science

Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary

Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary rather than just read about it. In short: Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary (OFSDS), officially Old Friends Senior Dogs, Inc., is a nonprofit animal rescue group in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. It focuses on the rescue of elderly, "senior" dogs from shelters where they are otherwise likely to be euthanized.

Key takeaways

Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary (OFSDS), officially Old Friends Senior Dogs, Inc., is a nonprofit animal rescue group in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. It focuses on the rescue of elderly, "senior" dogs from shelters where they are otherwise likely to be euthanized.

History OFSDS was founded by Zina and Michael Goodin in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Both were mechanical engineers prior to operating the sanctuary. In 2011, they began rescuing Golden Retrievers through the Middle Tennessee Golden Retriever Rescue. The rescue asked the Goodins to adopt an elderly, 15-year-old dog who had been returned to a shelter from a foster family. The dog, Bandit, lived with the Goodins for less than a month before his death. Fostering Bandit was the Goodins' impetus for adopting elderly dogs. They expanded to other breeds, taking in shelter dogs that would otherwise be euthanized. Of the couple's decision to rescue senior dogs, Zina Goodin stated, "Senior dogs were the last to be adopted (if ever) and often ended up being bounced from one foster home to another because of their unique needs and problems, and people’s general unwillingness to bring in a new family member with potentially higher vet bills who may only live for a few months or years.” In 2012, they received official nonprofit status. At first, the Goodins operated the sanctuary out of their home, though they found that some neighbors were not supportive of living next to a dog sanctuary. Prior to 2017, the approximately 50 dogs in care of the sanctuary lived in two separate homes in a residential area. In August 2016, the county zoning board determined that the sanctuary must move due to neighbor complaints. In February 2017, the Goodins opened a dedicated space for the rescued dogs. As of 2022, OFSDS has provided sanctuary to over 1,400 elderly and disabled dogs at its facilities.

Operations OFSDS seeks to improve the lives of senior dogs, which it defines as dogs who are age eight and older. Most of its dogs are at least ten years old, however. It adopts suitable dogs from five regional animal shelters. It includes a network of forever foster homes within 100 mi (160 km) of Mount Juliet, where dogs can be placed with families while still remaining under the ultimate ownership of the sanctuary. While in forever foster homes with Geezer Guardians (forever families), OFSDS continues to provide and cover the costs of all medical care (routine, specialty, and emergency) and preventive healthcare to alleviate some of the burden of adopting an older dog. The forever home provides food and love." Forever foster homes are not charged to forever foster a dog from the sanctuary. As of 2022, approximately 400 dogs are currently in forever homes supported by OFSDS and nearly 120 are looking for their own. OFSDS is dependent on donations for operations. Maintaining the healthcare of elderly dogs is a major expense, with the organization averaging US$20,000 on veterinary bills each month. In addition to donations, they receive money from selling branded merchandise. Selling one such shirt featuring the dog Leo has raised over $93,000 for the organization.

Facilities From 2017 to 2021, OFSDS operated on a 2 acres (0.81 ha) property with a 7,200 ft2 (670 m2) building known as Grandpaw's Gardens, which was formerly a florist business. The property included "a parklike environment with large trees, landscaping, and a greenhouse to convert to a rainy-day play area." As of June 12, 2021, OFSDS operates from The PAWvillions, a custom-built 20,000 sq ft facility situated on 9 acres, less than one mile from its previous location. The new location features a fully-functioning veterinary clinic, splash pad, walking trail, yards for every dog room, an indoor yard, and more. Visitors can sign up via the organization's website to tour the facility.

Following OFSDS has amassed a large social media following, with 1.7 million followers on their Facebook page as of June 2022. Individual dogs within the sanctuary may become particularly beloved by followers. The death of Captain Ron in March 2018 was covered in the Irish Examiner and the death of Leo in 2018 was covered in New York Magazine, for example.

Documentary OFSDS and its founders were also featured in the documentary film Seniors A Dogumentary from director Gorman Bechard. The film premiered in March 2020 at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, and was released on DVD and pay-per-view in September 2020. Sharon Knolle in MoviePaws called it "a heartwarming celebration of these sweet animals and the people who make sure their last years are spent with a lot of love and comfort." A follow-up documentary entitled Old Friends: A Dogumentary, The Paw-Inspiring Tale of Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary from the same director premiered in April 2022 and focuses entirely on the organization's history and mission. Commercial release of this second film is TBD.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary

In research: Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 501(c)(3) organizations, Animal charities based in the United States, Animal sanctuaries, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary in simple terms?

Why does Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary.