At Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, every role supports the same heartfelt mission: helping older dogs find comfort and love in their golden years. Caregivers, volunteers, and staff all pitch in, but one position stands out as both unique and unexpectedly essential: the cat tester. Twice a month, a carefully chosen feline clocks in to help determine which dogs are truly “cat friendly,” a detail that can make all the difference for potential adopters with pets at home.
This cat compatibility testing is more than a novelty. Many adopters who visit Muttville Senior Dog Rescue already share their homes with feline companions and want to know how a new senior pup might react. According to Patty Stanton from Muttville, approximately 40 percent of applicants have a cat and specifically ask how a dog does with cats. That simple question shapes adoption decisions, and the shelter has found that the most reliable answer comes from letting a calm, experienced cat meet the dogs in a carefully guided setting.
The shelter’s first official cat tester, a fluffy orange cat named Mustache, turned out to be a natural. He lived with his guardian, Missy Dominguez, and was already used to dogs. When Dominguez began bringing him into the Muttville office, staff quickly noticed that he remained remarkably relaxed around unfamiliar canine faces. The rescue later described him as confident and calm, with an easygoing energy that made him ideal for cat testing.
On his first day at work, Mustache met several of the senior dogs who were staying at the shelter. Many of the dogs showed little concern about this new feline colleague. Mustache seemed to develop an approach that supported both his own safety and the dogs’ comfort. Most of the time, he simply watched quietly and let the dogs choose whether to come closer. On other occasions, he expressed clear opinions about certain dogs and kept his distance. Staff respected those choices. His job was not to force interactions but to help reveal which dogs could peacefully coexist with a cat in a home environment.
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Beyond his role as a tester, Mustache quickly became part of the Muttville community. He was living as a hospice foster while quietly facing advanced kidney disease. Dominguez had promised him a loving home for whatever time he had left, and that promise grew into a bond that she later described as one of the best commitments she had ever made. Even while dealing with a serious condition, Mustache seemed to live fully in each moment, showing up to the shelter with the same poised, gentle presence that made him so good at his job.
Senior dog rescue can be an emotional world, balancing joy over successful adoptions with the realities of age and illness. Mustache’s story reflects that mix. His contributions to the shelter were genuinely practical, since his careful interactions helped identify cat friendly senior dogs and opened the door to more well-matched adoptions. At the same time, his presence brought comfort and delight to staff, volunteers, and the dogs he met. People at the rescue grew deeply fond of him as both a colleague and a beloved companion.
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Eventually, after a years-long and courageous experience with kidney disease, Mustache passed away from kidney failure. His loss deeply affected Dominguez and the entire Muttville team. They had not only lost a cherished pet but also a uniquely skilled member of their adoption process. In the weeks that followed, the staff grieved his absence while reflecting on how much he had helped their senior pups find the right families.
In time, Muttville welcomed a new cat tester who could carry on Mustache’s legacy. Little Dude, a cat who lived with Muttville’s donor engagement officer, Koreena Walsh, stepped into the role. Like Mustache, he had grown up around dogs and felt comfortable in their presence. Walsh shared that she brought him home at around five weeks old and that he quickly bonded with her dog Tinkerbell. From the start, he seemed fascinated by his canine housemates.
Little Dude has a talent for reading dog body language, a skill that is essential for safe and meaningful cat testing. Walsh described how he adjusts his behavior based on how the dog seems to feel. When he senses that a dog is a bit too focused on him, he keeps a respectful distance. If the dog is calm or neutral, he is willing to walk right up, sniff their rear in a doglike greeting, and allow them to do the same to him. These small, natural decisions help staff see whether the dogs are capable of gentle, respectful interactions with cats.
Because he is so dog-savvy, Little Dude gives the team invaluable information before they introduce a dog into a home that includes cats. Many of the Muttville pups he has met recently have been deemed cat friendly, which in turn increases their chances of being adopted by families who share their space with both species. In that way, this twice monthly job has a ripple effect, creating more successful matches and reducing the stress that can sometimes accompany bringing a new pet into a multi-species household.
What stands out in this story is how intentional the shelter is about understanding each dog as an individual. Senior dogs often arrive with complicated histories, and knowing how they respond to cats is one piece of a larger picture that includes health, temperament, and daily routines. Mustache and Little Dude are part of a thoughtful process that respects everyone involved: the dogs looking for a home, the cats who may already live there, and the adopters who want to do right by both.
Today, Little Dude carries forward the work that Mustache began, continuing to walk into Muttville’s office ready to meet new canine friends. Staff members see him not only as a capable tester but also as a living reminder of the original cat who helped shape this role. As Patty Stanton put it, Mustache now has a legacy as the original cat tester, and Little Dude is fully up for the job. Their shared story highlights how creativity, compassion, and a single determined cat can change the way older dogs find their way home.
