I have a treat for you today… a guest post from my pal Chandra of Daley’s Dog Years, a fantastic blog about senior dog life. Enjoy!
Every day of the year, amazing humans known as animal rescuers save the lives of homeless senior dogs. November is Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month, offering all of us who know and love senior animals an opportunity to pitch in by encouraging adopters to choose a grey muzzle. Today, I’m thrilled to share an additional way this month that you can help homeless senior dogs, with just one click of your computer mouse per day!
The Old Dog House, a nonprofit senior dog rescue and sanctuary in Jacksonville, Florida is currently in the running for $25,000 in funding from the Pepsi Refresh Project.
When older dogs find themselves homeless, their health and wellness needs have often been neglected and those issues contribute to the several months time it can take for senior dogs to get adopted. The Old Dog House is seeking $25,000 in funding to build a warm water therapy pool on its property, a fantastic idea for the health and wellness of the dogs in its care.
The project directly speaks to The Old Dog House’s mission to rehome the senior dogs it rescues and rehabilitates. “A warm water therapy pool will give the dogs the opportunity to exercise without any impact on their joints, allowing muscle development and improving overall health,” writes Kim Siegmund Stordahl, president of The Old Dog House. “If we’re funded, we will share the wealth with other rescue groups in our community by allowing them to utilize the pool for their dogs.”
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| Meet Sam, one of the residents |
Currently, the closest warm water therapy pool is a two-hour drive away so a win for The Old Dog House is a win for all senior dogs in the area—in addition to those in local rescue, The Old Dog House would like to make the pool available to senior dogs in the community.
So how do we help make this great project idea a reality? Vote every day, through November 30, online here or text the code 109539 to Pepsi (73774). Each day you have five votes to spread among all the great ideas up for funding!
Seven times a year, people and organizations submit their project ideas to the Pepsi Refresh Project. The ideas are organized into categories and voted on by funding amount—$5,000, $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000. The Old Dog House’s idea is in the “We Heart Animals” section of the $25,000 Communities category.
Only the project ideas voted into the top 15 slots in each category are eligible for funding. Right now, the Old Dog House’s project idea is ranked #32 in its funding category so we need your vote and those of all your friends!
Learn more about The Old Dog House at its site here and find it on Facebook here. Currently, The Old Dog House has nine dogs in its care—three permanent residents due to physical/medical issues, five adoptables and one who will be available for adoption once medical issues are treated. See all their adorable photos here.
Photo caption quoted from The Old Dog House:
“Every dog at The Old Dog House is viewed and treated as part of the family. We do not have kennels, runs, or cages, rather they live in a true home environment with all of the comforts of home. Since establishing the rescue in 2006, foster homes, besides our own, have been few and far between, limiting the number of older and senior dogs we are able to help. So, we did a little brainstorming and turned our attention to our old, dilapidated 1930’s detached garage. The only thing it was housing was bugs and some moving boxes! In 2010, down it came and in its place stands The Old Dog House, equipped with all the comforts of a home – heating and air conditioning, a bathroom, cable TV, WIFI, radiant heat floor (yes, it does get cold in Jacksonville!!), stereo, couch with a chaise lounge – well, you get the idea! We can comfortably house 4-6 dog-friendly dogs in The Old Dog House. Also, it is a comfortable place for volunteers to come hang out with The Old Dogs to keep them happy and socialized.”
Thanks to Chandra for sharing this great cause. I’m heading over to vote for The Old Dog House right now. How about you?
