Long Island senior dog rescue
It started with a dog named Cannoli
We rescue senior dogs, get them the medical care they need, and match each one with a family who will love them through their golden years.
Watch Cannoli’s story 1 min
200+
senior dogs rescued since 2022, and counting
Every one of them arrived needing medical care, patience and someone to say yes. Your support is how the next senior gets their chance.
Bessy & Cannoli, 2014
11 years later
A letter from Bessy, our founder
Hey friends!
I wanted a dog for as long as I can remember, and Cannoli was my first dog ever. None of this would exist without that little white dog. After we rescued our second, Biscotti, I got more involved in the rescue world.
Along the way I fell in love with senior dogs. Around the same time, my family and I became vegetarians and got involved with large animal sanctuaries like Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.
After adopting about four senior dogs over a few years, I wanted to do more than give a home to one hospice dog at a time. Seniors are the most overlooked and vulnerable dogs in overcrowded shelters. Everyone wants a shiny new puppy, and the old dogs are left to live out their time alone.
Since we found this rescue in 2022, more than 200 senior dogs have come through our doors. What started as a passion project to save a few seniors is now a mission to save every senior I can, and to show people the joy of adopting an older dog, and of adopting instead of buying from puppy mills and backyard breeders.
The heartbreaking truth about this work is that love and passion are not enough. Vet bills, medication and prescription food keep getting more expensive, and every rescue depends on fosters, adopters and donors. This year we paused to rebuild so we can save more dogs and give each one a better quality of life. In those months I showed up for other small rescues and friends, and it confirmed that this is exactly what I want to be doing, no matter how hard it is.
Thank you for loving these babies with us.
Bessy Gatto
golden girl
Why this work matters
Love does not get cheaper as a dog gets older
The problem
Emergency vet visits, daily medications and fixed incomes push families toward a choice no one should have to make: surrendering a dog who has been with them for a decade.
The result
Senior dogs land in crowded shelters, where they are the last adopted and the first at risk, and many decline quickly after losing their home.
Our answer
We rescue the dogs who need out and show families the joy of adopting an older dog. Our new Sweet Life Fur-ever Family Fund helps with vet care, prescriptions and mobility aids so families can keep their dogs at home.
Ways to help
Every gift becomes care for a senior dog
Fill the Treat Jar. Our monthly giving program has four levels, and every one keeps medicine, vet visits and foster care steady for dogs whose needs do not take a month off.
$15/mo
Biscuit
Food, comfort items and basic supplies.
$25/mo
Biscotti
Recurring medications and supplements for chronic conditions.
$35/mo
Cupcake
Checkups, diagnostics, vaccines and ongoing care.
$50/mo
Cannoli
Helps a senior dog stay home with the family who loves them.
Give monthly
Join the Treat Jar at any level, from $15 to $50 a month, and keep a senior’s care steady all year.
Honor a pet you love
Give in memory of a dog you miss, or in honor of one still by your side.
Keeping families together
Sweet Life Fur-ever Family Fund
Help for owners facing the hard choice to rehome a senior dog.