Alice Mayn, founder and executive director of Lily’s Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary (a 501c3 non profit), had her “Aha!” moment in 2008 when she rescued a Golden Retriever, who had been picked up as a stray, from a Sonoma County shelter. Lily, as this precious girl would be called, was about 12 years old. She was in poor condition, suffering from myriad health issues.
Lily had been in the shelter for one month. When Alice saw her, she knew she had to rescue her. How did Lily respond when taken out of the shelter? She walked right up to Alice and gave her a big wet kiss!
While being nursed through her illness, Lily expressed love, affection, and gratitude for being saved. Though her time with Alice was a brief four months before crossing the Rainbow Bridge, the message she delivered was loud and clear: “Mom, you need to rescue other senior dogs like you rescued me.”
Thus, Lily’s Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary was born. The sanctuary is nestled on 16 beautiful acres in the hills of Petaluma, California. It benefits large (50+ lbs) and old (7+ years) dogs of all breeds that have been displaced, abandoned, or surrendered by their owners.
When a dog is taken into the sanctuary, the first thing he or she experiences (besides plenty of reassurance and love!) is a complete veterinary check. After receiving any necessary medical or dental care, the dog resides at the sanctuary while networking gets the word out to prospective adopters and foster homes.
Our goal is to re-home all the dogs in our care, finding them forever families where they can live their golden years being loved and cared for. Dogs not adopted remain at the sanctuary for the rest of their lives. Hospice care is provided when necessary.
On any given day, calls about older dogs languishing in shelters, and from dog owners in the community at large, outnumber requests from potential adopters. “It breaks my heart to have to turn away a dog,” says Alice.
This is why finding loving foster homes is an important part of our work. Senior dogs are pretty easy. They need minimal exercise, are already house trained and socialized, and offer unconditional love. Each dog we adopt out or place in a foster home creates space at the sanctuary to save another homeless dog.
The entire operation keeps going thanks to Alice’s 15-hour days and any array of wonderful and dedicated volunteers helping out seven days a week, making sure the dogs are fed, walked, bathed, and – most importantly – loved during their time at the sanctuary. Volunteers 18 years and up are welcome.
As a 100% volunteer, non-profit organization, we depend on donations and fundraisers for revenue to care for our canine senior citizens and keep their tails wagging. To learn more about Lily’s Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary, view available dogs, make a charitable contribution, or join our fantastic extended family, please visit lilyslegacy.org.
Linda Mannella has been a volunteer at Lily’s Legacy for 3.5 years. She lives in Novato with her senior husband, Joe; two senior dogs, Kacee and Oscar; and two senior cats, Peaches and Theo.
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Main article photo by: Courtesy of Lily's Legacy Senior Dog Foundation
