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MEDFORD -- Having a soft spot in her heart for elderly and injured canines, Donna Jones has spent two decades volunteering, privately rescuing and helping transport shelter animals to their forever homes. Elderly and injured dogs too often go overlooked for younger, more vibrant pups, she says. Wherever she has lived, Jones has tried to advocate for the "least likely to get adopted," always hoping to find a way to help even more. Her recent adoption of a senior boxer named Roxie set the wheels in motion for her newfound Oldies But Goodies Senior Rescue. A support specialist for Medford schools, Jones is an avid volunteer for Friends of the Animal Shelter and No Pet Left Behind. Having connected with a group dubbed “Must Love Boxers,” she saw a social media post about a senior dog named Roxie that slated for euthanasia. Roxie was being housed in a south Los Angeles shelter with just days left to live. “As soon as I saw her pictures I started to put in for transport,” she says. “I just knew. I love boxers so much, and something about her photo just spoke to me.” Underweight, depressed from shelter life and with a handful of health issues, Roxie is now wanted and loved. And Jones has a newfound purpose. “In kill shelters, owner surrenders are first to die,” Jones says. “And senior pets tend to become more needy when it comes to care, so people dump them to get ‘a newer model’ or and/or to avoid the costs of their aging pet.” Oldies But Goodies Senior Rescue will give a second chance to dogs that might not have been given a first. “I want to help get them out of those shelters and into loving homes that will care for them for their remaining time on this Earth,” she says.“Because Southern Oregon is known to be a retirement community, many people here seek out older pets because they are usually housebroken, mellow and sweet.” Jones originally was going to foster Roxie, but she couldn’t say goodbye. “She’s mine,” says Jones. “I fostered her for a little while to make sure everything was going to be a good fit, but then I officially adopted her. I think it was meant to be.” Working on her 501(c)(3) status, Jones has begun taking in dogs in need. Her current list of charges include three canines transported from L.A. to Fresno to the Rogue Valley in recent weeks: a 15-year-old cocker terrier named L.J., an 11-year-old shepherd-shar-pei mix named Sharpy and an 8-year-old tan dachshund named Missy. Jones also was able to save a pit mix with a broken leg who was set to arrive Friday. “She’s not a senior — she’s only 2 — but she has a broken leg and injured front incisors,” Jones says. “I’m assuming she was hit by a car.” The dog was just 90 minutes from being euthanized, Jones says. “It was a pretty emotional day.” Jones has taken in a homeless man’s dog that just delivered a litter of puppies while he finds housing. “I just can’t stand by and watch when there are dogs in need,” she says. “If we can offer a little bit of help and give them a chance at a different outcome, regardless of age or where they are, I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing.” While some would deem older dogs, or injured dogs, “less adoptable,” Jones says they make the best of pets. “Old dogs know the ropes. They’re usually already spayed and neutered, they’ve ‘been there done that,’” she says. “And they’re so grateful to be given a second chance.” Reach Medford freelance writer Buffy Pollock at [email protected] .