Now Even Dogs are Victims of Age Discrimination

At petside.com, Amanda Kelly writes that a  new report from the American Veterinary Medical Association has recategorized the age groupings of dogs and cats.

“With their new age classifications, the AVMA concedes that small dogs and cats are considered elderly at age seven, and larger dogs are considered geriatric at as young as six.

On the surface, the new labels may not mean much to the everyday pet owner. But for those in the adoption world, these new labels raise the question: what does this mean for shelter dogs?

With the new labels, dogs normally considered middle age will now be viewed as “old dogs”, an undesirable label for pets seeking to be adopted. According to an AP-Petside.com poll that ran last November, only 15 percent of Americans looking to adopt a pet were in the market for a senior pet.

Despite the age labels, there are many benefits to adopting an older dog.”