Thanks for Muttville

I read this article in my local newspaper over the weekend, and it sounded like a belated Thanksgiving story. A lot of dogs can give thanks for a place called Muttville. …

November 29 2008

Dogs in their golden years get second chance at Muttville

Estella is missing an eye. Ruthie has an inoperable tumor. Stimpy D has arthritis in his hips.

Geriatric dogs, they would have been euthanized if not for Muttville – a new San Francisco nonprofit that specializes in finding homes for senior dogs that still have a few good years left.

Founder Sherri Franklin has discovered a niche adoption market for old dogs among veterinarians, do-gooders and senior citizens.

People like 78-year-old Marcel Doubovitch of San Francisco, who called Muttville in tears after her husband of 40 years died.

Franklin matched Doubovitch with an elder Chihuahua that had been abused – left outdoors in a wooden soapbox for several years.

Now widow and canine are inseparable.

“I’m so happy!” Doubovitch said. “Before, I would think of my husband and cry. I don’t now because she’s such a love bug – absolutely something special. I love her dearly.” …

October 14 2008

SF Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik on the Gogol Bordello benefit for Muttville

As mentioned here last week, Gogol Bordello played loud, raucous, Gypsy punk at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. That night at Slim’s, the tough guys played again, at a sold-out benefit for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue.

Muttville’s site features aw-inspiring pictures of elderly dogs needing homes. A supporter had sent a video to friends who forwarded it to Gogol Bordello drummer Eliot Ferguson, who spread the word to bandmates. Everyone loves a puppy; it takes a real softy to honor the elders. As lead singer Eugene Hutz proclaimed at the show’s start, “This is for all the little doggies!”

October 2008

Rescue dogs: Seniors with some livin' left to do

Senior editor Leslie Smith travels to Muttville – and learns that for some dogs, life begins when there’s a place to call home.

Sherri Franklin is making up for lost time. Until age 35, she hadn’t so much as walked a dog, let alone shared her home with one. These days, however, she lives amongst an entire pack. Franklin is the founder of Muttville-a sanctuary for senior dogs whose time has come to… keep on living.

Emphasis on living. Though comfort and quality of life are primary concerns, Muttville isn’t just hospice care or an infirmary with a clever name. It’s not her aim, she says, to prolong life simply for the sake of staving off the inevitable. Rather, it’s to make sure healthy, older dogs can continue to thrive-and to give dogs who’ve never known affection and compassion a chance to experience it before they go.

[A description of Smith’s visit to Muttville follows.]

September 2008

Road to Rescue: Visit to Muttville

Today I’m in Northern California’s Muttville, surrounded by nearly a dozen dogs, ranging in age from 7 to 17. Part sanctuary, part adoption agency, Muttville is a place where old dogs go to, well, live. Sherri Franklin … lives on the premises with dog beds of varying sizes lining the floors, and kitchen drawers full of medications for arthritis and incontinence. The energy in the place, however, is anything but feeble, with dogs in their golden years prancing about like young pups. …

Spring 2005

Proper care & feeding: A new law improves the lot of backyard dogs

Over a span of six years, San Franciscan Sherri Franklin watched in dismay as Sam, the Golden Retriever in her neighbor’s backyard, suffered, deteriorated and ultimately died. …

Seeing how widespread the problem was, even in famously dog-friendly San Francisco, inspired Franklin to pursue an appointment to the city’s Commission of Animal Control and Welfare, and, ultimately, to help change the law, … establishing legal guidelines for the care and feeding of dogs. …

Spring 2003

Another guardian victory: San Francisco becomes the 7th U.S. city to codify the term animal "guardian"

On January 13, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 to approve a measure that amends city codes to recognize individual as the “owner or guardian” of their animal companions rather than solely the “owner.” …

Spearheading the effort before the Board [was] Animal Control and Welfare Commission member Sherri Franklin. …

With a little help from our friends

Muttville founder Sherri Franklin’s (incorrectly referenced as Sherry Gregory) early days volunteering at the San Francisco SPCA.

“It kills me,” she says. “I cry to see these dogs who’ve spent most of their life in someone’s home, and now they’re in a kennel.” …