Alice Mayn, founder and director of Lily's Legacy, with, from left, Angie, Cooper and Belle. [All photos by Duncan Garrett Photography]
Comfy beds and tasty food, cuddles and kind hands make life good at Lily’s Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary. The canine haven in the rolling hills outside Petaluma is a dream come true for good dogs who’ve been cast adrift after losing their homes—and caring for them is founder and executive director Alice Mayn’s passion.
“It’s what Lily wanted me to do,” she says.
Lily was the 12-year-old rescue dog Mayn took home from the Sonoma County Animal Shelter in November 2007 and lovingly cared for until she passed on to doggie heaven four months later.
“Senior dogs are the hardest dogs to get out of shelters,” she says. “That’s why we’re here.”
With Lily as her inspiration, Mayn founded Lily’s Legacy at her home in Forest Knolls in 2009. Her mission is to rescue displaced dogs older than 7 and larger than 50 pounds, which are the least likely to be adopted, and either find homes for them or take care of them at the sanctuary in their golden years. Such dogs become homeless for a variety of reasons. Sometimes people move and can’t take their dogs with them, and elderly owners who must go into assisted living might be forced to leave beloved dogs behind. Others have financial difficulties, and Mayn recalls a case in which a family had to give up their pet reluctantly, because they had a baby who was allergic to dogs.
A visionary approach
Dr. Aaron Wentzell and Dr. Mary Beth Goetting, husband-and-wife owners of Fairfax Veterinary Clinic, provided care for Lily and knew Mayn initially as a client. After she lost Lily and started to consider creating a senior-dog rescue, she invited them to her home for a barbecue and pitched the idea. “Alice wanted to do it right, in a thought-out manner,” says Wentzell, and they talked it through and discussed how a senior dog rescue could operate successfully. He describes Lily’s Legacy’s sanctuary environment as different from a crowded shelter and more like a living room, and says, “Having a property with space for dogs was an important part of her vision.”
Lily’s Legacy is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and donations pay for the dogs’ care, so Mayn must balance the number of dogs she keeps with what she can afford. “We’re a small rescue,” and limits the size intentionally, taking in only 100 to 125 dogs a year so she can provide a high level of care. Even so, by 2012, Lily’s Legacy had outgrown its Forest Knolls home, and Mayn found a larger property to lease in Petaluma. “We were very fortunate to be able to do that,” she says.
She had no plans to move again, but in 2015 she got a call out of the blue from a supporter who said, “We’re going to help you buy a place.” And so she went shopping. She found the perfect spot on the outskirts of Petaluma, just a stone’s throw away from the property she was leasing. And Lily’s Legacy settled into its forever home in a pastoral setting with a barn and bunkhouse to house the dogs and Lily’s Big Field, where they can go for walks and run freely. They even have their own swimming pool, thanks to another dog-loving donor.
Dogs suitable for adoption stay for an average of 30 days, and her dogs have a high adoption rate with few returns. Rather than putting up dogs for adoption on a first-come first-served basis, Mayn and her staff of five make sure the potential adopter and dog are a good match. They ask for references, check with veterinarians to make sure adopters are clients in good standing and make a home visit to ensure that the environment is appropriate. In addition, “We have dogs who have lived out their lives here,” she says. Those include dogs which aren’t suitable for adoption, while others they keep because, “sometimes we fall in love with them,” she says.
They don’t get many that aren’t suitable for adoption. They just need to find the right family, and a dog might need some training or have special needs. Last year, she rescued a Labrador with a malignant tumor on her ankle, and her brother, which needed two major knee surgeries. Nonetheless, one couple adopted them both. In another case, a man with three dogs who were 7, 9 and 11 lost everything during the COVID-19 pandemic and had to give them up. The goal is to keep together dogs who are already bonded—and “We found a wonderful woman who adopted all three of them,” says Mayn. (The adoptive dog parent still keeps in touch with the original owner, she says.)
Some dogs go to foster homes instead of staying on site. Those foster families look after them until they’re adopted or care for them after they’ve had surgery or have other problems that need attention. A foster coordinator follows up with them regularly, and Lily’s pays for medical care, as well as food, grooming and rides to the vet if necessary. As to the dogs that stay at Lily’s Legacy permanently, staff members and volunteers—called Lily’s Angels—look after them. Among them, “cuddlers” spend time on a couch cuddling dogs seven days a week, and a “feeder” looks after the barn dogs. Each dog, regardless of where it goes, has a thorough vet check and tests as required. “We know exactly what their health situation is and what they need,” Mayn explains. “The level of care is significant. We don’t want to sacrifice that.”
Various shelters throughout California reach out to Mayn, and Wentzell helps her to decide if they have the resources to help the dog and whether to take it. All the dogs get a medical exam on intake, and the vets obtain their medical records if possible, access their needs and bring their preventive care up to date. Because they’re seniors, “Many have preexisting medical conditions,” says Wentzell, and sometimes they have lumps and bumps that turn out to be cancer. After a thorough evaluation, the vets develop a plan for getting a dog into good health, and those with more serious conditions stay permanently at the sanctuary rather than being put up for adoption. Wentzell and Goetting then provide veterinary care as required, mostly in the Fairfax clinic and hospital, because that’s where they have the equipment and staff they need. Wentzell also tries to leverage his own contacts in the animal health world and has arranged a discount package with a lab, as well as getting discounts on some medications. In addition, he’s available to talk to adopters after they take their dogs home if they need advice. He finds his work with Lily’s Legacy rewarding, because he can give back to the community and make a difference for animals. He and Goetting have been on the board of the organization since the beginning. “It’s a way that I can have a larger impact by helping steer the policies of the rescue group and optimize the care,” he says.
Scooter and Jan
Jan Gates, of Napa, discovered Lily’s Legacy 12 years ago, when she wanted to do some hospice work with animals at the end of their lives and started calling local animal shelters to inquire about opportunities. She looked after several dogs in “fospice” care (fospice is a combination of the words foster and hospice), and then looked after a dog for a week while its owner had medical treatment. The man never came out of the hospital, and so she adopted the dog, a dalmatian named Duke who was about 10. He’d only been with his previous owner for four months and settled quite well into a new home—other than being afraid of her partner, Dwight Danniel.
“We went through all kinds of shenanigans,” she says, and then Duke decided that Danniel was OK after all, and they developed an extraordinary bond, to the point that she became the odd man out. The first time Duke climbed up on Danniel’s lap, he fell asleep, and Gates took a photograph of them and had a painting done. They had Duke for five-and-a-half years. “He was an amazing dog for us,” she says.
“We really just like senior dogs. They seem to have more wisdom, if you will,” Gates says. “Now that we are seniors, their energy level is suitable for us.” She doesn’t think she couldn’t handle a pup with high energy and appreciates a wise old dog. “It’s wonderful to know that they’re not going to die in a shelter and that they’ll have a home at the end,” she says. Gates is a psychologist and says she likes the idea of giving a dog comfort and healing in its final years, or even weeks or months. “It feels like a calling for me,” she says.
She’d had four senior dogs—two in fospice care, Duke and then Sandy. After Sandy died, Gates and Danniel decided to take some time off from dogs and do some long-distance traveling. They traveled for a year and a half, and Gates had plans to eventually adopt two Spanish galgos (greyhounds). However, she learned that Mayn needed some foster help, so she agreed to take a dog for four weeks between trips, and that’s how Scooter, a mixed breed that’s predominantly German shepherd, took up residence. He fit in seamlessly with their household routine and lifestyle. “By the third week, it became obvious that he belonged here,” Gates says. The thought of not having him with her became unbearable.
She and Danniel had already planned a six-week trip, though, and they took Scooter back to Lily’s Legacy so Mayn could look after him while they were away; Gates cried when they left him. When they went to pick him up on their return, he was confused at first, but when they got him back to the house he was overjoyed. “He’s such a happy dog. His tail is constantly wagging,” she says, and they decided to adopt him. He was a stray in Modesto and was in the pound in Stanislaus County for several months until Lily’s Legacy took him on June 3, 2023, and Gates and Danniel adopted him exactly one year later, on June 3, 2024. “He’s such a wonderful, perfectly behaved, loving dog,” she says.
Gates credit Lily’s with doing a great job of evaluating each dog. She observes that people are often afraid to adopt unknown dogs, but Lily’s keeps them long enough to properly assess them. “When you get a dog, you know who you’re bringing home,” she says, and she finds that when you adopt an older dog, they are grateful and develop a very strong bond.
Unique needs
Despite the upheaval they’ve had in their lives, the dogs seem to adjust well. “Once they feel safe and know they’re home, they relax,” says Mayn. She advises anyone considering adopting a senior dog to be cognizant that older dogs have special needs and be prepared to commit to taking proper care of their new family member. Regular walks and grooming are basic caretaking, and they should learn to read their dog to recognize its signals so they’ll know what it needs.
Wentzell also advises adopters to recognize that senior dogs have unique needs. They might have dental disease or arthritis. “People should understand what they’re getting into,” he says. Lily’s evaluates and screens potential adopters so they understand their responsibilities, and when homes are a good fit, “Senior dogs will give so much love in return for having that stable, loving family at the end of their life,” he says.
The path to adoption
When making dogs available for adoption, “We like families where someone’s home a lot,” says Mayn, because senior dogs need more attention than younger ones. Someone who has a heart for senior dogs and can give them the love and attention they need is ideal, and Lily’s Legacy has repeat adopters who fill that description. She’ll call to tell them about a dog, and they’re frequently ready to give it a home. She also gets the word out that a new dog is available by posting on the organization’s website and social media and by relying on good word of mouth. Anyone who’s interested in a particular dog can send in an application. She advises potential adopters to know enough to be able to ask questions and take into consideration the energy level and size of the dog. “Most of the time, they have a dog in mind when they call us. Then they come and meet them. If it’s a good fit, and they’re approved, they get to take it home,” she says. They pay the cost of adoption, which is $300. Later, if they need help, a staff member at Lily’s Legacy will talk with them and help them resolve any issues.
Rewards and Joys
“The thing I have learned most from these dogs is gratitude,” says Mayn. She finds that every dog has its own personality and special antics. She recalls some dogs who were living in the bunkhouse, and they learned how to open the door to the freezer below the refrigerator, took out the food, unwrapped it and had a party—without any ill effects.
Wentzell believes that senior dogs have so much love to give. “They’re often gentle, experienced souls,” he says, but often when families are looking for a dog in a shelter, they don’t think about older dogs.
“Lily’s Legacy is the best rescue group I’ve ever worked with,” Wentzell says, noting that it’s one of a kind in that it’s a sanctuary for senior dogs that are also big dogs. That the unmet need is huge, he says, and many of the dogs would be euthanized if they ended up in shelters. He adds that the dogs have lost their homes and have been through stressful times, and they’re often suffering from a kind of PTSD. But if they’re given a loving, stable environment, they thrive.
Wentzell points out the tagline on Mayn’s email, which sums up the organization’s spirit. “Saving one dog won’t change the world, but it will change the world for that one dog.”
