Two weeks ago we had to let our dog Cleo go. Until the end, she was surrounded in love, listening to her favorite music, with her favorite dog treats under her nose. My heart hurts and as my husband said, our life feels like a level of gravitas has fallen over it with her departure.

She’s just a dog. I expect there are people out there who are reading this and thinking those words, or maybe saying them out loud in disbelief. Yes, Cleo is(was) a dog, but she became my muse, and to thousands of people who met her in person, or online, she inspired them to adopt, educated them about senior dogs, lifted their spirits and made them laugh. She showed them how dogs give fearlessly, and they can too. Her positive influence was felt all over the world.

Cleo gave us everything we could have ever hoped for from a dog. She was my husband’s biggest fan, and she simply, utterly, changed my world.

Look who we're featuring this week! It's one of the Mutt Guests of Honor from the annual Moolah For Mutts, Shorty Cakes!

How do you honor your dog? We chose to join the Helen Woodward Animal Center and the Remember Me Thursday campaign today. It's hard to imagine that our dog had once been homeless, she has changed our world so completely.

She has been a gift

The Remember Me Thursday global awareness campaign encourages individuals to light a candle literally, or virtually, to honor orphan pets, and encourages communities to opt to adopt, reducing the millions of orphan pets euthanized each year.

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Problem solving puppies or senior dogs adjusting to changes late in life, everyone needs a helping hand (or paw) sometimes.

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Where do dog lovers go on vacation? They hang out in Monterey with sea dogs!

Joan Rivers is quoted as saying, "Dogs are easier to love than people" and for many of us this is the truth.

Dogs don't judge us. They will often willingly go the extra mile to make us happy or laugh. Dogs are the friends who stand by you through thick and thin.

Look at this cute guy who just arrived from the Van Nuys airport. This happy senior golden retriever even had a crowd of admirers send him off. Well, he's a Bay Area dog now and adoptable! 

Aspen is very much like a person—he likes to hang around people as if he’s “one of us” because you will often catch him looking at the person talking, as if he’s listening.

Needless to say, he’s very smart, knows the command “sit” and “down”. Oh, and Aspen LOVES food!

Aspen is 8 years old and weighs 68 pounds. He is good with both two legged and four legged friends.

Fall in love with him on Rescue Row at Muttville.

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When you live in a big city like San Francisco, with a big old dog like we do, it's been a mission of ours to win over our neighbors. We want them to know that we care about them and the neighborhood.

Dale Carnegie writes, “Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.”

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Creating a peaceful environment for my old dog allows us to have moments like this. Together, while listening to our own breathing, it doesn't take long to fall into a meditative state.

Having my own Shepherd-Husky dog, this viral video of crawling Huskies had me chuckling (or are they Malamutes?). Why? Because I've seen how good she is at crawling like a baby, towards a treat two inches from her snout. Silly puppy.

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Love a good bargain? Swoon over sweet senior dogs? Need cute dog stuff for fall? It's your lucky day if you live in or near San Francisco! If you don't, that's okay too. Scroll down for special online info!

THURSDAY, 10am-2pm P.L.A.Y. Pet Lifestyle And You is having a sidewalk sale and a percentage of sales will go to Muttville Senior Dog Rescue. 246 Second St in San Francisco.

Adopt a Muttville dog and get a free bed too!

Pssst! Bonus! If you don't live in the area, use the MUTTVILLE promo code all September long and 50% of your online purchase value will go to help the senior sweethearts at Muttville!

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Our dog would turn into a mule, forcing us to try and drag her 90-lb. butt across the floor to the bath tub. Out of the blue, all of her favorite dog treats were poison to her.

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