July 3 2012

Old dogs have a giant in their corner

As everyone who reads Grouchy Puppy knows, our muse Cleo is an old dog now. You probably have also noticed that we kind of love her a lot, and would do anything for her. Being a San Franciscan, we are huge Giants fans, and in 2010 stood in the streets for hours cheering each of them after they won the World Series. Today, it makes us really proud to learn that a Giant has swooped down to lend support to old dogs in San Francisco. …

On Sunday July 1st, Timmy, a long-haired blended dog, took to the diamond before the Cincinnati Reds game [with SF Giant’s ace pitcher Tim Lincecum], raising awareness that there are old dogs in shelters deserving of a new beginning.

What Tim Lincecum did for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue is not only help get Timmy a new home, but he used his popularity to raise awareness about the plight of old dogs. He is the only pitcher to have won two Cy Young awards in his first two seasons, and he helped lead the Giants to the World Series title in his third season in 2010. How else did Tim give back to his community, and help Muttville? Tim autographed wood chuck-its and balls for the upcoming Moolah for Mutts auction on July 21st. Tim also shared with Sherri that his two French bulldogs dogs at home, Cy & Kayo, were named after his two Cy Young awards and grandfather respectively. Awwww. …

July 2 2012

SF Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum chooses senior dogs

Last Friday, when I got to the shelter for my usual stint, one of the kennel staff warned me that we were really busy. More than just trying to keep the population cool and comfortable in three-digit temperatures, we’d already received 30 animals that day. And it was barely one o’clock.

Maybe that’s why it felt like such a salve to hear about San Francisco Giants player Tim Lincecum’s big win yesterday – and he wasn’t even pitching. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was participating in game changers, a program created by popchips® brand potato chips to highlight athletes giving back to the community.

Lincecum was asked to team up with one of five local nonprofits, and he happened to choose a DogTime favorite: Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. At Sunday’s game, Lincecum, along with Muttville founder Sherri Franklin and 11-year-old adoptable dog Timmy, appeared at home plate for a special ceremony designed to bring awareness to the plight of homeless senior dogs.

The star pitcher also autographed memorabilia for Muttville’s upcoming Moolah for Mutts fundraiser. Lincecum, who has two pups of his own, told Franklin that he would’ve become a zoologist had it not required so much studying. A visit to Wikipedia confirmed he could’ve done anything he wanted – his SAT score was 1450 out of 1600. Impressive guy, him: top notch brain, pitching arm, and heart.

Meanwhile, dogs of all ages keep arriving at our nation’s shelters. The older ones are often hardest to place. I hope word of Lincecum’s actions spread, inspiring dog lovers to adopt seniors from rescues like Muttville. Or better yet, to not discard them in the first place.

June 30 2012

Tim Lincecum Helps Muttville Senior Dog Rescue

On July 1st Major League baseball star Tim Lincecum will make a pitch to sports-loving fans of Fidos in the hope that they will step up to the plate and adopt an older dog.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner was among the 15 U.S. athletes who recently teamed up with popchips, all natural potato popped chips, for the national cause marketing program “popchips game changers.” Asking their local communities “What can I do for you?”, nominations were submitted and voted upon, with citizens in the San Francisco Bay area offering Lincecum options which included his final choice- Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. …

Prior to the first pitch at the Giants game on July 1st Timmy will join Tim Lincecum on the field in the hope of raising awareness for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue and finding a forever family for a very deserving dog.

June 27 2012

Dogs have their day in workplace in national event

Going to work is for the dogs.

Just ask Megan, who spent Friday in the cubicles at Chow.com, a food and recipe website in San Francisco. The 10-year-old beagle-Jack Russell mix and her guardian, Jane Goldman, were participating in Take Your Dog to Work Day, a national event sponsored by Pet Sitters International. …

Goldman adopted Megan from Muttville, a San Francisco nonprofit that finds homes for senior rescued dogs – just such an agency that Friday’s event was intended to support. Goldman is also president of the group’s board of directors.

Muttville maintains that dogs are great stress relievers in the workplace, and scientific evidence backs it up.

Last month, Virginia Commonwealth University released a preliminary study showing that bringing dogs to work may lower stress and increase employee satisfaction. The study suggested that both large corporations and small businesses might want to foster canine programs in the workplace to as “low-cost wellness intervention.”

June 21 2012

Friday Is Bring Your Dog to Work Day

Friday is Take Your Dog to Work Day, a howl-aday (ugh, sorry, couldn’t help myself) that’s not only about celebrating our canines, but also about encouraging people to adopt dogs from shelters and rescues. One SF rescue that participates in Take Your Dog to Work Day is Muttville, one of my favorite local groups that rescues senior and special needs dogs from shelters and finds them homes. This TYDWD, Muttville will be shuttling some senior pooches to dog-friendly offices, including Advent Software, Zynga, OpenDNS, and Udemy. The cool part about this program is it’s a symbiotic relationship: the dogs get socialized, pet, loved, and maybe even adopted; while the humans get the relaxing effects of hanging with an awesome, chill dog. That’s the great thing about senior dogs – they’ve been around the block, so they’re not usually all crazy hyper and they’re potty trained!

If you work at a dog-friendly company and are interested in having some senior dogs in your office, email Muttville at info@muttville.org. And if you want to do some extra good, help Muttville win a new Toyota minivan to transport their golden oldies in style.

June 19 2012

Muttville Throws Senior Dogs a Bone

Pet overpopulation is fed by unregulated or illegal puppy mills, and often results in unwanted pets being dumped in animal shelters or simply abandoned in the streets. …

The most fortunate of rescued senior doggie citizens end up in the care of Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, a nonprofit founded in 2007 by Sherri Franklin to improve the lives and welfare of senior dogs.

Franklin is known in the animal welfare community as the “fairy godmother.” Among animal enthusiasts, she is an angel who has changed many lives, humans and dogs alike.

Equipped with a few crockpots in her kitchen, she cooks organic and healthy food for the dogs daily.

Franklin has converted her Potrero Hill home of 20 years as Muttville’s headquarters which houses up to ten rescue dogs. The backyard has special ramps and comfy beds for the dogs to enjoy the warm sun, with up to five volunteers per day who dedicate their time.

She gets inundated with hundreds of e-mails a week, yet Franklin is relentless in her crusade: “Senior dogs get euthanized. They get to shelters and nobody adopts them.” …

March 13 2012

Assembly Committee Rejects Governor Brown's Animal Shelter Repeal

An Assembly committee has rejected a proposal by Governor Jerry Brown to repeal the so-called “Hayden Law”. Animal welfare advocates say it ensures the humane treatment of stray and lost animals in California shelters, postpones euthanasia for four to six days, and provide animals with necessary and prompt veterinary care.

Muttville’s Patty Stanton and Anne Lauck spoke at the Hayden Law rally at the Alameda Courthouse in Oakland, as aired on The Pacifica Evening News with Mark Mericle on KPFA.

February 1 2012

Matching Muttville's Senior Dog Program with San Francisco Village

San Francisco Village members can take advantage of one of Muttville’s most heartwarming programs, Seniors for Seniors, which matches senior dogs with senior citizens.

“Senior dogs are generally pre-trained, come from homes where they have lived with seniors, and are usually calmer and easier to care for than energetic younger dogs,” [Sherri] Franklin said.

Dog ownership for seniors promotes relaxation, better mental and physical health, lowered blood pressure, increased exercise, feeling more secure at home, improved community relations, companionship and love. Through “customized pairings” seniors fill out applications and Muttville finds the right canine match. A good fit is assured by a two-week trial period.

In January 2012, the Doris Day Animal Foundation provided a grant to Muttville specifically to underwrite the cost of adoption. Since starting the Seniors for Seniors program in 2008, an estimated 300 dogs and seniors have been paired. …

January 25 2012

Muttville Senior Dog Rescue fosters adoption

When Nancy Wong (Wong Ch’ien) lost her father, a renowned musician in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, she reacted as many people do after the death of a loved one: She felt sad and lost and stopped taking proper care of herself.

Then one day the San Francisco resident looked in her closet and noticed some clothes she hadn’t worn in a long time. With a jolt, she realized that the last time she’d worn those clothes – as a volunteer dog walker – was the last time she felt happy. That was the motivation she needed to become a foster “parent” for Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. And that was how she met a Pomeranian named Herman.

I’d never owned a dog before and was a bit afraid of taking the leap. I thought fostering might be a good way to get acquainted with a dog, which is how I met Herman. He was with me just six months before being adopted by a family. I was glad that a 12-year-old dog with no teeth had found a forever home, but I was also surprised at how much I missed the little guy. Just seven months after his adoption, Muttville told me that Herman had died.

Herman was a toothless powerhouse of energy and my constant companion. At Thanksgiving, I sneaked him into a cafe in the Mission for a delicious meal, smiling at the furry little secret that was nestled in my bag. On Christmas Day, we entered Grace Cathedral and stood by the indoor labyrinth, a powerful symbol of peace and healing. …
Read more of her tribute to Herman in SFGate.

[Nancy wrote another lovely tribute to Herman for our blog.]

January 4 2012

San Francisco: PG&E Honors City's Favorite Charities

PG&E has partnered with 7×7 magazine to award grants to San Francisco’s favorite charities.

Magazine readers voted for the winners in an online survey and social media campaign.

After all the votes, the winner is… Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. The nonprofit saves senior and special needs dogs from euthanasia and helps find them permanent homes. Ezra Garrett, PG&E’s vice president of community relations, presented a $10,000 check to the nonprofit during a recent ceremony and celebration.