Category: Diary

Diary, dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, puppies

Diary of a Rescue Week Seven

Cara Sue Achterberg

And that was that. Hard to believe all the puppies are now in their forever homes. Mia has been spayed and is waiting for the right adopter to find her. She’s happy and healthy in her new home. Hard to believe it was 50 days ago that I picked up the little family on a gray, rainy day in Winchester.

I don’t know if I’ll chronicle another rescue, but while this pandemic has gone on, it has provided an excellent distraction for all of us, so you never know. We move to ‘yellow’ at the end of this week, but from where I sit, that doesn’t change much.

We’ve just picked up a new foster dog who is a special guy I met while traveling in Tennessee for Who Will Let the Dogs Out in March. I’m excited to share his story and to get to know him better.

This is the end of this rescue (for me), but you will likely still catch updates from the adopters, plus the adoption of Mia, on the Another Good Dog Facebook group. Thanks for following along! Below are the last entries for the rescue of Mama Mia and the Broadway Babes. Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Seven” →

Diary, dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, litters, puppies

Diary of a Rescue: Week Six

Cara Sue Achterberg

In less than a week these puppies will head to their forever homes! I surely won’t forget this crew—it has been an equally heartbreaking and heartfilling experience being their foster mom. By this time with every litter I am ready for them to go – they have outgrown our little puppy room and the work of caring for them is enormous. Still, I am trying to treasure it and working hard to give them the very best start to the very best lives.

Here are this week’s entries in their entirety. Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue: Week Six” →

Diary, dog rescue, fostering, hookworms, puppies, training

Diary of a Rescue Week Five

Cara Sue Achterberg

There aren’t as many entries this week because, well, everybody’s fine. The cuteness and the mess continue to escalate, but otherwise, no news is good news, right?

This week the puppies were offered to the people on the ‘Puppy Waiting List.’ After they make their selections, the puppies will be added to the rescue’s website.  I’m excited to get to know the people who will be taking these precious pups home in less than two weeks!

Here are this week’s diary entries for Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Five” →

Diary, dog rescue, fostering, puppies

Diary of a Rescue Week Four: A Week of Growing Puppies

Cara Sue Achterberg

The puppies are doing well. Growing plump and busy.

litter 4-23

It is odd to be raising them in such isolation. Normally, by now, we would be having lots of visitors to help with socialization and even a few potential adopters would be stopping by to meet them. Until they get the all-clear from the vet next week, the rescue has not offered them to the people on the Puppy Waiting List (approved adopters who have been through the application process and are just waiting for the right puppy) or put them on the website. I expect them to be cleared on Monday, but I qualify my assumptions these days.

Below are the diary entries from this week. Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Four: A Week of Growing Puppies” →

Diary, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, hookworms, litters, puppies

Diary of a Rescue Week Three: A Tough Development

Cara Sue Achterberg

This last week has been a tough one. Just like my beautiful tulips that were bright and healthy a few days ago and now droop and struggle in the below freezing temperatures, the puppies’ story changed drastically this week.

Below are the entries from our week in rescue. If you’d like to read them in real-time, you can follow the daily diary on my Facebook page, Cara Sue Achterberg, writer.

Diary of a Rescue Day 15: Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Three: A Tough Development” →

Diary, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, puppies

Diary of a Rescue Week Two

Cara Sue Achterberg

This week the pups morphed from guinea pigs to real puppies. They are growling and wrestling and starting to even notice the toys I’ve placed in their box. I tried a few Live Streams but as about 23 hours of their day is spent sleeping both ‘puppy hours’ mostly featured a big pile of pups napping. I will try again this week.

Mia continues to be an all-business mom, getting the job done and getting back out of the box. She is much more interested in what is happening in the rest of the house or the other dogs.

Below are the entries for this week. If you’d like to read them in real time (and maybe catch a puppy hour livestream) be sure to follow my public Facebook page.

Diary of a Rescue Day 8: Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Two” →

Diary, dog rescue, foster dogs, puppies, rescue flight

Diary of a Rescue (Take Two) Week One

Cara Sue Achterberg

I think all of us could use a happy story right now, so I’ve decided to create another Diary of a Rescue to follow the story of Mama Mia and the Broadway Babes. The last time I did this, about a year ago, I had the same intention but instead the story took a tragic turn right off the bat.

Daisy B, the mama dog featured in that story finally found her forever family the same week that Mama Mia arrived, so that seems like a sort of cosmic seal of approval to try again.

So far, so good.

Below are the dairy entries from our first week with this little family. If you’d like to see them in real time, you can follow along on my writer Facebook page. I also post extra pictures and videos in the Another Good Dog facebook group. Here’s hoping this story proves a heartwarming distraction to all that is going on in this world.

Diary of a Rescue Day One: Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue (Take Two) Week One” →

Diary, dog rescue, former foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, litters, oph, puppies, rescue flight, Updates

Combatting Quarantine Stress with Foster Dogs

Cara Sue Achterberg

I’ve realized that there is a correlation between how many dogs are in our house and the amount of stress in my life.

I’m pretty sure the stress brings the dogs, not the other way around. I tend to pile on the animals when I’m feeling stressed or uncertain. Their needs, their affection, the immediacy of their presence is calming for me.

Yes, the world feels upside down right now, but Continue reading “Combatting Quarantine Stress with Foster Dogs” →

Diary, dog rescue, foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, hard to adopt, Long Term Dog, oph, Updates

Diary of a Rescue: Month Six

Cara Sue Achterberg

This is a long-overdue post to catch you up on Daisy’s Diary of a Rescue.

Truly, I did not imagine I would still be writing this Diary almost six months later. But maybe that’s the piece of rescue that is hardest – they are all good dogs, but some require a little more of us than others.

Sometimes you rescue a dog from a shelter, imagining it’s shiny new future now that it is ‘out’, but Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue: Month Six” →

Diary, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, hard to adopt

Diary of a Rescue Weeks Eleven and Twelve: This has gone on Long Enough

Cara Sue Achterberg

When I started this diary, I thought it would go for about ten, maybe twelve weeks. I figured eight or ten weeks until the puppies went home and then another week or two after that for the adorable mama I saw in the photos to be adopted. As you all know, nothing went according to plan. And now, here we are at just over twelve weeks and Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Weeks Eleven and Twelve: This has gone on Long Enough” →