Muttville Moves to Mission Creek

Last summer, Muttville Senior Dog Rescue moved to a $15 million, 18,000 square foot campus at 750 Florida Street, settling into buildings that had housed Advance Pleating & Button Company for roughly four decades. The former garment factory, run by the Cruz family, specialized in tucking, hems, swimwear, and button covering. 

In 2019, the property was eyed to be developed into 94 condominiums over eight stories, with more than 7,000 square feet of Production, Distribution, and Repair space and a basement garage, plans that didn’t materialize. 

Muttville rescues senior dogs and offers them to foster or adopt. The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SFSPCA) and San Francisco Animal Care and Control (SFACC) care for dogs and other animals of all ages, while Muttville exclusively focuses on older canines. 

The nonprofit’s move involved more than four years of renovation work and creation of another roughly 11,000 square feet. Muttville’s previous 255 Alabama Street facility was 7,000 square feet. 

During a pre-move garage sale to fundraise and consolidate inventory, “Muttville gave away pet clothing, costumes, beds, collars, dog ramps, and diapers to individuals and blankets and unused medicine to organizations. People were hesitant to take things until volunteers encouraged them,” said Audrey Sun, a Muttville volunteer.

Major contributors to the new building included Ken Fulk, a San Francisco interior designer who donated whimsical furniture, Maddie’s Fund, a Pleasanton-based animal welfare nonprofit, and The Rachael Ray Foundation. 

In 2023, the nonprofit sponsored 1,270 adoptions. That same year SFACC had 161 dog adoptions, while SFSPCA boasted 1,924. Since the move, Muttville has seen its number of adoptions rise by 20 percent.

According to Sherri Franklin, Muttville’s founder and chief executive officer, the adoption increase is due to the welcoming location and the publicity it received. 

“We now have a makeover space, the Glam Shampoochery, a photo studio, the Puparazzi Photo Studio, and an outdoor park between the buildings,” said Franklin.

Community members have been neighborly.  

“One person across the street from us even put a sign in their window that says, ‘Welcome Muttville,’” said Franklin. 

Vallejo artist Rachel Rodi created a mosaic mural for the Florida Street entrance. Katie Wakeman, a Santa Rosa metal fabricator, fashioned the inside gates and fences. Walnut Creek ecological sculptor Colin Selig designed the Florida Street dog bench.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company has been slow to electrify the facility, a chronic problem throughout the for-profit utility’s service territory. 

According to Dr. Shari B. O’Neill, shelter veterinarian for Muttville, the new facility allows the organization to provide almost all veterinary services, including spay/neuter surgery, dental procedures, vaccinations, routine health screenings, and X-ray imaging in-house.

“(This allows) us to be efficient with our resources and ultimately save more dogs. Our goal with medical care at Muttville is to provide what is urgently needed to have a dog ready for adoption with a focus on preventive care and treatments or procedures that will provide relief from pain or suffering,” said O’Neill.  

Additional new equipment include a washer and dryer.

“Although this may seem trivial, it is a game changer for us. It allows us to prepare all of our surgical laundry the same day and keeps it separate from the rest of the shelter laundry,” said O’Neill. 

Shelter Director Gabriella Jew noted that the buildings feature a rescue clinic with surgery and dental rooms, Home of New Beginnings, with grooming, therapy, and recovery rooms, and Adoption Center, which has staff offices, an indoor play area, kitchen, foster house, adoption house, and community center, with space where local residents and community organizations can hold meetings.

“The community center has one large room, the Cuddle Den, and two smaller rooms. We’ve already hosted a few hospice symposiums,” said Jew.

One of Jew’s favorite areas is the Zen Space, an acupuncture and physical therapy room where volunteer acupuncturists and physical therapists help relax the dogs. 

Nods to the City include the Painted Ladies, a set of five house frames for staff offices that mimic the eponymous Victorian houses, and Lombark Street, an outdoor staircase with a winding American Disability Act ramp painted “International Orange,” the same color as the Golden Gate Bridge. 

“Little touches like our realistic fake fire hydrant in Playland give the center character. Just as important are the functional aspects, such as the hydraulic tub in the Shampoochery. That allows us to easily bathe dogs of any size. We also appreciate our “iso” units, to isolate dogs who are sick, and secure rooms for larger dogs, like True North, a Great Dane who knows how to open door handles,” said Jew. 

“We are getting used to communicating on a larger campus and learning how to make things easier for our staff and volunteers,” said Franklin. 

Muttville is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., by appointment during the week.