Lexa Esposito and her boyfriend Tim had talked about getting a dog ever since they moved in together on the Upper East Side, but neither took the idea too seriously until Esposito found King in July 2015.
King, a pit bull, had spent more than seven months at shelters in NYC, but as soon as Esposito saw his photo on Susie’s Senior Dogs — a social media feed that promotes older canines who need to find homes — she knew he was the one.
“Something caught my eye,” said Esposito, 25. Even though King was 10, not a frisky puppy and suffered from severe anxiety, the couple couldn’t resist. “He was such a love bug,” Esposito recalled. Once they got him home, King would sleep in the couple’s bed and even had after-hours run of the Michael Kors boutique where Esposito works.
Their story is one of more than 25 in “Susie’s Senior Dogs” (Gallery Books, out now). Written by Erin Stanton, the book is an extension of her Facebook and Instagram accounts of the same name, which have helped 650 dogs find homes since she created Susie’s three years ago.
“People think that ‘senior dog’ means a dog that’s on their death bed, but in reality, once a dog hits the age of 3 their adoption chances plummet,” Erin, an Upper West Side resident, told The Post.
Her own life was changed when she met Susie, a Chihuahua mix adopted by her then-boyfriend (now-husband) Brandon Stanton, in 2011. Brandon, the founder of the popular Web site Humans of New York, had taken in Susie, then 11, after finding her on a stoop.
“Everyone told [Brandon], ‘Don’t get that dog.’ They thought it was a bad idea. Even his friend who is a vet told him not to do it,” Erin recalled.
While many people think senior rescues are untrained, they are often well-behaved pets who have fallen on hard times, sometimes after their owners have passed away or moved. Other concerns, like they’ll cost more in veterinary bills or will pass away too soon, are valid — but old-dog owners who have experienced both say they wouldn’t change a thing.
Chili, a now-15-year-old dachshund featured in the book, was rescued from a local hoarder when he was 9, and had ballooned to 30 pounds. The excess weight caused a disk to rupture, leaving him paralyzed.
Brit Dunlop, a 31-year-old model from the Upper West Side who adopted Chili, maxed out her credit cards to pay for the dog’s surgery and therapy. It cost $60,000, but today a fit Chili happily participates in senior fun runs — and has a display case of trophies to show for it.
King’s story has a more tragic ending. The pit bull was diagnosed with a lung tumor and died less than four months after Esposito took him home.
“When people don’t want a senior dog, it’s because they think they won’t have the dog for that long. That’s selfish because for [the dog], that’s his life,” said Esposito, who has no regrets.
She and her boyfriend adopted a 9-year-old pit bull, Diego, from death row weeks after King’s passing. They found him through Susie’s Senior Dogs.
Unfortunately, Susie wasn’t able to see her namesake book become a reality. In April, she passed away at nearly 16 years old.
“I’m glad that her story can inspire people,” Erin said, “so other Susies out there can have what she had the last five years of her life.”