Muttville is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization dedicated to improving the lives of senior dogs. On a local level, Muttville rescues senior dogs and finds them foster homes or gives them hospice. On a global level, Muttville provides information about caring for older dogs and support for people who do.

Dogs come to Muttville from shelters as well as from loving homes. There are so many stories, but here are a few:

Angel was attached by a chain to a truck, dragged, and left for dead. She was terrified of people and difficult for most potential caregivers to approach. Because of her age and her fear, she was not likely to be adopted. Sherri Franklin, founder of Muttville, took her in. She worked with Angel for months, letting her make her own decisions and take her time. After months, she began to trust and ask for affection. Angel (now known as Sadie) today lives with a doting family in Half Moon Bay and was the cover dog for Review Magazine in October 2001.

Other notable fosters include Knight, who was confined in a filthy chicken-wire cage for four to five years at a puppy mill in Kansas, until his owners had no more use for him and put him up for auction for lab research. PETA bid at the auction and purchased nine dogs, including Knight. PETA brought them all to the SF/SPCA for socialization and adoption. All were adopted except Knight, who had been so mistreated and traumatized that he would cower at the thought of going outside, could not look a person in the eye, and was unable to keep his footing on the ground because he apparently had never been let out of his cage.

Franklin brought Knight home for foster. He curled up and refused, for weeks, even to lift his head. With unfailing patience, she made slow, slow progress. Franklin painstakingly acclimated him to human contact, treated his medical problems and socialized him with other dogs. He started to respond to affection, raising his head for a pat instead of shrinking away. He learned to walk and then run on the beach. After eight months, Franklin decided he was ready to be adopted and began to interview potential homes. After turning down several potential adopters, she found the perfect guardian. Today, Knight, now known as Winston, is the apple of his companion’s eye.

Not all Muttville dogs come from shelters. A few years ago, for example, Sherri received a phone call about a man who had gone into the hospital with late stage AIDS. He had two old dogs, Artie and Sparky. Nobody could take them. One of his last requests was that the dogs were cared for, but he hadn’t made any plans for them. Sherri took them. Sparky was very old and fragile. Artie was much younger and spunkier. She kept them together until Sparky died and then found a wonderful, loving home for Artie, where he lives now.

There are so many stories like this, stories of dogs that have been in loving homes and have lost their guardians, or dogs who have been neglected most of their lives and are now given a death sentence at a shelter. They deserve to know love before they go – even for a little while. This is our chance to show them kindness.

Description:
Muttville is in the process of developing of program called “Muttville Seniors for Seniors Program” that connects senior citizens with Muttville’s senior dogs, where, based on their matching activity levels, the seniors’ contact with the animals would increase the chances of prolonging the lives of seniors and would provide therapeutic benefit to people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Muttville is accepting senior dogs from seniors and terminally ill persons that can no longer care for their animals and need a last resort for their beloved companions. Muttville is currently working up a plan for this program, which would pair senior dogs rescued from shelters with active seniors. Muttville calls it “foster” but that is because Muttville maintains responsibility for the dog but the dog lives with the senior. The senior gets the companionship of a loving pet without the worry or fears that can come with it, e.g., “What would happen to the dog if something happened to me” or “How do I get my pooch to the vet.”

Study after study has shown that pets -- dogs in particular -- lift people's spirits, engage their hearts and energy, and make them a part of the community. There is one group of people for whom these things are crucial, and possibly even necessary for a high quality of life: Senior citizens. At the same time, there is one group of dogs that is the most unwanted, the group that is considered the most unadoptable, and most likely to be euthanized when brought into shelters. That is senior dogs.

Each "senior citizen" can help solve the problems of the other. And yet no one has put the two groups together! That's what Muttville does, matching elderly people with older dogs, to the benefit of both.

Muttville is also in the process of creating a hospice facility for dogs in the process of being fostered, or dogs that have become too infirm to live in their foster homes, where seniors can visit their potential animal companions, and where those senior who cannot foster their own dog can volunteer to give and receive love and companionship.

Muttville is also in the process of offering a no-risk foster program by matching the right rescue dog to the right person in a completely supported situation, where Muttville retains ultimate responsibility for the dog if its caregiver cannot or does not want to continue to care for the dog.

Another one of Muttville’s current and future activities will be to rescue dogs from local shelters and other rescue organizations, that are slated for euthanasia due to their age and/or special needs. Such companionship would increase the chances of prolonging the lives of seniors and also provide therapeutic benefits to people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Another one of Muttville’s current and future activities will be to maintain a network of short and long-term foster families who can provide the proper care for senior dogs in hospice and those with special needs, and to provide the foster families with access to top-quality veterinary care and to trainers, as needed, who can answer questions and provide assistance.

History:
Muttville was started in 2007 by Sherri Franklin, a longtime animal advocate and rescue worker.

Sherri has spent years rescuing dogs, especially senior dogs. She recognized that the need was greater than she as an individual could ever address. So she decided to start Muttville, a non-profit corporation dedicated to improving the lives of older dogs through foster, education, and community.

Since forming Muttville, hundreds of dogs have been rescued and placed in loving homes.

Contact person: Sherri Franklin, President, (phone), (email)
Main office number: (415) 641-1331

Address:

PO Box 410207 San Francisco, CA 94141

Web Site: http://www.muttville.org

Miscellaneous Information

Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency?
	No others
What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency?
	12
Is your agency wheelchair accessible?
	No
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10?
	No
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20?
	No