No “Shady Pines” For Pooches

The Muttly Crew barks with Peyton’s Place Animal Rescue co-founder Danielle Marchetti. 

Site Link: https://peytonsplaceanimalrescue.org/
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Instagram: @peytonsplaceanimalrescue

Give it up for furry seniors! Our crew spoke to a rescue founder making a difference for older dogs. Danielle Marchetti and her husband Anthony founded Peyton’s Place Animal Rescue. You may guess that its namesake is based on former NFL quarterback star Peyton Manning. But it is mainly to honor their Papillon/Japanese Chin/Maltese angel who passed away. Danielle, Anthony and their pack help dogs find good homes for their golden years. This is no “Shady Pines” and we are sure Golden Girl Sophia Petrillo would give her approval. We are happy to share their tips on helping furry elders live their best life in this article!

Keep in mind, this is a more unique type of rescue group covering areas in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Arkansas. Because they deal with more mature dogs, they potentially work with more medical issues. And many of the dogs they take in have already had a lifetime of mixed experiences. Some are from shelters or surrenders. The rescue says it will also not turn away younger dogs that need help, even if they are expecting a litter of puppies! Birds like parrots can also fly into this rescue too. With the onset of COVID-19, like many others, the rescue’s number of adoption and foster applications jumped. Demand grew but so did the “fur-baby supply.” More dogs are needing to be rehomed as their parents fall ill or worse, die during this pandemic. The Peyton’s Place team is super busy caring for a number of dogs. This can be challenging and fulfilling as many rescue owners and pet parents know. These dogs may have just lost a parent who they had known most of their life. Or for others, it became too difficult to care for the senior dog due to other reasons like financial strain, disease or changes in the family. 

The Peyton’s Place team says they want to help as many dogs as they can. The founders Anthony, an attorney, and Danielle, a paralegal, even balance successful careers with running an effective rescue. They are determined to save dogs and see they get to live out their best tail-wagging life. Years ago before Peyton’s Place came to fruition, Anthony has seen a Pit Bull on “death row” at a New York City shelter on social media. Anthony and Danielle knew they had to save the dog. They had to go through a rescue to pull the pup and he randomly called one in Staten Island. That place approved them and they drover nearly two hours to get the pooch.  Eventually they opened their own because they were so passionate about it. Currently they have 9 of their own dogs and foster at home too!  Here are Danielle’s tips for the new but possibly mature, furry addition to your family:

  • If you already have a dog and are meeting the new pooch, start outside. On neutral territory. Do a pack walk with you, your dog, the rescue rep and the new pooch.  Start with them walking far apart. Then gradually, let them get closer to each other. Usually, they do it on their own. During the walk you can tell if they will get along. It could be 10 to 15 minutes long. One time we had a meet and greet for our Pit Bull Precious, but we made the mistake of going in the parent’s house because it was raining hard. The other dog wound up nibbling at her leg after Precious started sniffing around. (We wound up adopting Precious).

  • If you are fostering now and going to work at the office, get the dog on a schedule. For example, if you work 8 am to 5 pm, start feeding and walking her on the same schedule as you would when you have to go to work. Even senior dogs need to learn their schedule in a new home.

  • When looking at rescues, make sure they also vet you and conduct home or virtual visits. There are a lot of shady rescues that do adoptions. If an organization is willing to just hand you a dog without vetting you, that’s a red flag. If something goes wrong, they might say they are not taking the dog back. They should make sure you are a good fit. Even if we do a virtual visit, we talk to all the references. When I got Peyton, I really didn’t know about rescues. A lot of people just don’t know.

  • Dogs from breeders need help too. Unfortunately, they are considered property of the breeders. It can be tougher to help those pooches. If they are not sold and age, they could wind up hurt, dead or in kill shelters.