie had already been at the shelter for several months at that point. When he first arrived, the BARCS veterinary team noticed he was missing most of the fur on his face and had open wounds all over his body, like…
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My Sweet Senior Love Babybell
It feels like fate that I met Babybell. I wasn’t supposed to be fostering her, but within a minute of arriving at BARCS to pick up my first ever foster dog, he had gotten adopted. The team let me know that another dog had just come in that day, and would I be interested in fostering her? Babybell was 16 years old, blind and hard of hearing, so she wouldn’t do well in the new, strange and overwhelming shelter. When I met her…
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My Constant Companion
I'd been volunteering for about a year at BARCS when I decided I was ready for a cat. And, based on all the lovebugs I'd met, I knew I wanted to adopt a senior. A big orange 10-year-old guy caught my eye. BARCS named him (appropriately) Garfield. He was hefty and laid back and he had the most adorable underbite. I fell madly in love. Garfield was so big that the carrier I'd bought to bring him home was too small. He w…
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No "Right Time" to Fall in Love
As a BARCS employee, I’ve learned that there’s no “right time” to fall in love with an animal. Nine months after having my daughter, I was finally starting to feel like my house wasn’t in total chaos anymore. My husband and I were lucky to already have a senior dog and two cats in our townhome. All was well. And then I saw Connie’s picture online. She was exactly our type: a long-haired, shortstac…
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Griffey's Second Chance
Pets with families who love them should not find themselves homeless when resources and solutions exist to help them—and that includes our new temporary boarding program for families in crisis, Keeping Pets With Families. Senior pets are particularly vulnerable to sometimes severe medical conditions that can be costly, putting their beloved human family members in a tough financial spot. Today, we want to thank The Grey Muzzle…
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