Usually, when people think about adding a dog to the family, puppies are the first to come to mind. Who doesn’t love puppies, right? They’re adorable and energetic, (and have the sweetest puppy breath!) but they’re also a lot of work–and can be unpredictable. Senior dogs, on the other hand, have fully-formed personalities, meaning you’ll know the pup you’re getting right from the start. With senior dogs, adoption is often more difficult and can take longer–that’s why the folks at Muttville, a dog rescue out of San Francisco, have devoted themselves to caring for senior dogs and giving them a second chance at life. We spoke with Muttville’s Bunny Rosenberg to get the scoop on why you shouldn’t look past the seniors when searching for your new best friend.
Bunny Rosenberg: Muttville is a senior dog rescue in San Francisco’s Mission district. We give senior dogs a second chance at life—we rescue them, give them the care they need, find them loving homes, and spread the word about how wonderful they are! Muttville was founded in 2007 by Sherri Franklin, a longtime animal advocate and rescue worker.
For years, Sherri had been a volunteer at Bay Area shelters, and her favorites were always the seniors. She saw wonderful senior dogs being passed over daily in shelters and decided to take matters into her own hands by rescuing them one by one. Working from her house, Sherri rescued 27 dogs that year. Since then, Muttville has grown into a nationally recognized organization that rescues approximately 1000 dogs a year. (And it finally, in 2012, moved out of her house!)
BR: We rescue senior dogs, but there’s no strict rule about when a dog becomes a senior. At conventional shelters, some larger dogs are considered too old for adoption at 8 years old, while for smaller dogs the cutoff might be age 10 or 12. Muttville believes that each dog should be assessed individually.
Important factors in our rescue decision are temperament and whether the dog is slated for euthanasia. If a dog will benefit from even a month or a week in a loving home, then we will do our best to provide this for him or her. All of the dogs we take are at least over 7 years old.
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