August 11 2014
Animal Rescuer Finds a New Life With Old Dogs
“I didn’t even know my life was incomplete before opening Muttville,” reflected Sherri Franklin, founder of the San Francisco-based senior dog rescue.
With 25 years as a hairstylist and salon owner under her belt, Franklin was both financially secure and happy in her career: Client interaction and fashion were right up her alley. But as she approached her late 40s, she felt her focus changing.
“I’d been volunteering at animal shelters for 12 years, six years as the vice chair of the Animal Control and Welfare Commission of San Francisco,” she said. “Many senior dogs never made it out of the shelter due to their age.”
The ache of watching these lovable canines await homes — often in vain — nagged at her.
“Instead of buying nice clothes, I began buying dog-walking clothes. Instead of a manicure, or shopping, on my day off, I spent more time with the dogs,” she said. “I saved money that way, which I spent on dogs — if one was about to be euthanized, I’d take him home, fix him up, bring his picture to the salon, talk to my clients about him. Eventually, we’d find him a home.”
She toyed with opening a nonprofit, but admitted that delving deeper into the research would scare her off. Around her 49th birthday, a walk with a friend spurred her to action. “My friend said, basically, it’s now or never. I’d talked about this enough; it was time to do something; I needed to at least try,” Franklin recalled. …
