At Last, Puppy Love for Older Dogs

Now that Stump's the oldest winner in Westminster's 133-year history, can old dogs get a little respect, already?

If you know nothing else about Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee -- a.k.a. "Stump" -- you've probably heard that the Sussex Spaniel is the oldest dog to ever nab Best in Show in the 133 years of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. (For the record, Stump is 10, or about 70 in human years.) This is a victory for old pets everywhere -- albeit a bitter one. Because canine ageism is a silent epidemic, people.

When's the last time you saw an old dog doing anything other than lumbering through a commercial for "Senior" pet food?

Answer: Never.

Just like with actresses of a certain age, there are no good parts for old dogs. It's all puppies this, puppies that, look at the tiny squirmy Shiba Inus on the puppycam, la la la. Dogs have it bad, but so do cats, and (to a lesser extent) bunnies. To get any oldster cred in the pet world, you pretty much have to be a parrot -- because everyone will ooh and aaah when you hit 89 and get placed in foster care because you outlived your owner.

Based on our highly unscientific research of CuteOverload.com (read: we have it bookmarked and mainline it like the junkie we are), 99.9992 percent of canine content features either puppies or dogs in the vital prime of youth. In fact, this golden retriever is the only visibly elderly dog we can recall seeing on the site, ever, and the poor thing has to be upstaged by a baby. And if even that's too much for you, there's DailyPuppy.com, and PuppiesDen.com, and PuppyPictures.org.

So congratulations, Stump. You're basically the canine Meryl Streep. Let's hope your win opens the door for the old dogs that come after you.

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