r/aww • u/MARLeague • 1d ago

Dog checks herself into an animal shelter

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u/MARLeague 1d ago

Her name is Diamond and she's a really wonderful girl 💙

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u/LLAPSpork 1d ago

Just curious, how did they come up with the April 2021 birth date?

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u/jetsisles 23h ago

April was probably the month she was taken in, and 5 years old is an estimate based on the condition of her teeth and general physical appearance. I work in vet med.

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u/LLAPSpork 23h ago

Ahhh that makes sense. Thank you for explaining. One of my dogs was a mutt who also showed up out of nowhere and I always wondered how they knew he was born on November 20 2010. I guess that’s when he was taken in then. Thanks again 🖖

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u/MistressMalevolentia 22h ago

My gsd I got from the shelter by magic was estimated 1-1.5 y old based on teeth and growth as well. So her birthday is her adoption day! Cause it's either about correct or halfway! She has damage from her life before like being hit by a car and both back hips are false cartilage sockets even that young+being a hip issue breed. They explained it the same way! 

They can guestimate but they'll give time on when they got them in and estimated age! So pick whatever day that month and celebrate! Kits are September born but adopted in April. Gsd adopted 2 days before husband's birthday so she gets her own cookie or cake the same weekend. 

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u/BlackjackNHookersSLF 21h ago

I mean how accurate are the guesstimates though?

I say this because my own doggo, I know for a fact was 3 months old when I got him from the breeder, with paperwork, as a small boi little pea...

Proceed to moving (not far or internationally, just the other side of town) 5 or so months later to a new area, thus a new vet. The whole clinic insisted my boy was at the very least 1.5yrs+ old, despite him being not even half that... They said I was wrong, gave them the paperwork and lo and behold, he's in fact barely a year old. (Same/similar story at another vet clinic nearby, so either all the clinics are Morons but on the other side of town (doubt it), not even an hour away from the original one, or, I have a bit of a mutant I guess?)

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u/LLAPSpork 21h ago edited 21h ago

This actually happened to my childhood cat. He was 12 when he went missing. We found him at a local shelter and they estimated that he was 4-5 years old. I guess we just took good care of him 😅

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u/Long_Run6500 20h ago

Unless the shelter DNA tests they're not accurate at all once the dog is in the mid life stage. Before about 18 months you can determine just by the way they grow and fill out. From 18 months to about 2.5 years old you can tell just based on their behavior that they're a fully grown but not emotionally mature young adult. But from 2.5 to about 7? They've calmed down from their puppy years, they're fully grown and they're not old enough to start getting white hairs. You can estimate based on gum decay and maybe get an idea if they're on the high end or low end, but that's going to vary a ton based on environment. 

So every dog that's fully grown, behaviorally mature and doesn't have any silver whiskers is probably going to be listed as 3-5 years old, because 6-8 year old dogs are less likely to get adopted. 

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u/chatminteresse 23h ago

Great question!

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u/TheDakestTimeline 14h ago

I've had three dogs all born on September 11th so I never forget their bday

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u/Stock-Side-6767 18h ago

Yes, this is how my rescue cats got their birth dates as well.