Welcoming winter: A tale of frosty faces
Winter has a way of slowing us down. It asks us to notice the small things: the quiet, the warmth, the deeply familiar. Our lives have seasons, too. There’s the exuberance of spring, the playful summer, and the crisp clarity of fall. And then there’s winter ― a season that invites reflection on everything that came before.
I have a real soft spot for senior pets, and as we walk into another winter, I think of them going through the winter of their own lives — gracefully and cozily with their favorite humans.
I’ve been fortunate to love many seniors: Esther, Ray-Ray, Betsy, and Stanley, among others. But when I think of wintry years, I think of my Shadow. He came to us in 2012 as a young dog, and we were able to love him for 11 years. Even then, he would put his paws up on my late husband Gregory’s shoulders –– all 120 pounds of him. He would follow us everywhere and took his job as office dog very seriously, demanding treats for entry (or belly rubs from his close confidants).
In his winter days, things became quieter. Instead of bellowing barks, I knew it was morning when two things happened: when I could smell coffee and when Shadow would rest those heavy paws on my lap. Even in his final hours, he sought to comfort those of us already grieving him. His loyalty knew no bounds.
Caring for Shadow in those last months taught me something I’ve carried with me ever since: When you love a senior pet, you learn to see the world differently. You slow down. You notice the joy in the “ordinary.” And you understand, in a way that feels almost sacred, that caring for them in their winter years is not an act of charity. It’s just the right thing to do — an evolution of a long, loving relationship.
But some of these seniors didn’t go through every season with me. I met Betsy and Esther when the frost had already touched them. And there’s a real joy in being able to welcome them in, knowing that they lived whole lifetimes before me and I had the privilege of making this last season so special. They needed a place to rest and reflect, and I got the honor of showing up for them.
At Best Friends, we work with a lot of rescue groups around the country, but one that I’ve been especially inspired by lately is the Frosted Faces Foundation, which we recently featured on our site — check out the article here. This Southern California rescue group welcomes every animal into the warmest part of their winter years.
One of the boldest things about Frosted Faces is that they removed adoption fees and cover ongoing veterinary care — extraordinary on its own. But Andrew Smíšek, their COO, shared something that stuck with me: “Even with those hurdles removed, we still had a lot of barriers.” Requirements like lengthy applications and mandatory home visits stood in the way of potential adopters finding their next senior friend.
So they reexamined their entire process — from home visits to paperwork — after attending the Best Friends National Conference in 2023. Inspired to make it easier to adopt (though a little nervous to shake up what they’d always done), they decided to try something new.
It worked.
Frosted Faces saw a 48% jump in adoption applications in 2024, with no increase in pets being returned and no documented abuse cases. What changed? Conversations replaced gatekeeping. Curiosity replaced suspicion.
And it isn’t just senior dogs who benefit from that kind of belief.
Take Sam, a 20-year-old cat who struggled with shelter life after spending most of his years in a home. But thanks to a volunteer who refused to give up on him, Sam found a new family — and, incredibly, has no trouble keeping up with his new cat siblings, who are 18 years younger. His adopter says the energy and joy he shows now were nowhere to be found in the shelter. He just needed someone to embrace the winter and believe in the life still ahead of him.
For seniors like Shadow, Sam, and all of the frosty faces waiting across the country, my hope is that they will get to settle into the winter of their lives on a cozy couch –– maybe with heavy paws directly on your lap if you’re lucky. We don’t know what the other seasons of their lives looked like, but we have the chance to shape the one ahead of them with comfort, kindness, and uncomplicated joy. There’s something just so special about senior pets.
This couldn’t happen without the incredibly hardworking people like those at Frosted Faces who love these animals the way they deserve to be loved. As we stand at the edge of winter, I hope the next snow that tickles your nose reminds you of old friends who once changed your world — or one who’s waiting to.
-Julie
