August 3 2020

An adopted 14-year-old girl is helping senior dogs find a forever home just like she did

A 14-year-old girl has raised $14,000 for senior dogs who have been left behind with the goal of helping them find a forever home like she did when she was adopted.

Meena Kumar at nine months old was found abandoned in a basket on a college campus in Pune, India. After spending a year in an orphanage, she was adopted by a couple in Mumbai and brought to San Jose, California.

In Mumbai, Meena would watch over a litter of puppies at her home. When she came to the United States, almost every weekend included a trip to the Humane Society or to Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. …

Meena understood what it felt like to be left behind, and wanted to help the senior dogs find the loving homes they deserve, just like she did. The problem was, Meena had to be 17-years-old to volunteer at Muttville, and she was only 12.

She wanted to find a way to support Muttville and came up with an idea. She advertised on Nextdoor offering pet sitting and Pet Fairy Services was born. …

Meena plans to continue working with Muttville and hopes that more people will adopt older mutts from shelters during this pandemic.

“We need their love more than ever,” she says.

July 30 2020

Teen forsaken as a baby helps senior dogs find forever home – 'just like I did'

Meena Kumar has already raised $14,000 for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue through pet-sitting.

At 14 years old, Meena Kumar is already a strong believer in the importance of second chances.

When she was just 9 months old, she was left in a basket on a college campus in India, and subsequently lived in an orphanage for about a year. Then she was adopted by a family who lives in San Jose, California.

“My parents tell me the story of when they adopted me at (age) 2 and they brought me to my grandparents’ apartment in Mumbai,” she told TODAY. “My parents were worried about how to keep me amused in a small place. Thankfully, a dog had laid a litter of puppies, and I used to spend hours every day watching and playing with them.”

Meena’s love of animals continued to grow back home in Northern California. Her favorite activity was visiting the local Humane Society, and when she was 8 years old, the family adopted a mixed-breed dog named Bambie. Meena adores the “sweet” dog and has taught her many tricks, including how to give a hug.

“I just pat on my shoulder and she’ll come and actually like put her paws up and just stay there so I can hug her and stuff,” she said.

One day while walking Bambie, Meena met a neighbor, Dr. Kathy Stecco, who was walking her dog, George. Stecco has fostered many senior hospice dogs for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that rescues and re-homes older dogs. Intrigued, Meena visited Muttville, where she developed a passion for helping senior dogs.

“I love visiting Muttville,” she said. “The dogs may be senior and old, but they’re so friendly and cute, which is why I want to help them. They’re the most gentle and loyal creatures.”

When Meena’s parents said no to adopting more dogs, the then 9-year-old found a different way to help: She started a pet-sitting business called Pet Fairy Services and donates her earnings to Muttville. . . .

April 30 2020

Adopting Amid the Coronavirus: National Adopt A Shelter Pet Day

CBSN Bay Area’s Len Kiese interviews Sherri Franklin, Founder and CEO of Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, on the importance of pet adoptions especially during times like these.

April 29 2020

How this CNN Hero is making senior dog adoptions happen during social distancing

If you’re looking for a silver lining during this pandemic, one place to turn is animal shelters. …

Elsewhere in California, Sherri Franklin said she has also seen an uptick in adoptions through her San Francisco-based nonprofit, Muttville.

Franklin, who was named a CNN Hero in 2016, and her team rescue senior dogs from shelters and find them forever homes.

Under California’s shelter-in-place order, implemented six weeks ago, animal shelters are deemed as essential. However, Franklin made the decision to close hers for the safety of her employees and volunteers.

She and her team moved all 86 dogs out of their shelter and into foster homes – which is no small feat.

“What was really amazing was the community that poured in to help,” Franklin said. “We got over 200 foster applications in a week. We used to get 20 in a week.”

Franklin and her team worked fast to come up with new protocol to safely adopt out dogs and follow social distancing guidelines. The organization began doing virtual adoption meetings, where the foster parent introduces the dog to the potential adopters via Zoom or FaceTime.

“People really are on the edge of their seat,” Franklin said of the virtual meetings. “It’s almost like they want to reach out and touch that dog.”

Since adapting its process after the shelter-in-place order, the organization has adopted out 135 dogs.

“I hate to use this term, but the dogs are flying off the shelves,” Franklin said. “It is a time when people are looking for comfort, continuity and something they can focus on other than the crazy news.” . . .

April 27 2020

Pet adoptions, fosters skyrocket in US amid coronavirus pandemic

Video interview with Muttville founder and CEO Sherri Franklin

April 26 2020

Pet adoptions skyrocket in US amid pandemic

Animals shelters across the United States are emptying out thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as people confined to their homes are adopting or fostering animals in droves. …

Sherri Franklin, founder of the Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco, said she has never seen such an outpouring of support from the community in the 25 years she has worked in animal rescue.

“When the shelter-in-place order came down (in March), we had 86 dogs in our care, and we moved them all to foster homes in 48 hours,” she said.

Franklin said adopting or fostering a pet during these unusual and stressful times is beneficial for both animals and humans.

“Adopting a dog during this time is an equal win for both the dog… but it’s even more so for the human that does need a reason to get up, and does need a connection in this world and does need something to alleviate isolation and stress,” she noted. …

April 16 2020

Spike In Pet Adoptions Amid Coronavirus Pandemic Stay-At-Home Order

Sherri Franklin, CEO and Founder of Muttville, talks with CBSN Bay Area about the increase in homeless pet adoptions amid the shelter-in-place.

April 15 2020

How Shelters Are Dealing With Shelter-In-Place

Bay Area shelters and dog rescues are currently closed to the public. So, what’s happening with all the unhoused dogs? Turns out, shelters are getting creative.

In previous times, you know, before coronavirus, if you wanted to adopt a rescue dog, you’d search Petfinder or go to a shelter. You’d meet a bunch of pups, fall in love with the one who jumped in your lap and maybe you’d return a few times before deciding. But, like journalism – which as you can hear is now conducted largely over Zoom – all that has changed.

As soon as the shelter in place was announced, Muttville, a senior dog rescue in San Francisco, realized that they needed to close their volunteer-run facility and find foster homes for all the rescues.

“We found foster homes for all 86 dogs within 48 hours,” explains Sherri Franklin, Muttville’s founder and CEO.

Then Sherri and her team had to figure out if they were gonna continue their adoption program: “And we ultimately decided that we would continue to do safe, no contact adoptions. Because really the outpouring of support from our, you know, basic community around here was, ‘Hey I want to help.’”

Muttville has seen a 300 percent increase in applications for adoption. “In fact, because we have so many applicants, we’re really, we have to screen the applicants because there’s not enough dogs to go around,” adds Sherri.

“You know how everybody was panic buying on Amazon. I said, we panic-adopted a senior dog,” says Beth Kanter, whose family passed Muttville’s screening. …

April 11 2020

Sherri Franklin from Muttville Senior Dog Rescue guests on KRON on April 11, 2020

Watch KRON TV’s Sanaz Tahernia interview Muttville’s Founder Sherri Franklin on KRON TV with awesome doggie partner Pierre!

April 10 2020

Want to Foster a Dog? Get on the Waitlist as Demand Soars at Bay Area Shelters

Since the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders went into effect in March, Bay Area animal shelters have received an overwhelming response from residents offering to foster cats and dogs during the crisis.

Deploying rapid emails and social media posts to get out the word, every animal shelter contacted was able to move nearly all animals into foster homes within days of the quarantine, except for animals that needed to remain at the shelters for health or behavioral reasons. …

“Volunteers stepped up immediately because they always do. They’re amazing,” said Deb Campbell, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for San Francisco Animal Care & Control. “We were just overwhelmed with the amount of requests from the public. It was really heartening.”

Volunteers have provided most of the support for foster animals. Representatives of all contacted shelters said that at least half of their animals were placed with previous foster parents. Many shelters were able to place all animals with trained volunteers. …

By relieving stress and isolation, pets can provide a huge boost, according to Sherri Franklin, founder of the senior dog rescue shelter, Muttville, in San Francisco. “It’s a scientific fact that dogs lower your blood pressure, keep you happy and get you outside to exercise a little bit more. It’s an absolute cure for loneliness. You can save a life while you’re sitting at home.”

While all shelters contacted are at capacity for foster parents, many have resumed adoptions and are looking to transition foster dogs to permanent homes. …