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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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A senior rescue dog who escaped a life of neglect has finally found out what it’s like to be told “good boy”—and his reaction is everything.
Brittani Wright from Marlton, New Jersey, doesn’t know exactly how old her rescue dog Roger is. He could be 10 or as old as 13. What she does know is that, up until the day she took him home two years ago, Roger’s life had been one of pain and rejection. “I got him out of a kill shelter in Texas,” Wright told Newsweek. “He was completely bald with mange because he was kept outside on a farm.”
Wright was told she was Roger’s fifth owner. “He was abused and neglected and sort of passed down from person to person who took horrible care of him,” she said.
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In different circumstances Roger might have still been sitting in a shelter somewhere or, worse still, not even alive today. The sad reality is that older dogs often get overlooked.
A 2021 study published in the journal Animals exploring the profile of most long-term shelter dogs found they tended to almost always be older canines. Wright is determined to change that perception and dreams of one day devoting her life to senior pets in need. “I hope people will always rescue of course but I want them to see that the older dogs still have so much love to give and truly deserve to be loved so much in their last years,” she said.
Roger's experience with numerous owners, and in a shelter, left an impact that went well beyond anything physical, and things weren’t easy at first. “He had a lot of behavioral issues,” Wright said. “He does not like my daughters because teenagers had tortured him before. We had to keep them separated. He also bit me in the face about a year and a half ago because he was so nervous.”
Wright works as a mail carrier so had come into contact with plenty of different dogs of varying temperament over the years. She knew Roger had suffered before, so even after that biting incident, she wasn’t about to give up on him. “I suffer from mental health issues so I have a special place in my heart for anyone, especially animals, who share that struggle,” she said.
Wright spoke to a vet who prescribed Roger with Fluoxetine, a behavior-modifying medication for dogs that has often been described as a canine form of Prozac. As time ticked on, Roger began to adjust to his new surroundings. He now considers Wright to be more than just another owner, she’s his best friend. “He loves to be with me all the time,” Wright said. “He loves to go to my moms for barbecues and watch football every Sunday with us. We also have a camper that he loves to go on vacation with.”
Wright is so glad she gave Roger the time and patience he needed to thrive. “It really required a lot of patience to earn his trust,” she said. “Someone else might have put him down if they had experienced what I did with him at first."
Wright and her partner have a property on Luke Huron in Lexington, Mississippi, with a private beach Roger loves to play on. His life today is a million miles from the farm he rescued from, but some traces of the pain he experienced for so many years remains. “Wherever I go he follows,” Wright said. “It makes me sad because he's so anxious I’ll leave him somewhere so he feels like he has to stay close.”
Even something as simple as telling Roger he is a “good boy” elicits a reaction that tells Wright so much about her senior dog’s former life. In a video posted to TikTok under the handle @mustermentalhealth, Wright shared a clip of Roger reacting to those two simple words. It’s only a short clip, but Roger’s joy is clear to see. He’s shaking and it almost appears as if he is smiling.
It’s a reaction that made Wright realize something about him. “I don’t think anyone told him he was such a good boy before because he smiles every time I tell him,” she wrote alongside the video. The clip resonated with many on social media. “He loves hearing that,” one viewer wrote. “He starts shaking because he’s so overwhelmed with emotions,” another said with a third commenting: “Awww his wee face, just wants lots of luvvies.”
Roger is thriving with Wright. He’s made friends too. “He loves his dog sisters. I have 5 dogs and his little sister Phyllis is his whole heart,” Wright said. In different circumstances Roger might have still been sitting in a shelter somewhere or, worse still, not even alive today. The sad reality is that older dogs often get overlooked.
A 2021 study published in the journal Animals exploring the profile of most long-term shelter dogs found they tended to almost always be older canines. Wright is determined to change that perception and dreams of one day devoting her life to senior pets in need. “I hope people will always rescue of course but I want them to see that the older dogs still have so much love to give and truly deserve to be loved so much in their last years,” she said.
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