Thank YOU (and you and you and you)

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.

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.

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.