Laurie Dorr with dogs Lucy, Bama and Mera at Dorr’s Finally Home Senior Dog Rescue in North Yarmouth. Mikayla Patel / The Forecaster
Three years ago, Laurie Dorr decided to fulfill her longtime dream of providing a forever home for senior dogs.
Since then, she has housed 19 older dogs and has built an addition onto her North Yarmouth home to accommodate them. She makes sure the dogs are well-fed and comfortable, get their daily walks, receive any medical attention they might need, and are on the receiving end of plenty of loving attention. She also found time in June to donate a kidney to a stranger.
Teddy came to Finally Home from a hoarding situation. Mikayla Patel / The Forecaster
This weekend Dorr will host Finally Home Senior Dog Rescue’s second annual Pack Party at Toddy Brook Golf Club to raise money to help provide for the 11 dogs, ranging in age from 8 to about 15, currently in her care.
Last year’s Pack Party proceeds helped Dorr and her husband build an enclosed porch onto their house for the dogs. Money raised this year will go toward veterinary care, Dorr said. One dog, Teddy, who she thinks could be anywhere from 8 to 12 years old, has a brain tumor and suffers from seizures. Dorr wants to take him to a neurologist to figure out whether surgery could give him some happy and peaceful final years.
Last year, seven of her dogs died. “Two of them actually died in my arms,” she said.
For the most part, though, Dorr doesn’t think about how little time she might have left with them.
Lucy and Zoey relax on a bed while Carolyn reclines behind. Mikayla Patel / The Forecaster
“I just live for today, do the best I can and give them everything I can give them,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it if I focused on the future.”
The dogs of Finally Home each has its own story of how it ended up there. Some had owners who passed away or simply were no longer able to care for them, while other dogs moved around to different animal shelters and foster homes before coming to live at Dorr’s Finally Home.
“All they really seem to want is love and attention,” Dorr said. “I kind of spoil them because I don’t know how much time they have left.”
Volunteers regularly visit to take the dogs for walks or help out with events, but Dorr could always use more help, Dorr said, and the dogs love all the attention and visitors they can get.
She encourages anyone who wants a dog but may not be able to commit to 15 years of caring for one to look into adopting a senior dog.
Mera likes attention. Mikayla Patel / The Forecaster
“They don’t ask for a lot,” she said. “Usually they’re really good and they love their walks.”
Unlike young dogs and puppies that eagerly pull on the leash when on a walk, older dogs like to take their time and smell the flowers, she said.
Dorr said she has appreciated all the support she has received for Finally Home, so much so that she wanted to give back.
In June, she donated a kidney to a woman she had never met.
“I felt like, why wouldn’t I do it? It’s a small risk, so for me it’s kind of a no-brainer, and I’m very glad I did it, and she’s doing fine from what I hear,” Dorr said.
“During these times I would encourage people to donate, not just financially, but time, energy and love,” she said. “A lot of people need it, and a lot of animals need it. You don’t want to get to the end of your life, and you didn’t do the things you wanted to do.”
The Pack Party will be held from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, and will feature animal psychic Sarah Moore of Downeast Dog Magazine, live music and end-of-life pet photographer Lauren Kennedy. A silent auction will also be held and food and merchandise will be available. For more information, go to finallyhomerrh.wixsite.com or Finally Home’s Facebook page.
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