Category: writing

fosterdogs, fostering, Long Term Dog, writing

Now What? You Tell Me

Cara Sue Achterberg

I’m in a quandary about what to write on this blog.

I could tell you about Otis, also known as Otis-Potis, Otis-the-mostest, and occasionally Otie-oat or Otis-Blotis (as he was called last night after he ate his own and then Fanny’s dinner and waddled about with great joy and an unwieldy pregnant belly).

Otis is proving to be a remarkable puppy, and as his proud mom, I could chatter on for days about his exceptionalism. But that’s not what you’re here for, is it?

Continue reading “Now What? You Tell Me” →
cats, dog books, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, hard to adopt, no-kill, shelters, writing

Dog Parties and Talking Rescue

Cara Sue 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” →
Billie Jean, Breeds, former foster dogs, writing

Mutts are Survivors and Here’s Why

Cara Sue Achterberg

It’s been a quiet two weeks with Billie Jean here and me busy with book stuff, but I couldn’t let another week go by without a blog post for Another Good Dog. I’ve been writing this blog for 5 and a half years! That’s quite a habit. I promise I’ll give you the scoop on Billie J, plus an update on Daisy B, but first indulge me my musing about mutts….

Continue reading “Mutts are Survivors and Here’s Why” →
dog books, dog rescue, Estelle, Flannery Oconnor, foster dogs, fostering, Fruitcake, Gala, Giving Tuesday Pups, Highway Puppies, Hops, Hula Hoop, Miss Fanny Wiggles, Nelson, Oberyn, Oreo, Pepper Puppers, writing

My Hope and My Thanks

Cara Sue Achterberg

Today is the RELEASE DAY for 100 Dogs & Counting.

With all the hoopla and hope, I almost didn’t post to this blog. Continue reading “My Hope and My Thanks” →

dog rescue, fostering, heartworms, shelters, writing

A Little Help from My Friends

Cara Sue Achterberg

Hey friends, today’s post is a little different.

I am in serious crunchtime trying to get word out about my book, 100 Dogs & Counting, which releases on July 7. I received word that the actual books made it to the Simon&Schuster warehouse for distribution this week, so I can finally let out the breath I’ve been holding, and work like crazy to get review copies out.

This means every spare second (besides this one) I have is being spent writing articles, pitching reviewers, and preparing launch events (alas, all online).

There isn’t time for fostering, although the foster who should have been adopted by us or out the door by now, has had his stay with us extended because he tested positive for Heartworm. (Readers of this blog are familiar with my record on best-laid-plans.)

This morning, I drove Tito Continue reading “A Little Help from My Friends” →

booktour, dog books, dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, poop, puppies, writing

A Day in the Life of a Puppy Foster

Cara Sue Achterberg

I’ve mentioned before that puppies are a lot of work. So I thought I’d give you a peek into a typical day of caring for ten large puppies.

5:15-5:45am

Someone, somewhere in the house flushes a toilet and the puppies wake up. The pipes run through the wall in the puppy room which is our converted mudroom. It is somewhat miraculous that they don’t seem to waken if the flush happens earlier than five. Puppies commence yipping for breakfast, pooping, fighting, and zooming through poop while yipping for breakfast and fighting.

5:45am

Nick gets up and has breakfast, completely ignoring the puppies, and more amazingly, the smell of the puppies.

6am

I accept the fact that the puppies are not going back to sleep and Continue reading “A Day in the Life of a Puppy Foster” →

Destruction, dog rescue, Dogs with Issues, foster dogs, fostering, hard to adopt, Long Term Dog, oph, training, writing

Our Trifecta of Foster Dogs

Cara Sue Achterberg

It’s felt like we have been in a holding pattern for many, many weeks here. Flannery, Daisy, and Thelma have become permanent fixtures. Our whole family has adapted to life with them.

Don’t leave the kitchen gate open or ANYTHING on the floor or Continue reading “Our Trifecta of Foster Dogs” →

dog books, dog rescue, foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, Oreo, Rescue Road Trip, Updates, writing

Our Special Visitor

Cara Sue Achterberg

We have a very special guest with us this week. (As if four dogs wasn’t enough!)

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Oreo and I go way back to the day I met him in a shelter in North Carolina, where he’d been living on and off for over a year. He’d been adopted out twice, but neither adopter chose to neuter him or bring him inside, so he ran off (as unneutered male dogs are want to do) and Animal Control returned him to the shelter each time.

There was something special about Oreo—the way he looked at us, the way he leaned into his kennel fence desperate for your touch, and how he’d hold your hand through the fence.

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It was a long and winding road from that day Continue reading “Our Special Visitor” →

Dug, fosterdogs, fostering, puppies, writing

Safe Harbor

Cara Sue Achterberg

Dug has arrived.

And it’s been a long time coming. (According to Ian.)

Not long after we started fostering dogs, maybe eight or ten dogs in, my youngest son began calling all our foster dogs, “Dug.”

When I asked him why, he said. “I can’t remember all the names, so they can all just be ‘Dug.’”

Dug-upDug is the dog from the movie Up. If you haven’t seen that movie – you’ve missed out. Dug is the ADD dog the main characters encounter on their journey. Dug is searching for the bird Kevin, but is easily distracted. You’ve probably heard people say, “Squirrel!” followed by a quick head turn to indicate how easily they’re distracted. They’re referencing Dug.

With each litter we’ve fostered, Ian has campaigned to name all the puppies Dug. (Dug 1, Dug 2, Dug 3, etc.)

So, when I told him we had the chance to name our next foster puppy, he insisted we name him Dug.

I agreed and he immediately tracked down his older brother and sister to tell them we were finally getting Dug!

Dug arrived Saturday morning and it seems he really did get here just in time. He is not what you would term a postcard-pretty puppy. Continue reading “Safe Harbor” →

Estelle, fostering, Fruitcake, oph, puppies, writing

Maybe It’s About More Than Rescuing Dogs (or how I became one of those crazy dog people)

Cara Sue Achterberg

If you follow my other blog (about my writing life), you know that lately I’ve been reading extensively about the craft of writing. One thing I hear again and again is that the protagonist (main character) must undergo change for the story to have an arc, purpose, hold the reader’s interest, etc.

For the past nine months, I’ve been working on a memoir about fostering. I keep reworking and tweaking it, while I wait on word from several agents considering it. I’ve been trying to pin down how fostering has really changed me. What kind of transformation have I undergone through the fostering of well over fifty dogs? Continue reading “Maybe It’s About More Than Rescuing Dogs (or how I became one of those crazy dog people)” →