96-year-old Abilene woman feeds dogs at local shelter after her canine companion dies

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – You may have heard a saying about Love has no age. For a 96-year-old Abilene woman, that rings true for her love of dogs. When she has enough strength, she uses that strength to visit the animal shelter and give treats to the dogs.

Dot Sellers has always had a love for dogs, but one special dog instantly comes to mind: her best friend Rascal. As she says, “When a dog is well loved, he will love you and protect you.”

Sadly, Rascal passed away nearly 25 years ago. To this day, however, Sellers says he misses him.

“He was a special dog too. I had him for 13 years,” Sellers said.

Rascal left such a mark on Sellers’ life that when she thought about his funeral plans, she included: “I’m going to be buried with him…He’s going to be put on my casket.”

At 96, Sellers said she was unable to care for another dog. She can only take care of her parakeets – Ben, Bob and Betty. For this reason, she goes to the animal shelter on days when she feels well enough to leave the house.

“All dogs are special — every breed — and they can be taught to do anything,” Sellers advocated.

Even though the animal shelter gets a lot of visitors, All Kind executive director Molly Moser told KTAB/KRBC how unique the vendor visits are.

“Dot has a big heart,” Moser gleamed. “A 96-year-old man coming? It is certainly a record. »

Something as simple as feeding the dogs helps All Kind’s overall initiative, Moser added, “It just helps the staff bring people in and love the animals in our care.”

Although Sellers wants to go back soon, she doesn’t know whether she will come. So she wanted to encourage others to go in her place, if she can’t go back.

“All they have to do is go out there and see them, and I don’t see how they can go out without one… Every dog ​​is special,” Sellers said.

All Kind said the shelter needed volunteers. One of the perks of volunteering is visiting the dogs, but Moser added that the initiative involves getting all of their four-legged guests adopted from care homes.

At the shelter, there has recently been an outbreak of a highly contagious and dangerous animal disease called distemper. The staff asks everyone to have their animals vaccinated.

Some dogs had to be euthanized because of distemper, which causes serious illness.

The virus, Moser explained, usually comes from the community. Vaccinated dogs responded well to the disease.

“It’s a highly contagious and deadly virus for sure… Vaccination is going to help 100% with this virus,” Moser added.

Moser told KTAB/KRBC pet owners to take them to the vet if they appear sick. Cats can be adopted now because distemper is not transmitted from humans to cats.