Adopting out puppies used to be easy. Especially when you have puppies as cute, sweet, and calm as the bunch I have.
But times have changed and/or I’m fostering in a different way than I used to foster. It’s much easier to find adopters when you have the power of a large, established local rescue’s marketing prowess behind your efforts.
Since relocating to Virginia, I’ve been more of a freelance foster. I’ve fostered for six different organizations – always trying to offer help where it is most needed. Of late, that has been for X-Port Paws and Team Memphis Rescue & Support. Neither is local to me, but both are saving lives no one else will save.
This means that finding adopters is mostly on me. I couldn’t do it without the several thousand subscribers to this blog, followers on Facebook/Instagram, and of late, the multitudes on TikTok.
I know that many of you already have a dog or three (or eight), so I’m not asking you to adopt one of these amazing animals in my foster cottage.
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.
I’ve been fostering for over ten years now, and more than 300 dogs and puppies (and a few cats and kittens) have come through our home. So, by now, I shouldn’t be surprised at the adoption magic.
When I picked up my puppies at the airport in May, I noticed Pinto Bean right away and thought – ‘he’ll be the first to go’. With his dramatic eye makeup, funny nose, and gorgeous coloring, surely he’d be in high demand from adopters.
Have I told you recently that rescue is a rollercoaster?
Earlier this week, I was feeling quite panicked. It seemed like none of the five dogs I am currently fostering was ever going to leave. None of them had any interest or applications.
I’ve fostered a lot of puppies. But never this long. I look at them sometimes and wonder if they’ll still be here at Christmas.
I know they won’t be. Eventually, they will find homes. I’m certain.
I suppose the best part (from a potential adopter’s point of view) is that out of necessity, they are now crate-trained, more-or-less housebroken (except when I get busy and forget how long it’s been since they went out), and sleeping through the night with no accidents.
Up until now, pretty much every one of my fosters has belonged to a local rescue organization, like the Humane Society of Shenandoah County or Operation Paws for Homes.
With the current crew in my foster cottage, I am fostering for X-Port Paws. They are mainly a transport rescue organization. They save animals marked for euthanasia from shelters, find a receiving rescue, arrange for veterinary evaluation, care, and transport. It’s actually amazing how many lives they have saved, even though most of them they’ve never met in person.
When I wanted to save the dogs and puppies in my cottage from the euthanasia list at Memphis Animal Services, time was of the essence (we got Dani out with only hours to spare). I knew my local Humane Society didn’t have the resources for the medical care required (multiple dogs who need heartworm treatment, an amputation, one spay surgery, plus the risk always involved in pulling puppies). There wasn’t time to convince anyone at OPH to pull these animals, and it was unlikely they would since they are not rescue partners for Memphis, and they require extensive vetting and behavioral evaluation. I asked several other rescues, but no one could act quickly.
Only X-Port Paws was willing to trust my judgment that all of these dogs were worth saving, and also believed that I was capable of fostering them, seeing them through treatment, and finding homes for them (and also helping to raise the money they would need to pay for medical care).
So they stuck their necks out big time—and Nick and I did, too.
All of the dogs—Wishbone, Dani, Lima Bean—are very adoptable dogs, once we get them healthy. They are sweet, people-friendly, dog-friendly, well-mannered young dogs who will be wonderful family pets.
But now I need to start finding those families. I don’t have the reach of organizations like HSSC or OPH. I just have you. The dog-hearted people who follow my adventures in fostering, mostly from afar.
A smart Animal Control Officer and shelter director told me recently that, “It’s already a ‘no’ unless I ask.” His shelter is so supported by his community because of his willingness to ask for help. I’m taking a page out of his book and asking you, my dog-hearted community, for your help.
So, here goes.
If you don’t already follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, I’d really love it if you would. And then once you do, if you could share my dogs and puppies to your networks, that would go a long way to getting the word out about them.
I plan to have some local adoption events, but I’m also willing to adopt to people within a reasonable distance and/or send them to a receiving rescue who will be better equipped to place them.
I also need chicken-free food and treats for Diamond and Lima Bean, they both have allergy issues that present in persistent skin problems. Those items aren’t cheap, and I’ve put a few on my Amazon wishlist for anyone who wants to support this work we’re doing.
Meanwhile, I’m going to get to work raising funds. Lima Bean has finished nursing, so in a few weeks she could have her amputation and spay surgery—if we can raise the funds. Watch for my fundraisers (please share those too) or if you want to donate now, you can send your gifts to X-Port Paws. Here’s the link: https://xportpaws.org/donate. Be sure to tell them it’s for Cara’s Foster Cottage dogs.
Updates on everybody:
Wishbone is going through his heartworm treatment at the vet as I write this. I can’t wait to get my hands on that sweet boy tonight and bring him home. I know he’ll be miserable for a bit, but this is the moment when his real life can begin. We’ll have to keep him calm and crated for the next few weeks and monitor his activity after that, but he’s ready for a home.
Wishbone is a darling, sweet, gentle boy with a funny personality and such a loving personality. He’s crate and house trained, walks well on a leash, is neutered, up to date on shots, great with EVERYONE (of all ages), and shy about other dogs, but warms up quickly.
Dani was moved to another foster home while I was on shelter tour, and Tina, her new foster mom, fell in love with her and wouldn’t give her back! So, Dani will stay with her through her heartworm treatment and recovery, as we work to find her a home.
This is making things much easier for me in the foster cottage and means Lima Bean can move out of the kitchen and into my office area with the other dogs.
Diamond is still looking for a home of her own. I put a post up on Another Good Dog Facebook page that has lots of pictures, info about her, and some of her funny videos.
I do think she’d be a great TikTok star! Please share that post to your networks (I’m really asky today, aren’t I?).
Lima Bean is finished nursing, so as soon as we raise the funds for her spay/amputation surgery, the sooner we can get to treating her heartworms. She already has that soft cough indicative of heartworms, so I’m anxious to get this process started.
This dog is incredibly loving. She simply melts into every person she meets. Nancy was here (and fell for LB, of course) and struggled to get pictures because Lima Bean would not leave space between them.
Last ask (I promise!)—the Beanie Babies are almost ready to go home! That went fast, didn’t it?
Help me get the word out about these gorgeous pups. They are healthy little butterballs who, like their mom, LOVE people. I’m gonna guess they will be as big as their mom when they grow up, but anyone who follows this blog knows I’m almost always wrong. Please spread the word. Anyone interested in adopting them should reach out to me (cara@wwldo.org) for information.
Shew. That wasn’t easy. Thanks in advance – I’m so grateful for this community and the support you give us in our foster and rescue work.
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’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:
Chicken-free food and treats for Diamond and Lima Bean
probiotics
puppy food and puppy treats
High-quality treats and chew bone
Indestructible toys
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.
Many of you remember when Diamond came to stay with us last summer after a few traumatic months while her mom was homeless. She was in rough shape, and we agreed to house her while her mom accepted a spot in a homeless shelter for pregnant women.
We had Diamond spayed and addressed all her health and skin issues. It took me a few months to figure out the right diet to keep her allergies in check, but she’s been doing great for the last six months since we eliminated all chicken products from her diet.
The plan was for Diamond to go back with her mom once she got on her feet. That plan has been delayed repeatedly while her mom faced set back after set back. And now, finding affordable housing with a toddler and infant and 50 pound bulldog has proved elusive.
Rescue is always a roller coaster. But I tend to go with the most death-defying coasters (at least when it comes to rescuing, definitely not on real coasters!).
Lately, there have been too many situations that have made me angry, sad, and/or heart-broken because I am powerless to do anything about them. I wallow briefly, but then rally and look for situations where I can have an impact.
So, as weeks have gone by in which the news in my world and the larger world has kept me awake, twisting my insides, or leaving me emotionally spent, I started casting around for a dog to save. Maybe I can’t fix the world, but I can rescue a dog! (or maybe six…)
He makes a nice matching set with Diamond, my other foster. He is the same size as her but weighs about 25 pounds less. He is quite literally a walking skeleton. It’s easy to feel all of his bones.
Another Good Dog™ 