As I’m sure many of you have seen by now, Chris Evans puppy interview has finally been released. It was, as predicted, adorable. However, Chris was so overwhelmed by puppies, he barely answered any questions to quote. But since things are so glum right now, we deserve Chris Evans on the floor, babbling in puppy talk, rolling around with the little guys, all of whom he named Buster. The interview is posted below. Chris is in his ultimate happy place, which reduces most of his responses to a joyful, “Who cares?” But ¾ of the way in, the puppies vacated, and a pair of senior dogs are brought into the interview. This was something I had not seen in one of these Buzzfeed puppy interviews. Chris asked them to do that because senior dogs are so often overlooked when people adopt dogs.
On why he chose to adopt an older dog
My dog, Dodger, I rescued him and he was probably two years old at the time. I always thought when I adopted or rescued a dog it would be a puppy. Dodger was a full grown dog and it wasn’t the story I had in my mind but it ended up being the best decision of my life. A lot of adult dogs and older dogs get overlooked and that’s a shame. Let’s give them some love too.No better feeling than earning a dog’s trust is there? An older dog’s love [is] so special, you’ve got to earn it. These guys have probably seen some things. As a result they’re a little wary, that’s why it takes time. I really respect that.
On which costar he’s learned the most from
Probably Downey. He’s seen a lot, been through a lot. He’s so talented. You’d be a fool to not listen.On who he would ask to play him in a biopic
Let’s cast Adam Driver see what he does
How do we feel about Adam Driver playing Chris for a biopic? Chris is far too young to have this discussion, of course, but Adam? I’m having a hard time seeing it. And by the time Chris is old enough to have a biopic made of him, Adam will be too old to play him, too.
I’d like to reiterate that Chris asked for them to take all his Busters away and bring in some senior dogs to highlight them. I’m torn between being turned on and my heart melting. Chris is right, people usually veer towards younger dogs and older/senior dogs aren’t even considered. All dogs present their own challenges to raise. Puppies take as much patience and energy as a baby. Senior dogs are unwaveringly grateful, but many have health challenges and they aren’t with us as long. Those who adopt senior dogs have huge and strong hearts. Jane Lynch adopts and raises awareness for senior dogs, I really admire that about her. Luke Bryan and Kaley Cuoco both adopted senior dogs. Dodger was two when Chris adopted him. That’s not a senior, of course, but adult rescues also have challenges, especially with possible trauma behavior and/or triggers. If you watch the video (right, like any of us aren’t going to watch the video) when Chris talks about earning the dog’s trust, he’s referring to one of the dogs that’s hesitant around Chris. Eventually the dog ends up in his arms, it’s a really sweet moment. I remember when we adopted my girl dog. She came with us but was scared. She trusted our male dog more than she did us. I can still feel the moment she realized she was safe with me in my heart.
Since we’re talking about adopting dogs, I’d like to plug an adoption event this weekend that’s a joint event to educate pet owners on pet CBD. So if you are in LA this weekend, stop by Allbirds at the Westfield Century City and meet these adorable, adoptable pups.
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- Chris Evans arrives for the Lightyear’ film premiere, London, UK,Image: 699429904, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Shaw / Avalon
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- Chris Evans attends ‘Lightyear’ UK Premiere at Cineworld, Leicester Square in London, UK. 13th June 2022.,Image: 699736819, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Chris Evans, Credit line: © Avalon.red / Avalon
Photo credit: YouTube and Avalon Red
Adopt, don’t shop! 👏🙌
This!
I can’t stand “breeders” that see dogs as commodities. My beagles were bred twice each and dropped off at the shelter when their previous owners replaced them with their puppies. Facebook breeders specifically can all rot imo. And any AKC guidelines are bs. Those dogs are still abused.
YES!! Adopt don’t shop! And please get an allergy test if it’s your first dog and you don’t know if you’re allergic or not. Being allergic is not a good excuse, it’s WEAK!
And older dogs are a charm! My dogs were young adult/adults (1 and 3years old) one from the shelter and the other one was abandoned 3 times at 3 years old. They are both the best dogs in the world.
I love this community! You are the best!! 💕
Yes, adopt…and don’t be fixated on breed!
I’ve heard from shelters that it can be hard when people are so focused on one specific breed, they pass over so many loving dogs that defy a categorization. “Mutts” can be just as adorable as any popular breed, and they are just as lovable!!!
As my vet said this weekend, my beloved dog is “one of a kind”, and there’s no one like her! The closest thing she looks like is a berget picard, but ultimately, I don’t care about her breed because her heart is so pure and loving. She’s the BEST and I am so thankful that I didn’t ignore her because she wasn’t a breed that I was familiar with.
I love this!! Our Bailey girl is a one-of-a-kind, too. Full disclosure, we have no idea but she’s yellow and vaguely retriever-ish, so I usually tell people she’s part golden retriever and part North American mess. We adopted her when she was about a year and she’s going to be six this year. She’s definitely seen some stuff–she does not care for strangers (anyone outside the house is a stranger, anyone inside is a friend) or other dogs, but she is a sweet, smart, cuddly darling girl and we love her to bits. Puppies are cute and fun but SO much work. She was more settled and partly housetrained, and she’s smart and eager to please so finishing that was a snap. I’m firmly on “Team Adult Dog!”
Your Bailey sounds like such a good girl!!!! I’m so happy you found each other. I love “North American mess”, so funny! I might have to steal that line. 🙂
The part of the video with the senior pups tugged at my heart so much. I often share about a particular pet rescue in my state on my Instagram. They do a great job with the older pups and baby pups. I wish I could take care of them all and appreciate what Chris had to share. He’s a darling man.
Love this interview! So glad he brought attention to the adoption of older dogs.
Older dogs are the best! I adopted 2 4 year old beagles and they are PERFECT! No puppy phase to eat my shoes and ruin my furniture. Just love and fun. I think they appreciate their lives of comfort more having known harder times.
I HIGHLY recommend volunteering at a shelter to walk dogs and you might fall in love with a sweet adult dog.
Same with cats. I LOVE kittens but I’ve been through that and they’re just so much chaos at that stage in life. When we were looking, I specifically looked at adult cats. I was thinking maybe a 4 year old-we ended up adopting a 6 year old. It was so great, we already knew her general personality and what size she would be (I have a friend who adopted two kittens and they both ended up behemoths) and she’s the absolute sweetest cat I’ve ever met. I remember how excited the people working in the adoption center were because it was right in the middle of kitten season and our girl had been there for ages before we fell in love.
All my cats have been adopted at 2 years old and above where their personalities have already been established. I have a 19.5 year old cat currently and it always breaks my heart to see geriatric cats that have been dumped at the shelter because their owners don’t want to care for them anymore. I also have a Maine Coon who is a 6 year old retired breeder who needed a new home and l gladly adopted her. As much as l love the breed, there is no way I’d ever spend that amount on a cat when there are needy ones at the shelter.
My partner and I were weary about adopting a puppy. The woman at the shelter guided us to a 4 year old smaller mid sized dog. Bacon has been the greatest addition to our family. He is so active, but calm and mellow that we find ourselves always recommending an older dog to our friends with smaller children.
The lady at the shelter we went to also steered us away from adopting a puppy or young dog. She showed us a four year old shepherd mix and a (supposedly) nine year old blind dog. We went with the latter and it was the best decision ever.
I’m more of a cat person, but this is too adorable and I love how his Boston accent creeps out here and there. Absolutely agree – whether it’s dogs or cats – adopt!
Love this. My rescue Sue Ellen was young when i got her, but her whole life she hated men, especially once they stood up. Someone had kicked the crap out of her. I had her most of her life, and certainly no one hurt her after she came to me, but she never forgot.
Jones was 3, now 12, and seems like no one ever hurt him. He is a happy, rambunctious terrier.
Then came my mom’s dog, Honey, who was 10, and had been rescued by my mom 2 years before that. She was an old shih tzu who occasionally peed on the bed. We bought a water proof comforter. When she died last year, it was awful.
But i still found Walter on-line- the rescue described him as “severely neglected”. They bailed him out of the SPCA, got him medical care, and foster care, and he is an old boy who is now severely spoiled. He loves the a/c, the big human bed (with a ramp to get up to it), and it took him awhile, but he learned to love the love. I don’t even think anyone had ever held him before we got him. And he would walk away when we started to pet him. Now he laps it up, and even looks at us when we stop like- hey, don’t you want to pet me some more.
I know we won’t have him that many years. But the pain of the loss is worth it, every day brings joy.
Please adopt dogs and love them, if you are so inclined.
Thank you for sharing these stories. People have so many concerns about adopting pets, especially older dogs because of what they might have lived through, and it’s so important to hear about where you can get to with them. It takes work but so do puppies! Give the older animals a chance too.
We adopted a 2-year-old dog who started life as a stray, got adopted, and then got relinquished back to the shelter. She is the BEST dog. So loving and calm. It was a learning curve with her, though — she was terrified of the car for a long time, probably afraid we would take her back to the shelter. And she is a wanderer. But we adore her and can’t imagine life without her. She’s 5 now and sweet as can be. I’m always glad to hear people plug adopting older/adult dogs.
I agree a two year old isn’t a ‘senior’ but they can come with health challenges. Didn’t his dog have to have dual hip replacement surgeries post-adoption? Was shot w/bbguns while a puppy, ended up rescued by the shelter.
Dodger did need hip surgery but I can’t remember why. I love Dodger and feel honored to have driven by them when they were out for a run. I’m also proud I didn’t drive my car off the road or into the oncoming tourist bus.
I admire your control there.
@lightpurple — If memory serves, it was because he’d been shot in the hip with a BB gun when he was still a street-dog.
Sure do love these posts, and yes to older dog adoptions
I took in my uncles dog a few years ago and she was over 10 years old. She was a Labrador and the sweetest dog ever, she was just so lovely. At ten years old we knew we wouldn’t have her forever and she died about 3 years later, but she was wonderful.
When you adopt a senior dog, you should also be aware that they may come with more health care costs. That is something that isn’t talked about when these conversations come along. If you are privileged/financially able to support the needs of that senior dog, then great. But if not, it’s not fair to the dog, so don’t even bother. I’ve seen it happen before. One person I knew euthanized a dog because they couldn’t afford the treatments (it wasn’t even a terminal disease). Another person gave up their dog for this same reason as well. I adopted mine as a puppy, but she ended up developing glaucoma in her senior years, and now is in the very early stages of Cushing’s. I am fortunate enough to be at a stage in my life where my child is now an adult and my finances are stable enough to make my baby as comfortable as possible, until the time comes when she is no longer comfortable, and I have to let her go, but I have had dumb people tell me I should just put her down. Grrr.
When i took my mom’s dog in, when my mom had dementia- i did that because it was my responsibility. And i took on those costs.
But after Honey died, my mom had died too, and left me a little money.
And i chose to adopt Walter, an old, neglected dog, knowing there would be significant costs. And i use my mom’s money for that. It was a choice, and without her money, it would be much harder to have senior dog. But you are right, it needs to be talked about, and people have to have their eyes open going in.
Dental surgery $2500
Low grade cancerous cyst removal surgery $900 + initial biopsy, sedation and appt for said cyst $700
So happy i am able to do it.
Adoption of ANY dog/pet can lead to medical costs. Even young dogs can have allergies/medical issues, so getting a puppy doesn’t mean you are exempt from that possibility.
If the dog is in the final years of its life, yes, it will probably have higher than average medical costs. But if you get an adult dog that is 3-5 years old, I wouldn’t think you’d have that many more medical bills than a puppy (possibly less, because they don’t try to eat everything).
You can get pet health insurance. Check different policies as some do not cover preexisting conditions but others do. It is worth the cost in the end IMO.
We have 2 amazing and completely spoiled English bulldogs that we got as puppies. We LOVE the bulldog breed but bulldogs always have health issues and shorter life spans. I always tell people who admire my bulldogs and say they want one to do their research because they will have some health issue sooner or later.
We have decided that when these 2 break our hearts by crossing over the rainbow bridge, the rest of our bulldogs will be adult/senior rescues. Having had bulldogs for over 20 years, we know the issues and expense that comes along with them. Many people don’t and often surrender bulldogs because their typical and expected health issues become too costly. Then these poor babies end up in shelters or worse. In an effort to curb the breeding and sheltering situation with bulldogs, we just want to do our small part going forward.
Yes! My dog is an English/French bulldog mix and we got him as a puppy. He’s amazing and relatively healthy (for the breed at least) but people do not understand how expensive it can be with bulldogs! They shell out so much money for a puppy because they’re ridiculously cute and then are unprepared for the other costs (palate surgery, special food, etc). Definitely interested in rescuing a bully In the future now that I have experience with the breed and know what to expect.
I think I saw a story recently here in the UK where vets (??) were asking people to stop buying certain breeds that are just too over-bred and the health conditions have become so bad as a result. They’re saying that the breeds need to be adjusted/un-bred (probably not the right language there) to make some of the characteristics less exaggerated and the breeds healthier.
I adopted a 9 year old chihuahua almost four years ago. He is the best boy.
Keith Olbermann is constantly promoting grown dogs that are in danger of being murdered by the NYACC. Check out his twitter.
We got our two big boys when they were almost completely grown from an animal rescue. They’re charming and needy and the most rambunctious boys we ever had.
I don’t actually like puppies. They’re adorable but I don’t want them. Both my rescues were about two years old when I picked them up. While puppies are adorable, they’re more work than I’d like. I’ve lucked out and have had great dogs each time. But maybe it’s not me, older dogs get an undeserved bad rep.
Cat person here but SAME! I’ve always had adult cats, and living with a housemate who adopted a kitten put me off ever having one- soooo much work and stress!
He’s right. I once adopted a 12 year old male Bijon and named him Max. He had been dumped on the street and ended up in a kill shelter. I got him cancer treatment within the first 3 weeks of owning him. I wanted to be his fairy godmother. I owned him for 2 years and 9 months. He slept in his own soft bed next to my bed. I always believed that if there is a heaven, he will be a good deed on my soul. I will never forget him and encourage others to adopt older dogs.
I have had one puppy in my life, and that was enough, and I still have the furniture with teeth marks to prove it, Chris Evans isn’t only hot as fire, he’s practical!
I worked for a non-profit, no kill animal shelter in my early 30s, and I haven’t had a dog that wasn’t an adult when I adopted since then. You can trust when a reputable shelter labels a dog as “good with kids”, “good with cats”, as well as when they say a dog needs constant companionship, and never ignore when they say a dog is an “escape artist”.
Chris Evans is doing his “Best Chris” work when it’s with dogs. This made me cry. He shooed out puppies to bring in adult dogs who needed adopting. Full stop.
ETA: Puppies are worse than babies, because they are mobile from day one, and they have teeth from day one. Babies give you a little lag time before they can move and chew,independently. I would choose a baby before a puppy, and I am 47 and in no need of a baby, like at all.
We adopted Lady, our Rough Collie, when she was 5. We had her for 8 wonderful years. She was the sweetest, most gentle dog ever. So good with our kids and just adored being with the family.
Dogs are the best. Our dog is getting on in years (14) and he’s had insurance since birth so he’s covered for just about everything. Chris isn’t wrong. Wish I could afford to cover all the healthcare costs for all senior dogs all over the world where their owners can’t. Wish I could pay for all the healthcare costs of dogs whose owners can’t/won’t, full stop, actually.
I got a dog for the first time n my life a few months ago. He’s a 10 year old chihuahua and he’s brought so much joy to my life
Aww man, this is great. I’ve been following an influencer who adopted a beautiful 11 year old pup this year and showered him with love and comfort, he became such a highlight of my feed, and sadly he got cancer and passed away all within about 5-6 months! I can’t believe how upset I was!
Dogs really can bring so much joy, it’s really nice of people to bring joy to the old dogs in their later years too.