Mimi’s Ark: Saving Senior Dogs

By Mimi Pollack

LAKESIDE, California — Most people and senior organizations agree that having a pet can be beneficial for older adults or seniors. Pets provide companionship, love, and even a reason for getting up in the morning. Pets provide so much, but what happens when they become seniors themselves? Many senior pets, especially dogs, end up at shelters when their owners can do longer take care of them.

This is where an organization like Lionel’s Legacy comes in. Lionel’s Legacy rescues senior dogs and finds homes for them. Lionel’s Legacy was founded in 2012 by Laura Oliver, and her family. Lionel was a 15-year-old pit bull that the Olivers adopted. He inspired them to start an organization that specializes in fostering and finding good homes for senior pets.

When Lionel first came to Laura’s family, he was in terrible shape, and everyone thought he had little time left to live. He was painfully thin and very scared. Slowly, he began to trust his new family, and more importantly eat like a lion. He also blossomed into a loving family pet and got along with everyone, including the family cat.

Lionel lived out his last years as a very happy dog, and seeing all this dog had to offer convinced the Oliver family that they needed to do more for other senior dogs. Thus, Lionel’s Legacy was born, and it has grown and expanded its services.

Oliver said, “A few years into rescuing senior dogs we started to learn that so many senior pets ended up at shelters as a result of lack of resources, a pet owner’s ailing health, an inability to care for a pet at the end of their lives due to lack of time, having a baby, and even sudden loss of a job or having to move.”

“We realized most people were heartbroken by the decision to have to give up their companions and didn’t feel like they had too many options except for local shelters,” she continued. “We wanted to create intervention programs to either bypass the stress of shelter life for a senior pet or provide financial resources to help people keep their pets. In 2017 our HOME program was born. Over the years we have helped hundreds of senior pets stay with their owners thanks to financial assistance for medical care.

“We have also provided a soft landing for those who could not. In the last year we added our Home away From HOME program where we provide temporary boarding for up to 60 days while pet owners navigate hardships. Many of these programs have been funded with support from foundations like The Grey Muzzle Organization, The Marion and Richard Graham Foundation, ACES Foundation, private donations, and a portion of our adoption fees.”

“In addition, while providing resources for medical care we realized that so many people needed dental care for their pets, but they couldn’t afford it,” Oliver continued. Dental care is the gateway to overall health for people and pets and although we provided assistance of up to $650, it wasn’t enough for many people, specifically seniors with seniors [a program that matches the senior dogs with senior citizens], to cover the rest. We piloted a low-cost high-volume dental clinic and found we could provide the service ourselves for the amount we were donating towards their care. The Free To Chew Dental clinic was born which also serves as a resource and adoption center for the rescue and the public.”

When asked if she worked closely with local shelters, Oliver answered, “We work closely with all our local animal shelters as they provide animal care and control to our local San Diego communities. They are often the first to work with families struggling to keep their pets and the first to intercept stray senior pets too. Our local shelters know they can also refer pet owners directly to us. This allows aging pets to receive specialized services and resources, to avoid shelter intake and exposure to stressful conditions, frees up kennel space, and allows families to feel content with having to say goodbye to their beloved pets knowing they are in good hands and entering a home instead of a shelter.”

Oliver is also fortunate in that Lionel’s Legacy has many wonderful fosters who help to get the dogs ready for their forever homes. Fosters tend to be the backbone of most organizations that rescue pets. Oliver mentioned that there were several options for fostering and helping Lionel’s Legacy. She said they need families willing to help “vacation foster” pets while their families go out of town. They need medical fosters and long-term fosters for hospice or chronically ill dogs. They also need temporary foster families through their Home Away From HOME program where they provide temporary care for up to 60 days while pet owners recover from an unexpected hardship or illness.

On September 27, Oliver was recognized by the Red Cross for all her hard work at the Real Heroes Award ceremony. The Red Cross held the ceremony on the museum ship U.S.S. Midway. She was given the Animal Welfare Hero Award for Lionel’s Legacy. Furthermore, the Red Cross acknowledged her for co-founding the San Diego Rescue Coalition, a collaboration of animal welfare agencies working together to improve animal rescue efforts in San Diego.

In addition to all this, Oliver is also an elementary school teacher who has worked in City Heights for over 20 years.

Lionel’s Legacy has many wonderful senior dogs that are up for adoption. Here is the link to see them.

The day that I went to their Lakeside headquarters, I met Ms. Sparkles who was just adorable.

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Mimi Pollack is a freelance writer based in La Mesa, California.