Sherri Franklin and the Gift of Time: One Woman’s Vision Leaves a Legacy of Love

One of Sherri’s most transformative ideas was creating a foster network especially for senior dogs. photo: Patty Stanton

You may have heard of Muttville, San Francisco’s nonprofit shelter and rescue organization that specializes in senior dogs. Some older dogs stay only a month or two in hospice with Muttville. Others live out years of companionship with their newly adopted families. Whether brief or long, their final chapters are filled with love, comfort, and belonging. And it’s all because of the vision of one woman: Sherri Franklin. 

A Vow Made Real

Sherri’s journey began years ago with Heidi, an older Basset Hound mix whose time at a different shelter had run out. While she couldn’t save Heidi, the dog’s graying face continued to haunt Sherri. “Someday, I’m going to start a senior dog rescue,” she vowed.

That vow became a reality in 2007 when Sherri founded Muttville. In its first year of operation, Muttville rescued and rehomed 27 senior dogs. Today, the group saves over 1,300 senior dogs annually, living proof of Sherri’s belief that old age alone shouldn’t be a death sentence.

Many older dogs arrive at Muttville under heartbreaking circumstances: abandoned in shelters, left behind when their guardians pass away, or surrendered by families overwhelmed by their care. Muttville steps in where the safety net frays, giving these aging dogs a renewed chance at life.

Teddy’s Story

As a veterinary death doula, I meet many Muttville dogs on their proverbial deathbeds. This past January, I was called to the home of Teddy, a white Bichon who came to Muttville late in life. After Muttville facilitated his adoption, he was deeply loved in his older years, even living briefly in Paris. Only near the end did he develop canine dementia. 

Teddy’s adoptive family gave him comfort and dignity until his final hour, when he  passed peacefully in their arms. Without Muttville, he might never have had that final chapter of love and dignity.

Foster, Hospice, and Healing

One of Sherri’s most transformative ideas was creating a foster network especially for senior dogs. Hundreds of volunteers regularly open their homes, sometimes for just a few days, to give these dogs safety and stability in whatever time they have left.

For some older dogs, like Teddy, foster care becomes a bridge to adoption and years of new adventures. For others, it’s hospice, a place of comfort in their final months. Many families open their doors knowing their time together may be short, yet fall in love anyway. Countless “failed fosters” have adopted their senior guests permanently, proving that even short love stories can change lives.

Changing the Conversation

Before Sherri and Muttville, senior dogs were often dismissed as unadoptable. But Sherri’s work helped change that narrative. Through programs like Seniors for Seniors and the Cuddle Club, she brought senior dogs and senior people together, matching gray muzzles with gray heads, creating bonds that lift the spirits of both.

Thanks to Sherri, Muttville volunteers have found purpose. Families have found unexpected joy. Friendships have bloomed, with even a marriage or two among the volunteers. Sherri’s vision was never just about saving dogs; it was about connecting lives.

A San Francisco Icon

Now almost two decades later, Muttville has become a pillar of San Francisco’s animal welfare community. Along with Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS), Rocket Dog Rescue, San Francisco Aid for Animals, the SF SPCA, and San Francisco Animal Care & Control, it forms a vital piece of the city’s safety net for animals and their people. And the local veterinary community has also embraced Muttville dogs, welcoming them into clinics and hospitals, with teaching moments that ripple outward.

Today, Muttville’s reach extends across California. Under Sherri’s leadership, it’s built a network of shelters and rescues working together to save senior dogs from Los Angeles to the Central Valley to the Bay Area. 

When an older dog has nowhere else to turn, the call goes out. And Muttville answers.

The Secret Sauce

It’s tempting to say that love alone built Muttville. But those who know Sherri understand it took much more. She is practical, collaborative, and unafraid to ask for help. She delegates. She learns. She welcomes new ideas.

Equally important, she knows boundaries. In a field where compassion can eat people alive, Sherri models balance, caring deeply about Muttville’s dogs while still protecting her own well-being and encouraging her team to do the same. That steadiness has been key to building Muttville’s strong foundation.

A Legacy of Love

As Sherri now steps into retirement, she leaves more than an organization behind. She leaves a movement. Thousands of dogs who might have been forgotten have instead found love, safety, and dignity. Families have discovered that this love is worth the sadness that comes with the inevitable goodbye.

Sherri’s legacy will live on in the veterinary profession, the community, and society at large. She’s shown us that compassion is contagious, collaboration saves lives, and that when we honor the vulnerable, we honor the best in ourselves.

If we humans could learn anything from our aging canine companions, it’s that love heals. Like Teddy and so many others, these older dogs are held in loving arms. And when their time comes, they are able to pass peacefully at home.

 All because Sherri made space for them in the world.