Rick Springfield is an old dog’s best friend.
Springfield, who turned 392 in dog years on Aug. 23 (that’s 75 to you and me), will be in Colorado on Thursday and Friday to both wish that he had Jessie’s girl and raise money for Pepper’s Senior Dog Sanctuary, which provides high-quality care for unadoptable older dogs on a 50-acre ranch in Roxborough Park. Co-founder Mary Leprino’s mission is to provide a compassionate, loving, lifelong home where up to 20 elderly dogs sent from shelters all over the state are tended to for their last days.
“From the minute they wake up until they go to bed at night, they are cared for perfectly,” Leprino told CBS News Colorado’s Kelly Werthmann.
On Thursday, Springfield is headlining the “Raise the Ruff” fundraiser at the Mission Ballroom in Denver, where he is expected to raise an astonishing $500,000 for Pepper’s at a dinner and 90-minute concert that is expected to draw 1,500 swooning fans.
In a PSA for the concert, Springfield describes himself as “a senior musician and a senior dog lover.” He goes on to say: “Senior musicians like me need love, a cozy place to sleep – and a fair share of bathroom breaks.” (And so do senior dogs.)