Hello and welcome to our page on the web. My name is Amanda and I’m the founder of Furever In Him Retirement Ranch and Retreat.
I have been caring for animals for more than 20 years. I’ve been caring for different types of senior animals for the past 15 years. The thought of caring for senior animals long-term first entered my mind sometime in 2006 while caring for my senior guinea pig, Billy. I adopted Billy sometime in his midlife stages. As he grew older, I learned to adapt to his needs which were getting to be numerous. It was at this point that I first wondered if there was such a thing as a retirement home or nursing home for animals. At that point, it was just a thought or a seed of a dream that would end up being nurtured over the next decade.
In 2006 I adopted my very own little pup named Dakota. He was a beautiful tan Pomeranian. I called him my ‘real life boy’. We only had six years together, but God used that time to lay the foundations of my passion for animal care. In 2012 I moved from Florida to New England with Toby, my horse, and Dakota. We lived and worked on a horse farm in a small town in Massachusetts. Three months after arriving, Dakota got really sick and passed away. I was devastated and quite honestly thought I’d move back to FL. God had other plans in the form of a spunky, tan, Pomeranian at a rescue about two hours south. If you know me then you know that this special bundle of joy was named Rosie. It was love at first sight for both of us and just what my heart needed.
Nine months into our new life together, Rosie was struggling with anxiety and other issues from her previous living environment. Her vet said he could prescribe medication for her, or I could find her a buddy. It just so happened that the rescue where Rosie came from was advertising their pet of the month around this time. He was a one-eyed, gray muzzled, all black senior Pomeranian named Buster. He was estimated to be between 10 and 12 years old. It was a crazy idea, but I thought Rosie and I should go meet him. It turned out to be a God-thing. Rosie and Buster were instant friends (well after Rosie nipped him once). Buster got a haircut, saw the vet and got additional eye medication, and he officially joined our family. I loved my Pomeranian pair and I was in love with my first “little old man” dog.
Nine months into our new life together, Rosie was struggling with anxiety and other issues from her previous living environment. Her vet said he could prescribe medication for her, or I could find her a buddy. It just so happened that the rescue where Rosie came from was advertising their pet of the month around this time. He was a one-eyed, gray muzzled, all black senior Pomeranian named Buster. He was estimated to be between 10 and 12 years old. It was a crazy idea, but I thought Rosie and I should go meet him. It turned out to be a God-thing. Rosie and Buster were instant friends (well after Rosie nipped him once). Buster got a haircut, saw the vet and got additional eye medication, and he officially joined our family. I loved my Pomeranian pair and I was in love with my first “little old man” dog.
Rosie served as my sidekick and taught Buster all her habits (good and bad). The saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is not true at all! Senior animals are smart and can be taught many things. Thankfully, Buster taught Rosie some good habits too. Buster was a wonderful little man. We loved him through diapers, bladder stones, rotten teeth, and eye infections. We had three and half wonderful years with Buster. When Buster passed, I was again saddened, but I was also eager to fill our home with another senior in need of a loving retirement.
Over the next several years, Rosie and I took in three more seniors. Farthing was adopted a few months before I found out Buster was sick. Farthing was a 15 year-old Toy Poodle whose family had to return overseas to care for their elderly parents. Farthing was too old to travel and would never make it through the quarantine process. After Buster passed, Farthing lived another two and half years with us. During Farthing’s first full year, we expanded our family of two dogs to a family of three dogs.
Our next senior was JoJo. She was a small mixed breed sheltie type dog whose owner passed away. The owner’s family kept two of the owners’ dogs but were unable to keep JoJo due to her age. They advertised JoJo as a “free to a good home” dog on Facebook and she just kept popping up on my Facebook feed. Another God-thing for sure! So, Rosie and Farthing and a friend of mine went to meet JoJo. I loved her immediately, but the family wanted to be sure it was the right fit so we exchanged information. Soon we had a second visit and brought JoJo home. Rosie and I loved Farthing and JoJo through neurological issues, pulled teeth, soft food diets, seizures, diapers, blindness and dementia. JoJo was with us a total of two years. She and Farthing both passed within a few months of each other in 2019.
In 2020, Rosie and I were wondering what we were going to do on our own. Rosie was 8 now and a senior herself, but full of so much spunk. Not too long into the New Year, a friend posted two yorkie sisters, Abby and Cricket, on Facebook. Their owner (my friend’s mother) was very ill and needed to go into a nursing home. My friend had large dog at the time and couldn’t take the yorkies in. She was desperate to find a home for these two. I looked at Rosie and said, “Well, we have two beds open,” so Rosie and I met up with Abby and Cricket for a trial weekend. Of course that didn’t work out and they ended up staying! We were one big happy family again. I now had three senior pup in my own and let’s not forget my horse Toby who was also by now a senior himself. Our big family had four wonderful years together before time caught up with my precious Rosie.
Rosie was diagnosed with kidney disease in early 2024. I learned how to give her fluids under the skin and fix her special meals. I was heartbroken to know she wasn’t going to live to be old and gray. She was 12 or 13 but I had wanted her to live longer. She tried. She bounced back and we had happy times with Cricket and Abby. But on May 27th, Rosie had a stroke, and she passed on May 28th. I cried my eyes out. She was my sidekick and the one who always taught the new “oldies” the ropes. I had wanted her to take in seniors with me and to see Furever In Him become a reality. It didn’t happen that way. What did happen, though, was that the Lord used Rosie’s passing to push me to get Furever In Him started. The question was a resounding “What am I waiting for?!” I had always wondered about a home for seniors. I had entertained the idea of a home for seniors. I devoted my life to taking in seniors. What was stopping me from making Furever In Him a reality?
And so, here we are. A year since Rosie passed and Furever In Him Retirement Ranch and Retreat is an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Abby and Cricket are the first clients. Our good friend Charlie is our first pet care client for senior citizens (more on his story on the Pet Care for Senior Citizens page). And…I have a younger sidekick named Milo to serve as the next Pomeranian in charge of training the “oldies”. Well, they’re training him, but still. God brought me Milo in July 2024 from a rescue two hours away. He has some big paws to fill serving as my partner in crime, but I know he’ll do just fine. He acts like Rosie so much already!
We (my board of directors and my fur family) have big plans for Furever In Him. Prayerfully, we hope to truly make it into a farm one day and take in senior animals of all types. We are excited that you have stopped by our page and we invite you to join us on our amazing journey of providing a loving home for senior animals in need and by providing pet care to senior citizens in crisis.
Thank you for stopping by!
Amanda