posted August 27, 2015 10:45 AM            

Like people, cats and dogs suffer the effects of old age: creaky joints, loose teeth, dementia, incontinence, blindness… With ailments like these, even a beloved pet can become difficult to care for properly. And adoption of such a needy animal is rare. Often, older pets are simply put to sleep — or abandoned.

Before you cry buckets over the fate of many a poor old pet, take heart in the existence of House With a Heart (HWAH) an animal sanctuary *** retirement home run out of the house of Sher Polvinale in Gaithersburg, Maryland. This sanctuary exclusively houses and cares for senior animals.

The motley crew of elderly cats and dogs in a home helmed by Polvinale creates a sort of Golden Girls-style environment (she’s Blanche with creaky critters!) — minus all that drama. But seriously: You’ve got to be a special sort of person to turn your property into an animal retirement home, and Polvinale is definitely that. She rescued cats and dogs for 20 years with her husband before founding HWAH.

“I started thinking about all the dogs and cats we had placed over the years and how we had agonized over finding just the right home,” Polvinale told the Huffington Post. “I just felt terrible thinking about a pet who loved and trusted its person being given up because it was old, and not so convenient anymore.”

Polvinale devotes herself full-time to caring for her four-legged wards. The sanctuary is supported by volunteers from Montgomery County and the surrounding metro areas who walk, bathe, diaper, medicate, and otherwise care for the residents around the clock by her side.

The schedule can be tough — Polvinale falls into bed after midnight, cares for certain animals throughout the wee hours of the night, then rolls out of bed each day at 6 a.m. — but she considers it her calling.

“I am grateful for every day with each of them,” she said. “If they are waking me up at night, that means they are still with us, and I rejoice in that.”

Okay, so we totally shed some tears.