These Dogs Are Gems and YOU Can Help Get Them Home

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. This past year, I’ve been compelled to pull directly from the Memphis Animal Services Shelter. Here’s why:

They have a new director who is doing everything right, and she’s under heavy fire from the public. She took over a shelter that had not been taking in dogs because of misguided efforts to achieve ‘no-kill’ (and make the public happy). Meanwhile, the stray population exploded, and it was believed there were up to 60,000 stray dogs on the streets.

I visited Memphis and went out on those streets and know that is not an overexaggeration. Correcting the mess means getting dogs off the streets, which means the shelter is overfull all the time (it holds about 300 dogs) and incoming dogs have only about 2-weeks to find adopters or rescues before their kennel is needed for others.

I know what they are doing is heartbreaking, but I also know it is the only way to improve the situation. Pulling just a handful of dogs may not seem like much, but it’s something. I’m a big believer that we can all do something.

The other reason I pull from Memphis is that the dogs we are rescuing would die without us. The dogs in my cottage were all pulled the night before their scheduled euthanasia with the help of Team Memphis Rescue and X-Port Paws. They coordinated getting them out, to fosters or boarding, vetted, and up here to me.

I’ve rescued a lot of dogs, but I’ve also kept track of dogs I believe were my ‘true saves,’ meaning I was the only person who could have saved them and if I didn’t act they would die. I know that sounds harsh, but 90% of the dogs I’ve rescued had the possibility of being rescued otherwise. I took those dogs in though, because I knew it gave time to the dogs who needed a true save.

That might not make a whole lot of sense, but it’s the way my mind works when I choose to rescue a dog. So, lately, I’ve been choosing to save from Memphis. To support Suzy, the director and the work she is doing, and to make more ‘true saves.’

To a dog, every one of my Memphis dogs 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 if you think your friends/family can handle the tough truth above and can help spread the word.(I’m putting the info about the dogs below)
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.

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.