Every day, dogs in good health with wonderful personalities are euthanized. Why? Because they’re older, and not considered adoptable. Muttville reaches out to kill shelters in Northern California to rescue senior and special needs dogs that would otherwise be euthanized; find homes for those dogs that are adoptable; and offer end of life care for those that are not.
On Thanksgiving Day, 2018, a friend sent Áine a photo of a dog up for adoption from the Muttville website. The dog was the spitting image of Áine’s dog Sammie, who had passed away five months earlier. “Normally I would wait for at least a year, maybe two, between dogs,” says Áine, “But as soon as I saw her, I felt that Sammie had sent her to me as a Thanksgiving ‘thank you’ for the time we had together.”
Sammie’s 10-year-old ‘twin’ had been rescued by Muttville from a high kill shelter in Modesto County, where she had been brought in by her owner to be put down. “She was surrendered for euthanasia because she had diarrhea—can you believe it?”
The dog’s name was Little Miss Thang, and after two days of antibiotics her diarrhea was gone. But her teeth were in terrible condition. “Muttville sponsored and paid for her dental work after I adopted her. She had 16 teeth extracted. I could never have afforded that. That’s donations at work!”
Áine shortened her new love’s name to MissT. “I wasn’t going to be hollering ‘Heel Little Miss Thang!’ in the dog park on a daily basis!” MissT is now almost 14 and acts like a puppy. She’s a bundle of energy as well as a cuddle bug. She’s the light of Áine’s life and that’s why they chose Muttville as their charity donation. Says Áine, “Thank you Tales of the Kitty, Muttville—and Sammie.”
Muttville is currently fundraising for a new campus. The new space will increase their capacity to respond to emergency rescue needs such as hoarding situations and puppy mills, as well as natural disasters such as wildfires. The new facility will let them save many more senior dogs like MissT.