A worldwide backup-adopter movement
Somewhere out there is a person who could promise to love your dog after you are gone.
Most of us plan for nearly everything. The will. The house. But the family member asleep at our feet is usually left to chance.
The promise at the heart of it
A backup adopter is someone who has already promised to love your dog, named long before anyone needs them.
No money set aside. Not a name on a form. A real, vetted person who said yes, in advance, and meant it. Bone Voyage helps people over 50 make the plan most people never make.
No fear, no guilt, no donations. Just a calm, doable plan and the care guidance to go with it.
Dogs never go to a shelter
When their human dies or can no longer care for them, a familiar person is already waiting.
Older adults stop being afraid
They finally adopt the dog they were scared to, because the question of what comes next is answered.
Younger adults gain a friend
A future dog, and a real relationship with the older person in the meantime. Two people save each other.
Start here
Five places to explore, all orbiting one promise.
Begin with the mission, then wander into the care, comfort, and adoption guidance that keeps a dog thriving at any age.
- 01 A Home for Life The backup-adopter promise: a real, vetted person who agrees in advance to love your dog after you no longer can.
- 02 Senior Dog Care & Longevity Health, mobility, and comfort for dogs seven and older, with sources you can trust and no scary jargon.
- 03 Living Well With a Senior Dog Everything that keeps an aging dog comfortable at home: beds, ramps, food, gear, and the gentle adjustments that matter.
- 04 Dog Behavior & Training Positive, gentle methods for senior quirks, anxiety, and the new behaviors that come with age.
- 05 Breeds & Adoption Breed profiles, adoption guides, and the case for choosing the calm, grateful, already-house-trained senior dog.
Why this promise can hold
This is the second time I have built adoption at scale.
In 1995, I started adoption.com, back when the internet was barely a thing, to connect children who needed families with the families who needed children. Then I went further than a website. I ran three orphanages, in Ethiopia, in Kenya, and in Haiti. And I did not just place children. I adopted seven of them myself.
I have spent my whole adult life inside one stubborn question: how do you make sure the most vulnerable have a permanent place to belong before the crisis hits, not after? That work has a name. Permanency planning. The exact gap I spent thirty years closing for children is wide open for senior dogs. So that is what we are building.
Annette Thompson, founder
Make the promise, or be matched with one
Join the free list in either direction. Become the person who promises to love a senior dog when their owner no longer can, or hold a place so a vetted, willing person can be matched with your dog in advance.
- No cost, no obligation. We collect only your email and your region.
- Region matters so we can begin matching by area as the movement grows.
- We will send the plan as it takes shape. You can leave any time.