Join our email list for inspiring senior dog success stories, updates on innovative grant-funded programs, insights from grantees that are shaping the future of senior dog care, and opportunities to donate to fundraisers that make this life-saving work possible.
Training as an Investment of Love: An Interview with Mikkel Becker
An advantage of adopting a senior dog is that they often need less training. However, Mikkel Becker, Vetstreet.com trainer and Grey Muzzle Advisory Board Member, suggests that we should see training as something more, a way to bond with our older dogs and bring them joy; in short, an "investment of love."
What is Hospice Care for Pets?
Hospice for pets involves bringing our beloved pets home, knowing that although there is no cure to give them, supportive care can keep them comfortable. In this post, Dr. Jessica Vogelsang and Dr. Elizabeth Benson of Paws into Grace explain this approach to addressing terminal illness in pets.
Never Stop Playing: 5 Questions with Victoria Stilwell
Meet our newest Grey Muzzle Advisory Board member, Victoria Stilwell, world-renowned dog trainer, pet expert and respected leader in the field of animal behavior. In our interview, Victoria tells us about her bond with Sadie, her rescued senior dog, and gives us tips to keep your dog feeling her best.
Improving Canine Mobility: An Interview with Dr. Julie Buzby, DVM
Dr. Julie Buzby, a member of Grey Muzzle's Advisory Board, practices integrative veterinary medicine. In this interview, we asked Dr. Buzby about her approach to mobility problems in dogs, and how she came to develop ToeGrips, devices that improve mobility in dogs by providing them with better traction.
Veterinary Medicine and Animal Welfare: An Interview with Dr. Dean Vicksman, DVM
Veterinarians are often at the forefront of animal care and welfare. Dr. Dean Vicksman, a veterinarian and Grey Muzzle Advisory Board member, explains how he has combined veterinary medicine with animal welfare work, and offers his thoughts on the special health and care needs of senior dogs.
Mastiff Rescue of Florida: Helping the "Oldie-but-Goodie" Big Dogs by Pam Boswell
Mastiff Rescue of Florida is a breed-specific English Mastiff rescue. Through their “Oldies but Goodies” program, which Grey Muzzle helps support, they care for big older dogs, many abandoned by owners who can't pay veterinary bills or by puppy mills and backyard breeders after they are no longer profitable.
Feeding Your Senior Dog
Proper diet and weight are important for extending the life of a dog, but weight management can become more difficult as a dog ages. This excerpt from Grey Muzzle's Caring for Your Senior Dog offers some basic feeding advice for senior dogs.
Cumberland County SPCA: Second Chances for Senior Dogs by Maria Stoerrle
Cumberland County SPCA (CCSPCA) is a large open-intake shelter that serves animals and owners in a county with one of the highest levels of poverty in the state. Through their Senior Society and a grant from Grey Muzzle, senior dogs at CCSPCA get the care they need and a second chance.
A Match Made in Heaven by Laura Coffey and Lori Fusaro
When three nuns came to a rescue in New York and asked for a dog "no one is going to want," they were introduced to Remy, a 9-year-old Pit Bull. Thus begins just one of the wonderful stories of senior rescue dogs in My Old Dog, a new book by Laura Coffey with photos from Lori Fusaro.
Coping with Pet Illness and Loss by Doug Koktavy
Anticipatory grief has many of the same symptoms as those experienced after a death has occurred and can affect those facing the companion animal as much as the loss of a human. Using his personal experience, Doug Koktavy offers strategies for coping with the impending loss of a beloved pet.
A Day in the Life of a Hospice Foster Caretaker by Debbie Marks
Hospice fostering provides care for homeless dogs who are too old or ill to be placed for adoption. We asked Debbie Marks, a volunteer foster caretaker for Blind Dog Rescue Alliance, to tell us about what an average day is like caring for dogs with special needs.
Canine Vestibular Disease: A Common Senior Dog Malady by Dr. Julie Buzby, DVM
Canine geriatric vestibular disease can often be mistaken by owners for a seizure or stroke. Advisory Board Member Dr. Julie Buzby, DVM discusses this common senior dog ailment and explains why the prognosis is good for most dogs who suffer from it.
Muttville's Cuddle Club: Sharing the Special Love of Senior Dogs by Andrea Brooks
With help from a grant from Grey Muzzle, Muttville's Seniors For Seniors Program supports the adoption of senior dogs by senior citizens. However, not everyone ready to share love with a senior dog is prepared to adopt. For this reason, Muttville launched Cuddle Club.
Sweet Senior Girl: After Our Dog’s Diabetes Diagnosis by Sharon Castellanos
Diabetes is a disease that can affect dogs as well as humans. Writer Sharon Castellanos tells of her senior dog's surprise diabetes diagnosis, how they learned to manage it, and her discovery that diabetic dogs can still live a long and happy life—with life lessons along the way.
Helping Organizations Pay It Forward by Dr. Lisa Lunghofer
Making Good Work, led by Advisory Board member Dr. Lisa Lunghofer, offers a quarterly Pay It Forward program, which selects a nonprofit for pro bono consulting services. Dr. Lunghofer explains the program and offers some grant writing tips she prepared for her first Pay It Forward organization.