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One woman's creative solution to help homeless senior dogs live out their golden years.

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This is Jack, a 13-year-old Jack Russell terrier.

[rebelmouse-image 19528220 dam="1" original_size="750x562" caption="Jack and his friend Penny at Silver Muzzle Cottage. Image via Silver Muzzle Cottage. All images used with permission." expand=1]Jack and his friend Penny at Silver Muzzle Cottage. Image via Silver Muzzle Cottage. All images used with permission.

His owner gave him up to a shelter. At first, it seemed like he was lucky: He was adopted that very same day.

But 48 hours later, his new family returned him because he had some medical issues they didn't want to deal with.

He was homeless — that is, until Silver Muzzle Cottage took him in.

Kim Skarritt-Nelson created Silver Muzzle Cottage after realizing just how many old dogs were in shelters waiting for new homes.

She ran Bowsers by the Bay, a dog boarding and social rehab facility, and through her work, she had connected with a few local rescues on social media.

"I started seeing that there were a lot of these really old dogs needing homes and I didn't understand that at all," she says. "It was a concept that I just couldn’t grasp. Why would a 14-year-old dog need a new home?"

Kim Skarritt-Nelson with her dog Kia. Image via Kim Skarritt-Nelson.

Some of these dogs had lived their whole lives with a person, but when their owner died, they had nowhere to go and no one to take them.

Others, like Jack, had been relinquished to shelters by owners who didn't want to — or couldn't — care for them anymore. Others still were found as strays, like Penny, abandoned along a road somewhere.

Penny was found as a stray. She is believed to be 11 years old and is awaiting her forever home at Silver Muzzle Cottage. Image via Silver Muzzle Cottage.

People usually want a puppy or at least a young dog when they decide to bring a dog home, and that's why those are the ones that almost always go home first. Old or sick dogs can spend years waiting for a new home — or even be euthanized in overcrowded shelters.

It bothered Skarritt-Nelson that these older dogs had nowhere to go to live out their remaining life with love and dignity. So she renovated one of the buildings on the Bowsers by the Bay property, converting it into a living space for dogs — complete with couches, pillows, and even a fake fireplace so that it resembles a home instead of a traditional shelter — and officially opened Silver Muzzle Cottage, a rescue and hospice for homeless senior dogs.

The interior of Silver Muzzle Cottage looks more like the living room of a house than it does a dog shelter. Image via Kim Skarritt-Nelson.

It is the only organization of its kind in her state and one of a few in the country, according to the Detroit Free Press. Even by animal rescue standards, Silver Muzzle is a very different kind of refuge.

Since it opened its doors two years ago, Silver Muzzle Cottage has helped more than 70 senior or sick dogs in Michigan.

"Once word got out what we were doing, we were getting 15-20 calls a day initially," she says. "Then it tapered off to 15-20 a week."

[rebelmouse-image 19528224 dam="1" original_size="750x562" caption="Jack and Petey, two of the current residents at Silver Muzzle Cottage. Image via Silver Muzzle Cottage." expand=1]Jack and Petey, two of the current residents at Silver Muzzle Cottage. Image via Silver Muzzle Cottage.

When they get a call, they screen them to make sure the dogs meet their age requirements and, if possible, try to place the dog in a home first. Some of those dogs do better in the quiet of a home with a family, she says.

If not, the dogs come to the cottage to await adoption. Some, like the 140-pound great dane-mastiff mix named Mongo, will simply live out the remainder of their lives at Silver Muzzle Cottage.

Mongo's owner relinquished him to Silver Muzzle Cottage on the condition that he stay at the cottage and not be adopted. He is 8, which is considered senior for such a large dog. Image via Kim Skarritt-Nelson.

"Just in case they never find a home, they will always have a home here with me," says Skarritt-Nelson.

Today, seven dogs live at Silver Muzzle Cottage, including Mongo and their newest arrival, Felix.

[rebelmouse-image 19528226 dam="1" original_size="540x725" caption="Felix's owner recently died, but with the help of Silver Muzzle Cottage, he's hoping to have a new home soon. Image via Silver Muzzle Cottage." expand=1]Felix's owner recently died, but with the help of Silver Muzzle Cottage, he's hoping to have a new home soon. Image via Silver Muzzle Cottage.

The dogs are never alone at the cottage, thanks to a group of volunteers. "We ask the volunteers to help us give these dogs a life that they may never have had," says Skarritt-Nelson. "So that may include taking them down to the beach and letting them play on the beach, taking them for walks in the woods, getting them out and socializing with people in the community."

The senior dogs also visit local nursing care facilities and spend time with the residents.

[rebelmouse-image 19528227 dam="1" original_size="750x562" caption="One of the Silver Muzzle Cottage dogs visiting a local nursing care facility as part of the rescue's "Seniors for Seniors" program. Image via Kim Skarritt-Nelson." expand=1]One of the Silver Muzzle Cottage dogs visiting a local nursing care facility as part of the rescue's "Seniors for Seniors" program. Image via Kim Skarritt-Nelson.

They spend the rest of their time snuggling and playing with the other dogs or hanging out with Skarritt-Nelson.

In fact, to take the extra step in making sure the dogs are never alone and never caged, she made the cottage her home too by moving into a small room at the corner of the house with her own three dogs.

She hopes she can continue to grow her network of volunteers and supporters so Silver Muzzle Cottage can expand and welcome more older dogs. Helping these senior dogs is her way of giving back to them — of recognizing that they once gave their lives to someone or a family, and that it's not their fault they are homeless now. Silver Muzzle Cottage is her creative way to help these dogs.

A little girl reading to one of Silver Muzzle Cottage's senior dogs. Image via Kim Skarritt-Nelson.

"The whole focus for us is making sure that the dog leaves this world with somebody, that they don't die alone, and to make sure that they know that when they left this world, they had somebody — somebody loved them, they mattered to somebody."

Want to volunteer or help Silver Muzzle Cottage in some other way? Reach out to them via their Facebook page for more information.

From Your Site Articles

Barebones makes the tents of the future, and they're giving them to people in need.

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When Robert Workman had the chance to sell his family business for a substantial profit 10 years ago, he decided to use the proceeds for good.

It was an exciting and humbling moment, filled with possibility. He'd become interested in sustainability and philanthropy and knew that he wanted to start giving back. The only questions that remained were how and where. So he hit the road looking for inspiration.

Traveling to the Congo was an eye-opening moment for Robert. Speaking to aid agencies working on the ground and communicating with the people whose lives they were trying to help, he identified an important need that wasn't being met: portable, sustainable, affordable energy generation. Robert convened a team of engineers and got to work. Goal Zero was the result.

Goal Zero offers everything from solar panels (pictured here) to power storage packs. Image via Hadhuey/Wikimedia Commons.

Goal Zero offers an easy-to-use, plug-and-play generator powered by solar panels. Its Yeti power packs are small but mighty, with three sizes able to power anything from phone chargers to refrigerators. The generators were instantly embraced by aid agencies and outdoor adventurers alike.

As far as companies go, Goal Zero is the de facto older brother of Barebones Living. Robert sold Goal Zero in 2014 and created Barebones Living.

Where Goal Zero offers a sustainable and renewable way of generating power, Barebones Living offers sustainable shelters, cooking implements, gardening tools, and lanterns.

A Barebones Living tent. Image via Barebones Living, used with permission.

The tents themselves — dubbed the Outfitter and the Lodge — are high-quality and built to last. They come equipped with fully waterproof floors, six-foot-tall walls, cookstove vents in the roof, and exteriors that will last five years even with daily use. But while these tents wouldn't be out of place at a high-end retreat or the fancy camping area of Coachella, it's in the developing world or during disaster relief where they really go to work.

"Our business has been created by our humanitarian work," said Erik Workman, Barebones Living director of sales and outdoor adventure. "All of our businesses were causes that needed these services."

When a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal in April 2015, it left cities and villages in ruins and entire families on the streets.

One of Barebones Living's tents being used as a field hospital in Kathmandu.

While UN humanitarian aid can provide tarps for shelters, they're only a temporary solution. "People can’t thrive under tarps," Erik said. "They need a good, clean place where they know they'll be safe. Once you have that, you can start thinking about other things."

Within a week of the earthquake, Barebones Living shipped 25 of its tents to Kathmandu to be used as birthing centers. A few months later, they shipped 75 more. Since then, more than 1500 healthy babies have been born to healthy moms in these mobile birthing shelters. Even after the local hospital is rebuilt and reopened, these tents will still be useful — forming the frames for homes for displaced families.

More recently, the Barebones team has been on the ground in the Philippines, Haiti, Jamaica, and Fiji, helping with recovery efforts after devastating hurricanes.

Once shelter is taken care of, a community can rebuild. Image via Barebones Living, used with permission.

They also donated tents to the protestors at Standing Rock in North Dakota and are working with an agency to supply tents and equipment to a growing Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon.

"We're working to set up a mobile medical clinic that we can basically palletize and put on a plane," Erik said. "It has the shelter, cots, coolers, lanterns — everything they'd need to get a clinic up and running in a remote area."

As Barebones continues to grow its business, it plans to give back even more.

Barebones Living tents are strong enough to be used as permanent homes in all kinds of weather for up to five years. Image via Barebones Living, used with permission.

"Right now we have a matching grant fund to support humanitarian agencies that want to purchase shelters," Erik said. "Every year for the next five years, we're matching grants up to $500,000, and we hope to expand that program as much as we can in the future."

Giving back has been baked in to the mandate of Barebones Living from the beginning. For the people who benefit from their generosity, the effect can be life-changing. Here's to more companies following their lead!

You can catch 'em all and help shelter dogs too.

Phil Pechingpaugh, director of the Muncie Animal Shelter in Indiana, was walking his dog and playing Pokémon Go with his daughter when he had a brilliant idea.

He noticed hoards of people walking around doing the exact same thing they were doing — catching Pokémon — only without a dog.

"I just thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could pair these people who are already out walking with shelter dogs who need exercise and stimulation?" Phil told Upworthy.

Photo from Phil Pechingpaugh, used with permission.

It sounded like the perfect partnership — people can get in a Pokéwalks while giving the pups some attention and fresh air at the same time.

Phil asked a friend to design simple ad. Little did he know how much attention it would draw.

"I didn’t expect much at all. I thought maybe we’ll get five or six people down here … but nothing like what we have received. We’ve had over 70 people in here today," Phil exclaimed.

Image from Phil Pechingpaugh, used with permission.

The people showing up to volunteer aren't just college kids playing Pokémon in their down time.

People of all ages have been coming from places near and far, Phil said, mentioning one girl who drove over two hours just so she could volunteer her time walking shelter dogs (and playing Pokémon, of course).

Phil's ad has already been shared on Facebook over 25,000 times and liked over 7,000 times on Twitter.

In the comments, people are posting with encouragement and love for this idea. It's as if everyone had just been waiting for a way to give back while collecting Squirtles and Pidgeys.

Photo by Karen Hastedt Borovsky/Facebook, used with permission.

With so many people showing up at the shelter in groups of three or four, the dog walkers had to develop a system in which one person would focus on dog walking while the others catch Pokémon.

"If you’re not responsible enough to do that, this probably isn’t the best option for you," Phil noted.

Phil hasn't had any problems with distracted dog walkers thus far, but he and his team do express caution to every person who comes in eager to give this fun, good Samaritan exercise a try.

The biggest compliment has come from other local shelters, Phil says.

"We’ve had other shelters that have reached out and said, 'now we’re going to do this.' I find that to be the biggest form of flattery," Phil told Upworthy.

Thanks to Phil, Pokémon Go may end up being responsible for a major uptick in shelter dog adoptions nationwide. He's already had a couple interested parties come in looking to adopt, and the Pokémon Dogs program has only been around for a day.

Photo by Trista Sydloski-Tesch/Facebook, used with permission.

Phil never would've imagined he'd be bring this much positive attention to Muncie and especially not because of a phone game. It just goes to show, small towns can make big splashes, especially when someone finds a way to combine fun with a good deed.