A couple spent $55,000 to turn their home into a haven for their 21 senior and special needs dogs

"My whole life I wanted to rescue dogs or have an animal shelter," Mariesa told Insider. "My family's always had dogs. In my 20s, I started adopting and fostering greyhounds."

Chris quit his job in Washington, DC, and moved back to Ohio — where he grew up — so that he could start his own shelter.

"I was working a normal job and I questioned myself and what I was doing with my life," he said. "I felt like I was supposed to be saving animals, so I very abruptly quit my job and started rescuing dogs."

It was actually the wife of Mariesa's ex-boyfriend who first connected her to Chris.

"She said, 'You gotta meet this guy Chris, he's just obsessed as you are, he loves his dogs,"' Mariesa recalled.

But when her friend revealed that she didn't actually know Chris, she just followed him on Facebook, Mariesa had no intention of getting to know him.

"Unbeknownst to me, she sent him a message," Mariesa said with a laugh. "And we got engaged a month after meeting in 2012."

"When you know, you know," Chris added.

"Someone posted a picture of him on Facebook after he was surrendered to a shelter in Florida," Chris said. "He was 12 years old and surrendered for being too old. I saw his picture and had to have him."

"When Chris and I met, he had six dogs and I had two dogs," Mariesa added. "We had an eight-dog family, and Moses was kind of the patriarch of that. We called him dad sometimes, he was this old soul. He seemed very wise and he would just drink you in with his eyes."

"There was so much behind him to teach us and learn from, and we thought that was only in his life," she said. "But in his death, we've learned so much more."

"I've always said I'm an equal opportunity animal lover, but the senior thing really hit me when we got Moses," Chris said. "It really opened my eyes up to how many senior dogs are surrendered to shelters."

"I was very naive and had no idea that people gave up older dogs or gave up on them," Mariesa added. "It just wasn't something our family ever did. That was very surprising to me, and made me want to help."

The couple sold their hot tub to pay for a $2,400 MRI for their beloved pup. They were devastated when, five weeks after he was diagnosed, Moses passed away.

"Moses was our dog together," Chris said. "He came to us when we met and we didn't know what was going to happen to us with such a big loss. And, selfishly, we didn't want people to forget about him."

That's when Chris got an idea.

"I remember driving down the road," he said. "Looking over at Mariesa and saying, 'We should help senior dogs and pay for all their medical expenses for the rest of their lives.'"

And so, The Mr. Mo Project was born.

"We just thought it'd be a perk to help a senior dog find a home," Chris said. "We never expected it to touch hundreds and hundreds of senior dogs."

"For dogs in the project, we cover their transportation to their forever foster home — wherever that will be — and we pay the medical expenses for the rest of the dogs' lives," Mariesa said.

"Sometimes we'll also just pay one-off bills for people if they can't afford a life-saving surgery for their dogs," Chris added. "That's a different part of the project."

"It ranges from people who want help and want to keep their dog to people who are burdened by their senior dogs," Chris said. "We try to keep the dogs in the home whenever possible."

The couple, who live in Clifton Park, first installed ramps in the back and the front of the house to help their older dogs get around. But that was just the beginning.

Since many of their dogs have special needs and require rehab, the couple decided to buy their own hydrotherapy pool for $30,000.

Black agility mats also run throughout the entire house, which helps the paralyzed pups grip the floor.

There's also an oxygen kennel, which helps the dogs who have congestive heart failure or breathing struggles.

"We didn't wake up one day and have 20 dogs," Mariesa said. "If we did, that would've been a lot harder to figure out. Gradually growing our pack hasn't been as hard as one would think — it's just one more bowl, one more vet visit."

They also have certain dogs who need therapy every day, and others who require special fluids.

"We both work full-time jobs outside of The Mr. Mo Project," Chris said. "This is not a job, this is a labor of love. It's where all our money goes toward."

That means they are fundraising nonstop to afford the veterinarian bills that they've pledged to pay for the 112 dogs currently in the project.

"A lot of these dogs that come to us are probably overlooked because of the way they look," Chris said. "They've got bad legs, bad teeth, crusted eyes, they're matted. But they have so much life to live. And once you give them the quality care and the right food and all the chances, they really flourish and become just incredible dogs and pets and family members."

"They don't let their experiences become who they are," Mariesa added. "I think it's so amazing of them, and I wish humans could be more like that. I know if I've had a bad day, I just let it become my day. They've gone through neglect and losing limbs because of neglect and they still shine every day."

"Senior dogs and rescue dogs and shelter dogs can all be good, happy, loving dogs," Mariesa said. "And they're very deserving of that opportunity."

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