Only 3 UK regions are searching for senior dog adoption

As well as edging one month closer to Christmas and welcoming colder and crisper weather, November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month, a month dedicated to helping older dogs find a forever home. It isn’t surprising to learn that older dogs experience great difficulty when trying to find a new and loving family—it is a sad reality we should all be aware. After all, every animal deserves to experience unconditional love (especially dogs), additional care for their needs like hypoallergenic dog food, treats, and toys.

Rescuing dogs in any capacity is a wonderful thing to do. After all, you’re providing a home for a dog that undoubtedly feels confused and missing the love and affection they deserve. However, there is a huge conversation right now around the soaring demand for puppies, leading to significantly more older dogs spending more, or even all, of their lives in kennels.

In hope of raising adoption rates for older good boys and girls, here, we will explore Google search data around buying and adopting dogs to find out which regions are searching the most to adopt older dogs.

Puppies continue to take the lead

According to the data, it seems that puppies are continuing to take the lead in terms of interest. Searches for “unwanted puppies needing homes near me” experienced significant growth for all 11 regions researched in the data in the UK, with searches in South East increasing 2,082%, North East 1,660%, and Midlands and London increasing 1,606%.

Of course, it’s important that abandoned puppies find love, but we want to give older dogs a fair chance at happiness too. There will always be a significant interest in puppies, with reports from June during lockdown finding that puppy prices soared as much as £10,000 to take advantage of the growing demand. 

Generally, all regions were interested in adopting a dog, with that term experiencing the highest search volume across each. Sadly, searches for “senior dogs for adoption” grew in only three regions, growing 100% in the Midlands and South East, 50% in London, and actually shrinking 50% in East of England. This is sad news for good old boys and girls.

Puppies are chubby bundles of happiness and soft fur, but older dogs can provide just as much love and joy as their younger counterparts. Think how much we love our grandparents—you’d want them to spend their remaining time surrounded by people who love them wouldn’t you? Old dogs deserve that too!

It’s worth noting in positive news, however, that every region consistently showed significant growth in searches for animal rescue shelters. For example, searches for “adopt a dog UK” grew 400% in Northern Ireland and “animals to adopt near me” grew 320% in North West.

We need to pay more attention to dogs who are disadvantaged when it comes to finding a forever home. The data also sadly showed that there was a 0% growth in searches for “aggressive dog rescue” and “special needs dog rescue”, where dogs may need extra special care attention from experienced dog owners.

The benefits of adopting a senior dog

There are more than enough reasons to choose a wise and old four-legged friend!

No puppy training

Everyone loves puppies—they’re small, cute, and loving. But old dogs can be all of these things too. Of course, depending on your situation, having a puppy might be the wrong decision, particularly if you don’t have the time or energy to keep up with their demanding little pup ways.

A significant amount of time, training, and attention needs to be invested to rear them into responsible dog adults. By opting for an older dog, you get what you see. You have a clear idea of their personality, temperament, and needs, so you can schedule your days around them accordingly. 

Snoozes

Typically, older pets are calmer than pups and will be content with a relaxing daily routine. You don’t have to worry about burning their energy and can let them snooze the day away.

You can teach an old dog new tricks

If they don’t know any already, it’s actually possible to teach an old dog new tricks and they can be easier to train than young pups. This is great for learning basic commands.

You should only get a pet if you’re committed to caring for it for the rest of its life. After all, although a dog is part of your life, you are your dog’s whole life.