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FROM STAFF REPORTS

Old dogs have something to wag about this summer, as The Grey Muzzle Organization announces the recipients of its annual grants, and dogs at Two by Two Rescue are among the winners.

Two by Two Rescue in Birmingham is one of 64 animal welfare groups chosen from 288 applicants to receive a grant to help local senior dogs. The winning groups received more than $510,000 in grants to help save or improve the lives of at-risk old dogs in their communities.

“This grant will help us give senior dogs like 9 1/2-year-old ‘Lucky Boy’ the veterinary and dental care he needs so he’ll be ready to go to his forever home,” said Sonya King, executive director of Two by Two Rescue.

Lucky Boy was relinquished by a single mother with several children who could not afford his care and kept him alone outside. This sweet fellow has a slight tinge of arthritis but is loving, slightly goofy, and enjoys playing with children and other animals.

“Statistics show that elderly dogs continue to have longer length of availability before adoption. Yet no one is more grateful or loving than an old dog, and we’re looking forward to helping more senior dogs like Lucky Boy get the second chance they all deserve,” King said.

Over the past 12 years, the national nonprofit Grey Muzzle Organization has provided $2.5 million in grants to support its vision of “a world where no old dog dies alone and afraid.”

“Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we’re delighted to help deserving organizations like Two by Two Rescue make a difference in the lives of dogs and people in their communities,” Grey Muzzle’s Executive Director Lisa Lunghofer said. “Many senior dogs in the Greater Birmingham area are enjoying their golden years in loving homes thanks to the wonderful work of Two by Two Rescue.”

Two by Two is a no-kill rescue that exists to give life to all abandoned, abused, stray and distressed animals without regard to age, breed, color or medical condition, and to keep pets in their homes by offering relief to people in crisis. One of Two by Two’s main goals is to reduce euthanasia rates and improve life-saving rates throughout Alabama, a state that ranks seventh in the country for pet shelter deaths and has a 29.9-percent kill rate, according to Best Friends Animal Society. Two by Two’s life-saving percentage is 96 percent. We respond to sightings of stray dogs, rescue abandoned dogs from homes, businesses, animal clinics, and from owners who are no longer able (or willing) to care for them, and transfer in animals on death row. We secure these pets and provide necessary medical intervention, a loving foster home initially, and a loving forever home when possible. Two by Two has steadily increased service, taking in over 200 dogs in 2016, 446 dogs in 2017, 490 dogs in 2018, and 630 in 2019.

The national nonprofit The Grey Muzzle Organization improves the lives of at-risk senior dogs by providing funding and resources to animal shelters, rescue organizations, sanctuaries, and other nonprofit groups nationwide. For details, visit Greymuzzle.org.