Like the rest of us, Jane Lynch has found herself spending much more time at home than usual. Lucky for Jane, she has plenty of company to keep her busy with her rescue pups. Jane’s partnering with ElleVet Sciences on Pets In Need that provides services to pets left homeless by COVID-19. The partnership was a natural one for Jane because she was already an ElleVet client, considering she and girlfriend Jennifer Cheyne rescue senior dogs to give them a home for their twilight years.
Jane Lynch has used her time in quarantine to become closer to dogs, especially her cocker spaniel Rumi.
Lynch added, “He and I have become so close. Almost too close, that he growls at anybody that comes near me. … He’s a bit of a handful, but we’re Frick and Frack. We have a really tight relationship. And, when I leave, I go get my coffee in the morning and I take a walk in the neighborhood, he’s absolutely bereft.”
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actress recently teamed up with ElleVet Sciences for its relief mission, Pets In Need. The initiative is intended to provide aid to homeless pets who have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Veterinarians partnering with ElleVet will travel across select U.S. cities to provide care, food and essential supplies to pets in need.
Lynch was already an ElleVet supporter as she has used some of their dog supplements to help her own pets. “We adopt seniors. So the minute we get them, they usually need some kind of healthcare,” Lynch explained to Us. “[My vet Patrick Mahaney has] been wonderful. He’s helped us with so many dogs and he’s a part of it, so he turned me on to it.”
Jane and Jennifer lost their pittie/shepherd mix, Millie, last Thanksgiving. They usually have three dogs at home but since Rumi is such a handful, they’ve been sticking with just him and Bernice for now. I love stories of folks who adopt senior dogs for their final years, like Luke Bryan and his wife who adopted Poochie. But, as Jane said, whoever adopts senior dogs needs to be prepared to assume their medical needs, which can be immediate and extensive. Fortunately, there are so many more options now with in home vets and mobile vets. Senior cats are great pets as well. It’s always the kittens that go first but older cats make such lovely companions for folks who don’t have the energy for a kitten.
Jane said that she and Rumi were growing so close because usually, Jane is in New York half her time, so quarantine’s allowed her to bond with Rumi. And that’s wonderful, but what’s going to happen when Jane has to resume traveling for work? If Rumi can’t handle her going to get coffee, Jane had best start booking Rumi some companion tickets. I guess Jennifer takes care of the pups while Jane’s away. Since they co-sleep with their doggos anyway, they probably relish the extra room in the bed.
Photo credit: Instagram and WENN/Avalon
So if you mix a shepherd and a pittie, is it a….. shittie? :0
Jane Lynch is looking great!
😂🤭
Aww I love senior dogs. I lost my rescue last year after 14 years together and I miss him everyday. Puppies are cute and all but I love the calm energy of older dogs who are couch potatoes.
I lost my baby last summer. She was 13-1/2 so we had 12 amazing years together. Luckily, there was a family emergency rescue and I had to take my now ~5 year-old girl almost immediately and wasn’t sure I’d keep her because she was so different, but now I couldn’t live without her and I’m glad their personalities are miles apart. If this one wasn’t so completely deprived she wouldn’t have needed me as much which bonded us much faster. I’m never getting puppies again. Too much chaos and destruction, although I do miss that new puppy smell.
I lost my 13 1/2 year old baby last summer as well. We’d been together for 12 years. My heart still hurts, but I just applied to adopt another pup. I can’t handle a senior dog; I am not ready to go through losing another dog so soon.
Damn this hit me in the feels. I recently had to put my 12 year old basset hound down very suddenly a few days after he was diagnosed with cancer, it took a few weeks to have him diagnosed and seeing him age so rapidly broke my heart. It made me so happy that I was able to work from home and be with him night and day. Elderly dogs are often dumped By their families for a puppy who is “more fun” and it breaks my heart.
If I had more financial means and time I would do what Jane does, specifically target senior dogs for rescuing.
There is a special place in heaven for people like you and Jane who protect and nurture animals who are the most vulnerable among us. We have spent many years rescuing animals with special needs.
It sickens me that it is still socially acceptable to think of animals as insignificant and expendable.
I think a huge problem is that it’s too easy to buy / adopt a dog or cat in the US. In Germany it is illegal to sell cats and dogs in pet stores and potential adoptees always get checked before the can get one from a shelter. We still have problems with stray cats (because people don’t spay/neuter their outdoor cats) but not with dogs. I noticed that people who BUY their pet often treat it more like an object or a trophy…as long as it’s cute.
It hit me in the feels, too! My sweet dog of 15 years passed away a couple years ago, and the few months before we said goodbye she had some serious challenges. She had some dementia, and would get confused frequently. My bf and I talked about how when you get a dog, you sign up for it all. It’s important to be there for them and provide comfort when they are preparing to leave us. When we finally said goodbye, the vet thanked us. She said so many people drop off their pets and aren’t there when it happens because they say they can’t take it. I could never abandon my dog that way.
I’ve often thought about what I’d do if I didn’t have to work, and I’d love to foster a bunch of dogs with a focus on elderly dogs. I’ve heard about a “dog hospice”, and thought it sounds like such a needed service.
I hope Jane never gets cancelled. I really like her.
*squee* that dog is just soo *squee*
My brothers and I are trying to get our dad to adopt a senior doggie to keep him company and help with his mental health after the passing of my mum earlier in the year. It’s still a work in progress but we think an older dog would suit him better and hopefully wouldn’t mind being at home more, though he does have a decent sized back garden for doggie to run around in. We don’t think he’d cope with a younger, more energetic dog.
She sucks.
Love to hear senior doggos getting furever homes <3
Love to hear senior doggos getting furever homes <3
The two male kittens I found turned 16yo on June 1st. Their sister, whom I scooped one year later, was 15yo on the first. I have 3 cats over the age of 15 and they are all in great shape. One has slightly dimming eyesight and his brother requires a louder pitch when being spoken to but other than that they are healthy, funny, and sweet little animals who make me so happy.
We recently adopted an 11-year-old dog who had spent his entire life in the shelter before. He is awesome and is surprisingly well behaved even though he had not been trained at all before. In the first months we spent about 1000 euros on vet bills and meds because he had a chronic ear infection and needed all kinds of health checks (blood, stool, urine). His digestion is still shaky and needs more attention. So yes, he is quite expensive in that area but so can be a puppy who is just overbred or a puppy mill victim.
Aww … Tears and joy. We have three rescue cats, two were abandoned and neglected. The third had a foster home was loved and cared for before he came home to us. Our lives would be missing a part of living without them.
That’s a wonderful thing for her to do! Senior dogs have so much love to give.
I’ll also put in an endorsement for adopting an adult cat, and would urge people to consider information beyond the “senior” label. An 8-year-old cat (or small breed dog) is closer to middle age than old age, but will generally still be called a senior and struggle to find a home.
Three of our four cats are about 9 years old. None of them look or behave their age.
We adopted a senior dog from a friend who was going to put her down before she moved out of state. 16 year old Sophie the Shih Tzue has been with us almost 4 months and she seems to be enjoying her “retirement home.” We’ve already spent a small fortune on her, getting a couple health issues fixed, but she’s worth it. She’s a rather stoic/noncuddly dog in general, but she does look forward to couple short cuddles and walks during the day now :-). She’s been perfect for our lifestyle and I would definitely consider adopting a senior dog again, they deserve to be comfortable and happy in their twilight years too :-).
Bless them!!! I love reading stuff like this. I adopted a dog with a lot of disabilities and loved him with all my heart for the few years we had together. I still miss the little guy. 😞
It’s a crap shoot on adoption. I adopted a beautiful little Calico girl (9 week-old kitten) on Friday and had to put her down yesterday after watching her whittle down to skin and bones starting on Saturday evening. Took her to the emergency vet Sunday and she was given a clean bill of health (don’t get me started on the red flags the “dr” missed). Took her back yesterday morning after she went limp trying to drink from her saucer of special kitten milk. Turns out, she had a congenital kidney deformity. I’m wrecked and upset that she had to suffer two more days because the dr we had Sunday didn’t do her job. I always adopt kitties who are at least 6 mos old (cuz that’s when the kitten cuteness starts to wear off and people don’t want them), so I give tons of credit to people who have the stomach to adopt older and know that they won’t have much time with their fur baby. Sorry for the long post. Just really sad today and know there are animal lovers here.
I’m so sorry about your loss. Hugs to you
I’ve had 2 senior cats who I loved dearly but nearly broke the bank with both. I always said I would adopt senior cats, but I’m not longer in the financial situation that I can. I admire anyone who does adopt senior pets, not only because of the money involved, but because of all the heartache that comes with losing a pet.