potrero view

May 2010

Local Resident Gives Senior Mutts a Second Chance

By Sarah K. Mcdonald

Sherri Franklin is a rescuer at heart.  The Potrero Hill resident founded Muttville, an organization that fosters and finds permanent homes for dogs too old to be considered adoptable by many shelters. Muttville’s dogs are more than seven years old, and considered dog- and people-friendly. Many come from shelters that would otherwise euthanize them; others come from owners who have gotten sick or passed away.

Since its inception in 2007, Muttville has rescued more than 600 dogs from throughout California. Franklin and her team of 150 volunteers and 27 foster homes care for the animals and assess their placement needs. Grooming and veterinary care are especially important, Franklin said, particularly for dogs that have been abused or neglected. She said Muttville sometimes gets dogs whose hair is so matted they can’t see or walk. After proper grooming, she said, “it’s like a different dog.”

Franklin began her animal rescue career as a dog behavior volunteer at the SPCA in 1994. She soon began fostering, taking special interest in older dogs.  “It feels really great to rescue an animal and give them love in the second half of their lives,” she said.

Franklin served on the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control and Welfare, where she was elected vice chairman in 2001. As a member, she worked on the “backyard dog ordinance,” which mandated minimum requirements for the care of outdoor dogs. In 2004, Franklin received the Guardian Award from In Defense of Animals.  “In my dreams I would start an organization that would deal with the population of senior dogs,” she said.

Today, Franklin’s dream is a reality. She said she grew Muttville out of “blood, sweat and tears,” in addition to contacts through her previous volunteer work and day job as a hairdresser. She partners with several Bay Area animal organizations, who provide her with discounts on food, medication, and veterinary and grooming services. Among them is Pawtrero Hill Bathhouse and Feed, which threw a Halloween fundraiser for Muttville last October.  “We’re both on the Hill so we support each other,” Franklin said.

Franklin’s Kansas Street home has a revolving door for dogs she fosters through Muttville. Among them are Lucy and Ethel, nine-year-old chihuahua-dachshund mix sisters Franklin picked up from a shelter in San Jose. Franklin was immediately impressed with how friendly the dogs were, commenting that they were always wagging their tales.  “I can’t see these happy guys walking back to get euthanized,” she said.

Franklin also tells the story of Charlie, a former Muttville dog. Charlie was rescued from a home near Tracy, where he’d been chained, abused and neglected in a yard.  “He was a wreck, emotionally and physically,” said Franklin. “He didn’t want to come in the house because he’d never been in a house. He didn’t want to get into a bed because he’d never seen a bed. He didn’t know how to play.”

Charlie was befriended by a volunteer named Matt, at the time a Potrero Hill resident. Matt walked Charlie daily, slowly gaining his trust. He eventually adopted Charlie, and brought him with him when he moved to Lake Tahoe. Franklin still gets email from Matt, with pictures of Charlie playing in the lake. “He was supposed to be euthanized,” she said, “and instead he has this great life.”

Franklin works as a hairdresser at Shapes Studios downtown. She cares for her foster dogs before and after work, and performs Muttville’s administrative duties between clients.  “It’s taken over my life,” she said. “I am Muttville. I’m not anything else anymore.”

Muttville can be found online at www.muttville.org.

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