Old dogs can learn new tricks

Samson (formerly known as Guss) adopted by Nathan and Hope on 10/17/2017

Shortly after my husband and I got married and moved into our first apartment we decided that we wanted a dog. We were set on adopting only young dogs, preferably a puppy if available. I went on the website for the DFW Humane Society and found a 1 year old black lab that we were certain we wanted. The day we went out to meet this dog, we stumbled across an old black lab one kennel before we got to the young pup. He was a brute of a dog with his body pressed against the gate of the kennel, but most of all he looked sad. I felt so bad for the old dog that I just had to take him out to the yard to play for a bit–just to give him some attention as we were set on getting the younger dog.
We should have known better. We instantly got attached to the old guy (formerly Guss). We liked him so much that for the next three days we went back to the shelter to hang out with Guss. By the fourth day we knew he was the one for us. I still remember the day we adopted him; the staff was so excited that an older dog was getting adopted and they gifted us with toys and a big box of milk bone dog treats. Guss had just recently been relocated there after being at a different shelter where his previous owners had abandoned him, so it was a very happy day for everyone.
Fast forward to now, and (now) Samson feels as though he’s been ours forever. He loves his daddy and he loves his tennis balls. He has a 2 year old sister kitty and a 3 month old sister puppy and they all get along super well. Samson has even learned some tricks with us! My favorite is “bark”, which he does when I cup my hand over my ear like I can’t hear something. We love our big furry family, and it all started with our best boy Samson.