This is Dexter, an almost-13-year-old black lab mix. He loves playing with toys, napping, and meeting new people and dogs.

Dexter is a BBD, or a Big Black Dog. He was given up by the human family he had known most of his life because they had a child. So, Dexter was to be surrendered to an animal shelter at the age of 12. It is well know among animal shelter workers that BBDs are the last to be adopted, if they are adopted at all. Older dogs are also less likely to be adopted. So, in all likelihood, Dexter would not have made it out of that shelter. He would have been killed, as are 3-4 million dogs and cats who enter shelters each year.

Given that more than 50% of dogs and cats who enter shelters are killed for lack of homes, many shelters are being proactive about placing older dogs, black dogs, and dogs who do not have behavioral problems.

This past Sunday, an article by Charles Siebert in The New York Times Magazine went inside a shelter in Texas to learn about temperament testing, and the sad fate of dogs who don’t pass the tests. Even though dogs entering shelters might not do well on the tests because they are in unfamiliar, highly stressful situations, it is still a death sentence. Unfortunately, shelters do not have the resources to work with dogs on behavioral issues. Be sure to watch the audio slide show, A Dog Story, accompanying the article about the personal impact the shelter had on Siebert.

Dexter is now happily living with my friend Chris, who couldn’t bear the thought of Dexter going off to a shelter to die.

To help dogs like Dexter who are abandoned later in life, consider donating to Old Dog Haven, which provides doggie assisted living and hospice care as well as senior dog placement assistance.

Photos:  Dexter smiling. Dexter naps artfully with toys.