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Fostering Fun: Find Your Perfect Dog Companion

Cara Achterberg

It’s that time of year – adoption season! I’ve got some amazing dogs still looking for homes of their own. They make fostering more fun than work, but I’d still rather they move their party to your house instead of mine!

Amelia Bedelia

We took Amelia to a busy event at a winery recently, and she was unfazed by the chaos and crowd. She greeted everyone with wags and kisses. She sat nicely while we talked and listened to music. Such perfect manners. Neither of my dogs could have handled that scene or allowed us to enjoy ourselves. (not the best picture, the cameraman had a glass of wine in his hand)

Amelia is something special. She seems wise beyond her years and grounded, but also possesses serious focus and prey drive. She is ready for adventures and life with someone who can appreciate her incredible smarts, athleticism, and affection.

This is the gorgeous face I see often during the day when she comes and quietly sits beside me, waiting for me to pet her. She’s a very patient pup.

Blarney Stone

Blarney weighed in at 28 pounds at our weigh-in this week (Amelia was 42). He continues to be the happiest guy, no matter how much I scold him for jumping on me or climbing on the back of the couch or chasing the cat up and down the fence.

He would be such a great family dog. He likes everyone, but kids are his favorite. He is the definition of happy puppy. So, if you need some happy in your world, consider adopting this little package of fun. I’ve already done the hard work of house and crate-training. He’s neutered, microchipped, up to date on shots and ready to go!

Toothless

Toothless has a potential adopter who is out of the area, so Team Memphis is working on arranging transport for him. He is such a doll baby, and I’m happy for him to get a home where he can get the love and attention he needs. I do my best, but it’s a busy cottage. Thank goodness he is good at entertaining himself and for Amelia, who is always happy to wrestle with him.

Want to see my little trio in action? Here’s what is usually going on behind me as I work at my desk….

If you or someone you know is looking to add a furry family member, please share the dogs and puppies in my foster cottage. I need help spreading the word! You can always find information about the dogs on this blog site (under the tab ‘foster dogs currently available for adoption’) and also on the Facebook page, Adoptable Dogs in Shenandoah County.

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on my writing and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog. And if you’re on TikTok, you can find regular videos of my current fosters, dog news/tips, and more if you follow me there.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds, plus ideas, solutions, and resources to hep shelters save lives.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Or it’s a follow-up that takes you to the shelters in the south, One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.

Another Good Dog: one family and fifty foster dogs book
One hundred dogs and counting: one woman, ten thousand miles and a journey into shelters and rescues

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

If you’d like to support the work we do (and save the rescue and me some money), shop our Amazon wishlist. We are currently in need of Denta-life chews, dog vitamins, canned pate dog and puppy food, probiotics, training treats, soft treats, and bully sticks.

If you’d like to take a vacation with your whole pack, consider visiting one of our two dog-WELCOMING vacation rentals. Visit BringDogs.com to learn more.

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Surprise! Puppies!

Cara Achterberg

Here is the post I had scheduled for today. I thought I’d have plenty of time to tell you about the impending (well, now present) little family in my puppy room. But if you’re curious how it happened, read on. It’s quite a story.

You may have noticed that we have a mama dog in the foster cottage! How did that happen? It’s a long, but magical story….

When I pulled Zarko, Blarney, and Amelia back in March, I posted a video telling the story of how I randomly picked them. Making the point that often, dogs get saved on whims, luck, and timing more than anything. (you can find it on my TikTok, and probably Facebook, if you’re curious)

A friend saw that post and looked into Critical Memphis Animals on Facebook, which posts the dogs scheduled for euthanasia at the city shelter (where all of my dogs have come from lately). She offered to pull a dog named Roxie on the eve of her euthanasia. I put her in touch with Team Memphis Rescue, who I work with to save dogs from the shelter.

Since Team Memphis has a policy of never leaving a kennel mate behind, I agreed to take the kennel mate, and they pulled that dog, too. At the time, I remember asking, if Roxie is not spayed, why is she in a kennel with an unneutered male? No one knew.

Things at that shelter are desperate. They euthanize for space three days a week, and all dogs get just two weeks before they are put on the euthanasia list. Likely, that was the only kennel available, and they came from the same home.

It may have been a choice between them bunking together or another dog being euthanized that day to make room. I don’t know, but please don’t demonize the shelter. They are working hard to bring in the more than twenty thousand strays still on the streets. (A result of the previous management’s practice of ‘community sheltering’ in order to obtain a No-kill status. If you want to know more about that devastating trend, hop over to Who Will Let the Dogs Out.org or watch this video.)

Anyway, back to my story. Roxie caught a transport north, and Gina fostered her at her home in Maryland. Roxie is a darling little pup (35 pounds at intake), super sweet, calm, and gentle. She quickly found an adopter.

Gina was scheduled to take Roxy for her spay surgery, but noticed that she was getting pretty fat. At the vet’s office, the vet said she definitely could be pregnant, so they canceled the spay (that vet will not do spay/abort, which is a relatively common practice in many shelters) and scheduled an ultrasound.

Meanwhile, the adopter still wanted to adopt her but was not able to whelp puppies. Gina wasn’t set up to do that either, so I volunteered. After all, it was my post that dragged them all into this. When the vet confirmed that she was six weeks pregnant, we arranged to meet up and transfer Roxie to me. And now she has taken up residence in the puppy room. And she is indeed a sweetheart, exactly as billed.

If the ultrasound is correct, I should have at least two weeks with her before the possibility of puppies. That puts the due date somewhere between May 3 and Mother’s Day.

When the puppies are born, we will likely know whether Roxie got pregnant in the shelter or before arriving there. With the animal crisis growing by the day, it seems insane that the shelter may have added to it. Maybe they assumed it was their only chance and figured if she got pregnant, she would be spayed anyway. Or maybe they assumed that since her kennel mate was only seven months old, he wouldn’t be able to impregnate her.

Who knows. All I know is that we have an impending birth and a beautiful dog whose life and puppies’ lives were saved because one woman spoke up for her.

Rescue truly is random.

Roxie continues to grow larger and sweeter. She is an easy girl to have around. We take regular laps of our back field, and she seems content to snooze her days away in the puppy room. Hazel is spending more time up in the rafters as Roxy is a serious cat chaser (so is Amelia).

If you’re local to me, I could really use more towels. Fostering puppies is towel intensive and my supply has dwindled! I need both bath and hand towels.

Meanwhile, I still have three amazing pups looking for homes of their own!

If you’d like more information about them, click on the “Foster Dogs Available for Adoption” tab I created on the blog’s main page. (and please share it!)

It’s been a long morning, so I’ll cut to the chase… (I can’t tell you how many as things are still not completed, but suffice it to say no one guessed a high enough number!)

I’ll tell you more later this week, or check Another Good Dog facebook group or my socials (FB, IG, or TT) for updates.

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on my writing and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog. And if you’re on TikTok, you can find regular videos of my current fosters, dog news/tips, and more if you follow me there.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds, plus ideas, solutions, and resources to hep shelters save lives.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Or it’s a follow-up that takes you to the shelters in the south, One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.

Another Good Dog: one family and fifty foster dogs book
One hundred dogs and counting: one woman, ten thousand miles and a journey into shelters and rescues

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

If you’d like to support the work we do (and save the rescue and me some money), shop our Amazon wishlist. We are currently in need of Denta-life chews, TREATS!, dog vitamins, canned pate dog and puppy food, probiotics, training treats, soft treats, and bully sticks.

If you’d like to take a vacation with your whole pack, consider visiting one of our two dog-WELCOMING vacation rentals. Visit BringDogs.com to learn more.

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These Dogs Are Gems and YOU Can Help Get Them Home

Cara Achterberg

Hey friends, once again I need your help. We’ve got three gems lingering too long in my company who are more than ready for families of their own.

As my fostering is a bit ‘freelance,’ it’s hard for me to reach a wide enough audience.

To a dog, every one of my dogs saved from Memphis has been a good dog, and the three I have currently are no exceptions. If you can help me spread the word about them so they find homes, you’ll enable me to save more.

Here are a few options for doing that:

  1. Share this post with your circle of influence, especially dog-hearted people, anyone looking for a new furry family member, dog-oriented groups, social media.
  2. Share the link on my blog for currently available dogs: https://anothergooddog.org/foster-dogs-currently-available-for-adoption/
  3. Share the AnotherGoodDog Facebook group where there is more info and live videos.
  4. Share the Facebook Group: Adoptable Dogs in Shenandoah County

The longer I spend with them, the more I learn about them precious pups…

Like how Amelia would be an excellent Parkour prospect. Her determination, smarts, focus, and extreme athleticism make her a great candidate for any kind of dog sport.

But all that said, she is also an absolute love bug who shares kisses and snuggles freely. I wish I had more time to devote to training her, but with the wild boys demanding attention, like the forgotten middle child, she just keeps herself busy. She’s an easy, easy dog.

I think she’d do really well in an apartment or condo setting, living with someone who wants a dog to have adventures with, try agility (or parkour), a running buddy, or just great company. She is beautiful and has a fun personality.

The ‘boys,’ Blarney and Toothless, became fast friends and spend their days wrestling, chasing, tackling, and competing for my attention. Toothless is only 8 months old, so he is always ends up backing away when the tug of wars between Blarney and Amelia get serious.

Toothless is 8 months old about 30 pounds (we’re going to have a weigh-in soon and get official weights on everyone). He is a sweet boy who really wants to be a lap dog (a wiggly one at this point).

He was an owner surrender at the shelter, and whoever gave him up at least raised him with a kind hand because he loves people and is affectionate and cuddly. He’s so eager to please and has a busy, distractible puppy personality. That said, he’s making progress on “don’t jump on me,” “sit,” and “go to crate” commands.

Toothless is all legs and stays skinny no matter how much I feed him. I’ll try a third dewormer this week, but I’m beginning to think this is just who he is – that gangly teenager who can ten cheeseburgers and still be rail thin.

And Blarney. This funny little guy is something special. He’s a year old now and likely weighs 28 pounds (again, we’ll get a firm number soon!). I call him a ‘party on four paws’ because the dog is always happy. His tail doesn’t know how to stop. His grin is irrepressible. Even when I’m scolding him to not jump or to get down off the back of the futon, he complies but never takes it personally.

He has a funny hoarse bark that makes me wonder if someone damaged his trachea by yanking on him. He does pull on a leash, so I use a harness. He’s so little that the pulling isn’t terrible.

The HVAC guy came to deep clean the mini-splits in the cottage (there is so much dust tracked in by dogs running in and out). Blarney charmed him. He’s got four kids at home and seemed very interested in adopting Blarney, but turns out his landlord says that the only way he can is if he can show a DNA test proving he doesn’t have any bully breeds in him. Does he? I have no idea. I’d guess he’s got a range of dogs in him, but since he was a stray in Memphis, your guess is as good as mine. I did put DNA tests on my Another Good Dog Amazon wishlist, so if anyone wants to find out and potentially help Blarney get a home, have at it.

My spring was supposed to be devoted to finding these good dogs homes. I was considering fostering puppies later in May after my travel and work settle down a bit, but as always, the fostering gods had different plans. I’ll tell you about that in my next post!

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on my writing and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog. And if you’re on TikTok, you can find regular videos of my current fosters, dog news/tips, and more if you follow me there.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds, plus ideas, solutions, and resources to hep shelters save lives.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Or it’s a follow-up that takes you to the shelters in the south, One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.

Another Good Dog: one family and fifty foster dogs book

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

If you’d like to support the work we do (and save the rescue and me some money), shop our Amazon wishlist. We are currently in need of Denta-life chews, dog vitamins, canned pate dog and puppy food, probiotics, training treats, soft treats, and bully sticks.

If you’d like to take a vacation with your whole pack, consider visiting one of our two dog-WELCOMING vacation rentals. Visit BringDogs.com to learn more.

adopters, dog rescue, foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, fostering dogs

Need an Adventure Buddy? We’ve Got Three!

Cara Achterberg

Have I got some dogs for you! As always, I have adoptable dogs, but the three I have now are pretty special.

Sometimes fostering can be stressful – the crate and rotate, the noise, the poop, etc. So it’s refreshing to have a pack of three (relatively) easy fosters. They get along. They are all housetrained. And now, they are all crate-trained!

I’m happy to report that my streak is alive – I have successfully crate-trained every adult dog I’ve fostered, which must be close to 200 now. I thought Amelia was going to break my streak, but with time and patience, a super comfy bed, and a whole lot of squeeze cheese, she is happy in a crate overnight and for meals and naptime during the day.

With Zarko (now Toby) off to a new home….

Continue reading “Need an Adventure Buddy? We’ve Got Three!” →
former foster dogs, foster dogs

The Joy and Heartbreak of Rescue

Cara Achterberg

It has been a full week. I was going to say heartbreaking, because it has been that, but there has also been the joy of an adoption.

Let’s start with that joy.

Continue reading “The Joy and Heartbreak of Rescue” →
dog rescue, foster dogs

Meet Our Adorable Foster Dogs Ready for Adoption

Cara Achterberg

After two months of no foster dogs….we are nearly full! Amelia Bedelia, Blarney Stone, and Zarko the Magnificent have landed.

It speaks to our shelter crisis that dogs of this quality were even in need of saving. Honestly, they are all friendly, cute, young, and small(ish), and not a single one is heartworm positive. And all had been scheduled to be euthanized on March 11, but were saved on the evening of March 10 by X-Port Paws and Team Memphis Rescue and Support.

Continue reading “Meet Our Adorable Foster Dogs Ready for Adoption” →
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Why Fostering Dogs is Good For You (and your family)

Cara Achterberg

As I type this, I can hear puppies yipping and tumbling into puppy pen fences. I’m sure they are teeing up the next big mess (I’ve already stripped and cleaned the pen twice today and it isn’t 9am yet).

Behind me, Nemo is gnawing on a Benebone while Sadie is snuggled in a blanket beside him. It’s chilly in here. My mini-splits are no match for the bitter air. It’s been a cold December.

Having the fosters underfoot in my office/foster cottage as I work is good and bad. I’m debating about whether to move inside our house for an interview I have to record with a podcaster in an hour.

The interview is all about fostering. She sent me a list of questions ahead of time. Most podcasters do this, but hers were particularly good. I want to share a couple with you. This podcast is called Dog Fostering 101 (Everything I Wish I Knew When I Began Fostering), and Jackie’s mission is to offer guidance and inspiration in the hopes of encouraging more people to foster (or keep fostering).

Continue reading “Why Fostering Dogs is Good For You (and your family)” →
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My Cottage is FULL of Adoptable Puppies (and one Amazing Dog)

Cara Achterberg

My cottage is full of puppies! We went from a quiet space with just me and Nemo, to a bustling place with nonstop puppy wrestling (in two arenas), nonstop laundry, and nonstop cuteness!

First up is Sadie, a Dalmation mix puppy I am fostering for Rockingham-Harrisonburg SPCA. This is my second gig with them. I picked up Sadie from another foster who needed to move her (and also gave her red nail caps!).

Continue reading “My Cottage is FULL of Adoptable Puppies (and one Amazing Dog)” →
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Pretty Darn Perfect Dog

Cara Achterberg

Nemo has been here with me for a few weeks, and to be honest, I’m flummoxed as to why he has lingered so long in foster care. He’s pretty darn perfect. Even if he only has three legs.

He is solidly house-trained, crate-trained, quiet, sweet, very cuddly, and friendly. He is happy to simply chew on a chewbone while I get my work done. I’m comfortable having a zoom call or even recording a podcast, because I know he won’t interrupt me.

Beyond all that, he is simply a sunny guy. Happy all the time. For the last week, since Loki left (yes! He was adopted!), he’s been all alone for long stretches, especially for the three days I was gone for Thanksgiving.

Continue reading “Pretty Darn Perfect Dog” →
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Thank YOU (and you and you and you)

Cara Achterberg

It’s that season. A time to say Thank You. A time to remember to be grateful even if the world or your day has tackled your soul.

I remember when I was deep in the chaos of raising kids, someone said to me – the days are long but the years are fast.

These days, it feels like the days AND years are fast. Maybe that makes it even more imperative that we stop and empty our pockets in search of the gratefulness we’ve taken for granted.

No matter how hard your days are, reach deep there amongst the dryer lint and crumpled tissues, and there is always good. Sometimes you just have to squint to see it.

I’m thankful this year for so much, including:

My little foster dog cottage. It’s a place that has allowed me to save even more dogs this year, but it is also a space where I can create.

When I first starting working in the cottage, I thought, “I’ll never be able to write with so many dogs underfoot vying for my attention or puppies barking and playing and sometimes whining in the puppy room.”

And I really couldn’t. I struggled.

But then I stopped seeing all the distractions that would keep me from writing and realized that I could instead see them as an opportunity to practice focus. It isn’t easy every day, but I am figuring it out.

People write in coffee shops all the time. So this is mine. It is filled with others who are also busy. It’s just that these souls are busy chewing or snoring or farting or playing or barking or wrestling or slamming in and out of the dog door. And sometimes I have to pause what I am doing to clean up after them.

foster dogs wrestling on a couch

Which leads me to something else I am so grateful for—my health. I know we’re all thankful for health, but as I age (I’ll be 60 next year!), I don’t take a single step for granted. Moving as much as possible is important, and fostering dogs keeps me moving!

Working in the foster cottage has forced me to use a standing desk. If I work sitting down, I’m bound to have a few friends vying for my lap or my tea cup or even my pen.

Walking dogs, cleaning up puppy pens, crawling into crates to retrieve contraband or clean up barf, picking up puppies, wrestling dewormer into them or contorting myself to trim nails, all of it is keeping me active.

I’m also immensely grateful for you, my dog-hearted community. The people who enable me to save lives and the people who inspire me to do more. Some I’ve known for years, and some I’ve met this year. Some I’ve only met online. They cross every boundary, and I’m likely without our shared goal of helping animals, we may never have had reason to connect; in fact, we might have avoided each other.

But we are bound together anyway because of animals. And I know there are plenty of people who don’t understand the lengths I go to in saving lives, so I take comfort in the kindred spirits who meet me at transports, send endless Facebook messages and texts, mail medications and supplies, share my posts and my heartaches – the people who ‘get it’ and think nothing of this endless work.

I am grateful for the people who make this work possible through their tireless support – whether that’s leaving an encouraging note on a post, shopping my Foster Cottage Amazon wishlist, or donating to the rescue to help pay for surgeries and supplies.

I’m thankful for people who share the stories and pictures of my adoptable dogs, spreading the word, and helping them find a home. I’ve met an entirely new bunch of dog-hearted souls on TikTok, and it’s challenged me to learn a new set of skills. It’s also helped to get dogs adopted, which makes the brain-stretching well worth it.

If you’re reading this, then you are someone I am thankful for. As a writer, I never take for granted the people who, for a few minutes, share my head and heart when they read my words. It’s what keeps me writing (and reading).

There is magic in the written word. It changes lives. It changes minds. And it can change hearts. And that is true of not just readers, but the writer, too.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am counting you as one of my blessings this year, in a year full of them.

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on my writing and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

My newest book, Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues is a primer for those new to the cause, an invitation to get involved, and a source of inspiration for those already working tirelessly to save lives. With stories of successful shelters, innovative strategies, and the key ingredients for success—strong leadership, veterinary access, and community engagement—it’s a celebration of what’s working and a call to scale those solutions nationwide. Learn more and get your copy and/or send one to a shelter or rescue on our website. Also available in paperback and e-book on Amazon.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, and occasional foster cat updates (!) be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Or it’s a follow-up that takes you to the shelters in the south, One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.

Another Good Dog: one family and fifty foster dogs book
One hundred dogs and counting: one woman, ten thousand miles and a journey into shelters and rescues

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

If you’d like to support the work we do (and save the rescue and me some money), shop our Amazon wishlist. We are currently in need of crate covers(!), dog vitamins and probiotics (we have puppy), size large martingale collars, and Denta-life chews.

If you’d like to take a vacation with your whole pack, consider visiting one of our two dog-WELCOMING vacation rentals. Visit BringDogs.com to learn more.