Buddy plants himself on the couch in the family room. He’s far from the oldest resident at the senior living facility, but he is the tallest, occupying the most real estate on the cushions.

He suffers from psychogenic polydipsia, a condition that makes him constantly thirsty. And if he had his way, he’d eat peanut butter all day long. For now, though, Buddy’s deep brown eyes search volunteers who have come to visit.

Ralphie, another resident about 1/8 the size of Buddy, is blind, deaf and has arthritis. Staff say he’s in “near-hospice” condition, but he has a hearty appetite and manages to hobble around all the same. The family room is his all-time favorite place to be.

The common area may as well belong to a nursing home. But this is Marty’s Place Senior Dog Sanctuary, an Upper Freehold haven for a select group of dogs of a certain age who have lost their homes. Open since 2015, the facility currently houses 18 dogs. Staff call them “residents.”

The goal: to afford dogs dignity and respect as they live out their final days, months or years.

Doreen Jakubcak, executive director at Marty's Place Senior Dog Sanctuary, holds a 9-year-old terrier named Peanut as Buddy, a 10 1/2-year-old hound mix, relaxes on a couch behind them in the family room.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

“People, it’s not on their radar screen to think about senior dogs in need,” says Doreen Jakubcak, executive director of Marty’s Place, which is situated on 25 acres of a former tree farm, with plenty of space for scenic dog walks.

Instead of being asked to stay off the couches in the family room, the dogs are encouraged to get a leg up via a short stack of stairs and nestle into the sheet-covered sofas. As with a senior home, each dog gets its own room and personal attention for dietary needs and medical care.

“We’re not a shelter,” Jakubcak says. “We want to assimilate them."

‘They could get euthanized in a shelter’

To be considered for residency at Marty’s, dogs must be between 7 and 17 years old.

The oldest is Rocky, a 17-year-old Yorkshire terrier who weighs 6 pounds. Since the dog came in part of a bonded pair with Murphy, a 14-year-old puggle, they share a room.

Buddy, who at 115 pounds is the biggest dog, is a 10 1/2-year-old hound mix who has to wear men’s Depends because of the urinary incontinence caused by his psychogenic polydipsia. Staff try to keep him distracted from his constant thirst with engaging enrichment activities, toys and long walks.

People seek out Marty’s for various reasons — foreclosure, eviction, birth of a baby or other financial stresses, as well as the death of a dog’s owner or illness that prevents them from caring for their pet. One dog arrived at Marty’s after its owner moved to an assisted living facility.

Regardless of how they end up there, each resident becomes part of an extended family that includes four staff members and nearly 100 volunteers. Jakubcak, who lives in Springfield, even sleeps over on Saturday nights.

Marty’s is supported by donations and sponsorships, along with people who pay for their (non-resident) dogs to use an on-site swimming pool. Jakubcak works with owners on how much they can contribute toward their dog’s care — she may, for example, ask them to get the dog a rabies shot first — though she has taken in dogs without receiving money from owners. Marty’s covers about $3,000 in yearly costs for each resident, but the sanctuary has also paid as much as $20,000 in surgeries for one dog.

Dr. Kimberly Hammer, a veterinarian at NorthStar Vets in Robbinsville, which sponsors Marty’s, has treated several residents.

“It’s not that the dogs wouldn’t get medical care in a shelter," she says. “They could get euthanized in a shelter.”

Some shelters won’t take senior dogs to begin with because they are less likely to be adopted, she says. There are foster groups that accept senior dogs, but not many guarantee a permanent home.

Jakubcak, 60, who retired after working in the tech industry for 25 years, decided to open the sanctuary after losing one of her own dogs.

Marty's Place is named for Jakubcak's Labrador retriever Marty, who suffered from degenerative myelopathy and only lived for a short time after she adopted him.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

“This is my second career,” she says. Marty is the chocolate Labrador retriever in the sanctuary’s logo. When they found him, Jakubcak and her husband, Mike, were “emotionally spent” from the deaths of their two Labs and not looking to adopt.

“I like to say Marty found us,” Jakubcak says.

Marty had spent six months in a shelter and was supposed to be euthanized. He then moved to a series of foster homes. Along the way, he developed degenerative myelopathy, a disease of the spinal cord, causing his hind legs to give out. In 2009, Jakubcak saw an email chain about the dog and decided to open her home to him. Marty eventually lost his ability to walk, but with Jakubcak’s help, he transitioned to a quad cart to get around. He died almost a year later.

Jakubcak was only with Marty for a short time, but he definitely had more living to do after the shelter and foster homes. She wanted to provide a place where senior dogs would be similarly accepted and welcomed, not rejected and ignored because of their age and chronic health conditions.

Seniors for seniors

At the “ops center” of Marty’s, staff members consult binders that contain a daily care plan for each resident.

“It isn’t one-size-fits-all,” Jakubcak says. The dogs have their own boxes of pills containing thyroid medication, joint supplements and anti-inflammatory tablets. They also get their own food bowls.

At exactly 6:30 p.m., Boomer the Howling Beagle will expect a treat, while Buddy the hound often craves a peanut butter-filled Kong toy.

A list of instructions and reminders for volunteers at Marty's Place.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

People submit applications for Marty’s online, then veterinary records are reviewed and Jakubcak and the residents meet the dogs. New residents initially have limited contact with people.

“It usually takes about two-three weeks before we discover the personality of the dog,” Jakubcak says.

Snoring on adjacent beds in the common area, pugs Morgan, 16, who lost her vision, and Mugsey, 15, whose tongue hangs out of his mouth, appear to be inseparable. They’re not related and they didn’t come from the same home. They met at Marty’s.

A pug named Morgan, who lost her vision, rests on a bed at Marty's Place. Volunteers help her at mealtime.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Gail Crescenti, 66, started volunteering at Marty’s after the death of her own pug, Daisy. Going there helped her after the loss of her dogs, she says.

“If I was to work in a regular shelter, I would come home depressed,” Crescenti says. “Working here, I feel very good." A retired teaching assistant from Freehold, she has watched senior dogs make major progress, in complete defiance of the “old dogs” cliche.

Wendy, an 11-year-old dachshund who has had Cushing’s and Addison disease, started her life in a puppy mill and was later rescued. When the dog came to Marty’s, “she was very shy,” Crescenti says. “She became a very sociable, happy dog. She wags her tail, gets out of her diaper, worms her way into everyone’s hearts.”

Volunteers Gail Crescenti and Janet Clark walk Boomer, a 12-year-old beagle, and Cocoa, an 11-year-old English springer spaniel.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The dogs get to mingle with more people as part of an outreach program called Seniors for Seniors, for which Marty’s residents visit senior citizens.

“We want to make sure that they feel loved and also have a purpose,” Jakubcak says. “It’s socialization, it’s stimulation. It’s definitely a connection there.”

The life in their years

While many dogs remain at Marty’s, some do get adopted. One wall is dedicated to adoption success stories. Caesar, a 13-year-old Italian greyhound wearing a cone around his neck because he just had a tumor removed from his hind area, will likely be the next adoptee. Mia, a 9-year-old border collie mix, is also available for adoption, though she’ll need a home where she’s the only dog.

Another wall features a tribute to Marty’s residents who have died. And on June 22, Marty’s will debut a memorial garden where pet owners can come to remember their dogs.

Kosmo, an Australian cattle dog-pitbull mix who lived at Marty’s for three years, was about 15 or 16 when he died in March.

Caesar, a 13-year-old Italian greyhound, wears a cone after having a tumor removed from his hind area. He's on deck for adoption.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

“He was one of the souls of Marty’s Place,” Jakubcak says. After Kosmo moved to the facility, doctors found tumors in his body. The sanctuary covered the cost of multiple surgeries.

Kosmo’s original owner, Rania (who asked that we not share her full name), brought two dogs to Marty’s, including English springer spaniel Cocoa, now 11. After separating from her husband, she had moved in with her parents, who could not take on more dogs.

“It’s a different kind of grieving when you surrender your dogs and they have so much life left in them,” says Rania, 42, of Brick. “For a while you question yourself.”

A visit to Marty’s helped put her mind at ease. “It’s very homey and it’s definitely a dog’s place,” she says. “They have free rein.”

She saw Kosmo just before he died and then reunited with Cocoa on another visit.

“I feel like all the grieving and pain kind of got better,” she says. “I was humbled knowing that she was happy.”

Interested in donating to Marty’s Place? Visit martysplace.org/donate.

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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