Category: dog rescue

dog products, dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, lawn

Looking for a Few Recommendations…

Cara Achterberg

I love a good recommendation, whether it’s for a book, a recipe, a cool place to hike, a great new kitchen gadget, but most especially dog stuff (go figure).

Adopters ask me often for recommendations for dog stuff and I’m always happy to oblige, but recently I had a thought—what if the company whose products I recommend would sponsor me (or technically, Who Will Let the Dogs Out/WALDO)? Or if money is out of the question, what if they gave me ‘dog stuff’ that I could use with the foster dogs or take to the shelters?

Continue reading “Looking for a Few Recommendations…” →
Breeds, dog rescue, fostering, litters, oph, poop, puppies

Put a Little More Puppy in Your Day

Cara Achterberg

I think the reason people who foster a litter of puppies agree to do it again is the same reason people have more than one child. You forget.

You forget the mess. You forget the noise. You forget the smell. You forget the laundry and the work and endlessness of it.

All you remember is the joy and the cuteness and the love.

I asked for this. I could have stuck with full-grown dogs. But no, I needed puppies.

Continue reading “Put a Little More Puppy in Your Day” →
dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, hard to adopt, litters, Long Term Dog, puppies, shelters, transport

Coming Soon to a Foster Home Near You: Puppies!

Cara Achterberg

I’m pretty sure Mia will be here indefinitely.

It may take some time for her people to find her. She’s incredibly special and so her people are likely special too. She’s ceaseless entertainment for Fanny (and for us), so we don’t mind waiting.

Continue reading “Coming Soon to a Foster Home Near You: Puppies!” →
Breeds, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, Long Term Dog, Pit bull, training

Of Bite Addendums, Smart Dogs, and Transparency

Cara Achterberg

Smart dogs are just harder to deal with—same goes for smart children. Mia still has no applications, but that’s not her fault. She isn’t a simple dog.

She is clever and energetic and totally in the game. She doesn’t miss a thing—my glance her way while working will bring her to her feet, she’ll nudge my hip as if to ask, “How can I help?”

Continue reading “Of Bite Addendums, Smart Dogs, and Transparency” →
dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, returned dogs, training, Uncategorized

Four-legged Happy

Cara Achterberg

Do you want to know what happy looks like in a 45 pound package with four legs?

That would be Mia. This dog simply never has a bad day, or a dull moment, or an off-switch. Well, that’s not entirely true. She does sleep—in fact, when she does it is much like she lives—loud. The girl can snore.

Mama Mia is back with us and she is an entirely different dog than the dog who arrived here last April with ten puppies still nursing.

Continue reading “Four-legged Happy” →
adopters, Billie Jean, dog rescue, former foster dogs, fosterdogs, returned dogs

A Dog I Once Fostered…

Cara Achterberg

Billie Jean is launched.

Gosh how I hope this time it sticks. I think it is a good match, but we never really know until she goes home.

I’m still awaiting word. I haven’t heard anything since a quick text from her adopter while they were driving home (four hours to northern New Jersey). She said Billie Jean, now Piper, was sleeping in the back seat most of the time, occasionally standing up and putting her head between the seats to give a few kisses.

Continue reading “A Dog I Once Fostered…” →
cats, dog books, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, hard to adopt, no-kill, shelters, writing

Dog Parties and Talking Rescue

Cara Achterberg

We had a dog party this weekend.

We often have multiple dogs – but that usually includes a litter of puppies which inflates our numbers. This time, it was all adult dogs, and quite a few personalities.

We had our neighbor’s dog Juno, who is one of Fanny’s best friends.

Continue reading “Dog Parties and Talking Rescue” →
adopters, Behavioral Euthanasia, Billie Jean, dog rescue, foster dogs, oph, returned dogs, training

Our Beauty Queen Returns

Cara Achterberg

Having Billie Jean back with us has been really fun. She has an energy that shimmers off her and an eagerness to please that is refreshing. Like most cattle dogs, she has a lot to say and a huge repertoire of sounds. She is great company and an entertaining guest.

117967718_10157686800362405_2395763771416965780_n

She is so much the dog I remember, but at the same time there is Continue reading “Our Beauty Queen Returns” →

adopters, Breeds, dog rescue, Fanny, former foster dogs, fostering, returned dogs, training

Judging By the Heart

Cara Achterberg

It’s another quiet week at this foster house. We’re in between foster dogs, something that feels rare for us as the dogs have generally overlapped for years now.

Tito was adopted on Sunday by a couple of ‘old hippies’ (their words!). It seems like a really great fit. They are experienced pit bull people who don’t just want to adopt, but to ‘rescue.’

They understand that Tito is a work in progress and that any dog adopted into a new home will require a significant effort on their part. At the start of this pandemic, Tito had only ever lived on a logging chain 24/7. Since then he has been in two rescues, one foster home, and now a second adoptive home. They are committed to helping him feel safe and loved, while teaching him about life in his new home.

Continue reading “Judging By the Heart” →

adopters, Carla, Daisy Duke, dog rescue, Flannery Oconnor, Foo Foo, former foster dogs, foster dogs, fostering, owner responsibility, returned dogs

Returned Dogs Are Inevitable

Cara Achterberg

There have been so many adoptions this spring and summer. It’s a wonderful thing, but with lots and lots of adoptions come the inevitable returns.

Making a decision as momentous as adopting a dog for the rest of its life based on pictures, maybe a few videos, a foster’s notes, an adoption coordinator’s questions, and usually only a single meeting, is definitely a gamble, albeit an educated one (the same kind my brother claims he uses to win money in Vegas).

We shouldn’t be surprised or dismayed when a dog is returned. It doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the dog or the adopter.

What’s really remarkable, I think, is Continue reading “Returned Dogs Are Inevitable” →