Diane and David Pierce

Nancy Parko

Diane and David Pierce

David and I have grown up loving man's best friend. As our daughters grew up, we always had a dog (or two) in the house to make the family complete. As our daughters left home, we started rescuing dogs and found it to be very gratifying. The dogs that we rescued were wonderful dogs who just needed a chance at a better life.

The past several years we have been very involved in working for rescues and have fostered over sixty dogs. It became clear to us that it is very important that the dogs be fostered in a home environment where you can witness the dog's behavior and see if they have any issues before they go to their new homes. We have witnessed the fact that it is very difficult to find adopting homes for senior dogs. It is understandable that the family doesn't want to fall in love with the dog and then lose them and be heartbroken.

We have found that these senior dogs are the best behaved dogs - as they are potty trained and not demanding for exercise. All they want is someone to love them and to be with them.

We also have therapy dogs that we take to hospitals and nursing homes. We are continually amazed at the positive reaction these dogs have on the patients. Their faces light up when a dog walks into their room. We know the positive force that these dogs have in our lives and put the two things together to come up with the idea of Senior Dogs 4 Seniors. It came to us that it would be a WIN WIN situation if we could place these older dogs in the homes of older folks who still live in their houses.

It seemed clear that we should start a new tax exempt rescue for these senior dogs and place them in the homes of seniors. Then we thought about the fact it may be difficult for some older folks to take care of the veterinary care, grooming needs and even getting the dog food and heartworm preventative. Therefore, we developed our new charity with three different programs to accommodate the different needs out there.

In December, 2007, we received our approval from the IRS for a 501(c)(3) as a tax exempt non-profit. We plan to promote our rescue at senior centers around the St Louis area. We hope to finance our rescue with grants and gifts and the help of volunteers in the area. Please considering helping us on this journey!

Nancy Parko

I've been involved with dogs for well over 50 years as an owner and trainer. After I lost both parents and children became independent, I found something was missing, I needed to be needed again. In late February or early March of 2003 I began fostering puppies for a local rescue group. After 3 1/2 years I was recruited by Love A Golden Rescue, also to foster puppies and work with "emotionally damaged" dogs. Two years later, I resigned from LAGR due to health difficulties. Lisa and I had discussed SD4S, the concept is absolutely wonderful, since very few rescue groups will adopt to seniors, this was perfect. I donated all of my small crates to SD4S, not knowing what was coming. Within days, Diane called me..."Nan! We're going to have puppies! Would you foster mom and babies?" Right up my alley, of course! After fostering 820 puppies and over 150 adults in the past 6 years, I feel content and peace in knowing every single dog was given my heart and soul, learned as much as I could teach and found happy loving forever homes. Even though I'm no longer physically able to foster I will continue to serve on SD4S Board for as long as I'm needed.