Welcome to Part 5 in our exhibit of incredible, touching, sweet senior dogs from our readers around the world. Click here for details of this very special Dogster feature. This is the last post of photos and stories for the week. (I was able to fit them all in by showing more dogs and stories than originally planned throughout the week, so no dogs will be relegated to the lower viewership that comes with weekends.) On Monday afternoon, we’ll present a slide show with all the dogs, as an homage to the gorgeous seniors who filled our pages all week. And we’ll announce the winner — drawn at random from the entries — of the portrait by artist Kathryn Beals.

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Tucker Bunns was a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. He was born Oct 6, 2000 and left for the Rainbow Bridge on Jan 31, 2007.

Tucker there will never ever be another corgi like you. You were the most beautiful corgi I have ever seen in my life. You were the epitome of a corgi. Your brothers and sisters are beautiful but there was just something about you that I cant explain. I am looking forward to the day that I can meet you at the Rainbow Bridge and get your special Tucker hug and your wonderful kisses. Until then my sweet angel you take care of all the new little angels that head up your way. It really helps their families know that you are there waiting for their beloved babies. I will never forget you Tucker Bunns. I will love you forever. — Anita Morrison

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This is Annie, a 13 year old black lab mix. We adopted her from the Desert Labrador Retriver Rescue group in Phoenix, Az. She lives with her humans Gary and Dagny Gromer in Prescott, Az. along with 3 rat terriers. — Dagny Gromer

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My sweet Zelda is 16.5 years old. I found her when she was 4 weeks old and fit in the palm of my hand. She was my first dog and she has brought such love, light and joyfulness into not only my life, but my whole family. She lives with my sister and mother now, and they adore her. My mom lives in a retirement community and the residents love Zelda so much that she has become the resident mascot.

Zelda can still be a goofball, but mostly, she is elegant, graceful and precious.

When Zelda was younger she liked her own space…..was not a cuddler, much to the chagrin of myself and my sister. But most recently, she has taken to sleeping with us and actually really snuggling up to us. Not sure if it’s for warmth or the company, but we’ll take it anyway we can get it! — Jacquie Steiner

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Name: Georgia Kaye Morrison
Age: 8 (9 December 8th)
Something that tells of our love for this dog…we bought our house with the inground pool in the backyard FOR Georgia. She loves to swim!
Georgia was adopted from a shelter in TX. She was on the ‘short list’. When my husband found her she had only 3 days left; a beautiful, sweet, loving, 13 months old purebred Golden Retriever. Our lives have been so blessed since we added her to our family that we decided to share her love with those less fortunate so 7 times each month Georgia and I visit nursing homes and schools for mentally and physically handicapped children. It is very difficult to describe the love we feel for her and even harder to describe the love she has given us! — Christy Morrison

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I work for Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, a shelter in Arizona. One day, almost two years ago, we got a black lab into the shelter. He was a bigger boy (over 100 pounds), older (we determined 7’ish). His intake picture showed him with a big stuffed pig in his mouth that he found upon intake. He was scanned for a micochip. He had a chip, but it had never been registered. After being at the shelter a week, I decided to take him on television as a media pet to try to get him adopted, I named him Beau. On TV he sat nicely, shooj hands, and even rolled over on his back to get a belly rub. This dog was very well trained, obvioulsy well loved (and well fed with the extra weight on him). I took him back to the shelter knowing that somebody would come in for him.

The next morning I hurried in to see if Beau was still there. He kennel was empty and I got sad. Then I discovered somebody just had him out. What a relief. I knew right then that I had to adopt him. Once in my office, he immediately found a stuffed animal to hang onto. I brought him home (my husband couldn’t believe I decided on a fat, old dog!) and that night, when we told him to lay down on his new bed, he was still there when we got up in the morning. Renamed Walter Payton (my husband is from Chicago, this dog loves football and he is sweet, just like the player’s nickname), he very well may be the best dog either of us have ever owned. He is perfectly trained. He loves carrots to distraction. My husband runs him every morning, I walk or hike with him every afernoon after work. He has lot over 10 pounds and looks great. Every day when we come home, he wags so hard he almost falls over. And of course, he almost always has a stuffed animal in his mouth!

To truly understand how wonderful he is, I must bring Walter into work every Wednesday or I get harrassed by my co-workers. I work at one of the largest animal shleters in the country. We see over 55,000 dogs and cats every year. We have lots of animals available to be loved on. Yet, every Wednesday everyone comes in looking to get some Walter love. And If I can’t bring him in, I let everyone ahead of time know so there isn’t too much disappointment.

Everybody loves Walt. We have friends who beg to babysit him when we leave town. Some of them aren’t even dog lovers. Our friends who have said they will never have a dog again, want him. We know we won’t have him forever, but every day with Walt is a special one. — Aprille Slutsky

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Here is my entry for the old dogs contest. This is Cheyenne and she is 14 years old. I have owned her for the last 11 years. When we bought our house 11 years ago the former owners left her tied to a tree in the front yard because they did not want her anymore. I fell in love and kept her and have never regretted it. For a 14 year old she is still full of life, love and joy. I hope she has many more years with me. In this pic she is enjoying a beautiful spring day in New England. — Debbie Ouellette

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My bulldog Bailey is 10 and a half years old, which is very senior for a bulldog! I adopted her a year and a half ago from the East Bay SPCA through their Silver Muzzle Club program, which promotes the adoption of senior dogs. She is a very sweet and loving companion. This photo is from Halloween when she was Belle from Beauty and the Beast!– Nicole Kenley

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Our girl Sandra Marie is 14 yrs old. We adopted her when she was 9mos. She is still very active, walks everyday, chases the squirrels in our yard, loves to go for rides..she is such a joy. Thankfully she is very healthy and will be with us for many more years..She is the queen of the house. — Boni Forte

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We adopted Arnold last Aug from a shelter. He is a approx 7+ years, he is Great Dane / Boxer weighs 117lbs
We wanted a senior dog to go with our other senior dog Sandra Marie. Arnold is the most loveable old boy. He is soo gentle, loves to give kisses and loves his picture taken..We feel like he has been a part of our family furever… He is truly a gift to us. — Boni Forte

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Please find attached is a photo of my 16 year old Sunny. I adopted Sunny as a senior dog, 3 years ago, at age 13. He is now blind with a few “hitches in his get-along”, but this is one happy and sweet boy with lots of love to give. He has taught me how really rewarding it can be to adopt a senior dog. — Tootie Truesdell

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Two years ago while sitting at my desk at work during a lull, I stopped by Petfinder to see the dogs available at our local shelter. One face in particular stood out. His name was Oscar. I remember thinking what a happy, gentle face he had and hoped someone would adopt him. For the next few days, that face kept jumping out at me every time I clicked on Petfinder. I felt a strong connection with this face that kept looking back at me with such an angelic face. Before even telling my husband, I downloaded the adoption forms, faxed them into the shelter and broke the news to my husband that we were going to meet someone. As soon as we saw him, he quietly stood up and came over to greet us in the kennel. He never made a sound but was anxious to get out of his cell. Many people had passed Oscar by because of a click in his hip. The shelter estimated his age to be roughtly 8 or 9 years. Most times people pass older dogs by afraid of high vet bills and with Oscar’s clicking hip, he was not on the priority list for potential adopters. But that didn’t matter to us. The next day we took our two shih tzus to meet him. They did a quick sniff and carried on as though they had been together for years. Oscar was riding in the back seat of our car to his new home on the third day.

Oscar went to work with us every day, gently greeted every customer who walked through the door, loved his home cooked meals, rides to the local donut shop and loved to walk more than anything. He was attracted to my husband and every day Oscar would nudge us or sit patiently by the door waiting to take him on his daily walk, often times, 3 or 4 times a day. Not only did my husband lose 25 pounds walking so often, but the click in Oscar’s hip disappeared and he could run like the wind. He was so happy and we loved having him as part of our family.

While out on one of his evening walks, Oscar slipped on a patch of ice the end of December 2009. After taking him to the vet, having various tests done, we learned he had some health issues, one being kidney failure. We hoped to have him with us several more months (or years), but that was not to be. Oscar passed over the Rainbow Bridge February 1, 2010. In the short time Oscar was a member of our family, he left such a pawprint on our hearts that we will never forget him. We still hear his nails clicking on the floor and see him running through the grassy areas he used to walk. Our home has a huge void without him. I will be honouring Oscar by walking in his memory at our local OSPCA Walk-A-Thon. — Nancy Ball