Kati Ennis loves pretty much every dog she meets — but senior dogs hold a special place in her heart. In fact, she adores them so much that she even uprooted her entire family and moved 100 miles away from a place she loved. Why? She wanted three closely bonded older dogs to be able to stay together in their familiar home after their human owner died. Kati shares that story here:

We were living in Long Beach just two blocks from the beach when we got the news. My partner’s mother, who was living out in California’s High Desert, had to be rushed to the hospital; she passed a few weeks later.

She left behind three senior dogs: Charlee, a big 12-year-old yellow girl who had been raised as a human; her equally human-raised sister Karma, a silly 10-year-old brindle girl; and their 8-year-old Chihuahua brother, Pooh-Bear.

Karma and Pooh-Bear chill out together on a familiar couch. (All photos courtesy of Kati Ennis)

We already had our own family of six fur-kids, five of which were in or nearing seniorhood, living with us in our two-bedroom apartment on the beach, and we certainly didn’t have room for any more. Still, the thought never once came to us to separate or adopt out “the three amigos,” as we called them. So, that only meant one thing: We had to leave our cool, soft beach sand for the harsh, baking sand of the High Desert!

The move was an easy transition for our fur-kids. They now had a big house and their very own yard to run around in! As for Charlee, Karma and Pooh, they were a bit confused at first, but they soon settled into to the new family dynamic. They already knew and loved our animals, so that part was easy. We kept most everything the same so as not to shake up their world too much. After all, we were the ones who had moved into their house!

Kati Ennis said she doesn’t have many photos of “the three amigos” together. “Pooh usually bolts when he sees the camera OR he looks miserable,” Kati said. “He has always hated paparazzi! HA!”

Sure, we have a few more mouths to feed, and there’s less room in bed to sleep. But Charlee, Karma and Pooh are still together, and they’re as happy as they ever were. Getting to see their smiling faces beats living two blocks from the beach any day!

I love all eight of my old dogs, and the young’un too, because they have taught me to slow down a bit and appreciate the more simple things in life. There is nothing more calming or endearing than a sweet smiling gray face, and the silly wiggle-butt that follows! If they needed me to move to the surface of Mars, I’d do it.

Love your old dog? Tell us why! Send your thoughts, observations and dog photos to stories@myolddogbook.com with “I love my old dog because” in the subject line. Your dog may be featured in a future post!

Love stories and photos of sweet senior pooches? The book “My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts” by Laura T. Coffey and Lori Fusaro is due out on Oct. 6. It’s available for pre-order now at Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com.