Mary just wanted to adopt a dog. The 70-year-old from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, wanted to adopt a 1-year-old Yorkie mix from Fluffy Dog Rescue. However, she says she was turned away because of her age.

“I kind of felt bad because I thought, ‘I’m not old,’” Mary said.

The Yorkie mix was being fostered, so Mary submitted an application for adoption. However, she received a confusing response from the organization.

The message read: “[We have] a philosophy of ‘adoption for life’… we feel there are other dogs that may be more suitable for you. In your case, it would be a dog aged three or older.”

Mary, whose husband passed away a few years ago, wanted a long-term companion. Seemingly, she’s the perfect candidate for any dog.

“I planned to get a young dog so that it will fly with me and be able to go under my seat and go wherever I go,” said Mary. “I think they made a very poor judgment, in the fact they don’t know me.”

Mary’s daughter, Melissa, emailed the organization about their decision.

“To just write it off because of a number, it was really upsetting,” Melissa said.

Fluffy Dog Rescue sent back another email saying: “We have established a formula for our older applicants to do our best to accomplish this. With that said, your mother fits into a category of only being able to adopt a dog that is three years or older.”

Mary doesn’t understand why she wasn’t allowed to adopt the Yorkie-mix.

“I just feel like I’m a good, loving person, and I could give a lot of love to a little dog, any dog,” she said.

Do you think older people should only have older dogs?