Tag: puppies

dog rescue, Dogs with Issues, Flannery Oconnor, former foster dogs, foster dogs, fostering, Gala, hard to adopt, Long Term Dog

Sometimes it Don’t Come Easy…

Cara Achterberg

Sometimes rescue is hard. Sometimes it doesn’t come easy.

As I put the final touches on my next book, due to the publisher December 1 (and if all goes well, released July 2020), I’ve spent a lot of time remembering one particular dog who changed my life. Gala was with us for over eleven months, but truly she has never left my heart.

Gala-7
photo by Nancy Slattery

The new book, One Hundred Dogs and Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues (and yes, that is a mouthful and no, it wasn’t up to me), begins with Gala. Up until Gala, fostering had been mostly fun, occasionally stressful, but ultimately a win-win for all parties involved.

Gala challenged me, not just in terms of exposing how much I don’t know about dogs, but emotionally as I wrestled Continue reading “Sometimes it Don’t Come Easy…” →

dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, litters, puppies, Runt

One Hundred Percent Chance of Mutt

Cara Achterberg

So…..puppies! Now that Houdini is safely launched and Flannery is thriving in her new home, we can talk about puppies!

Everyone keeps asking me what breed they are and the only answer I have is 100% mutt. If you can think of a breed, I can probably find some evidence for it amongst these ten puppies. They are all so different!

Some have short hair, some long hair, and some fuzzy hair. They arrived in a rainbow of colors – black, chocolate, brown, mocha, tan, white, and gray. Some of the puppies have a thick density to them and others are light-boned. The two black puppies might look similar in photos, but one is fuzzy and stocky, and the other is short-haired and leggy. I keep color collars on them, but it’s easy to distinguish one from the other. There is something for everyone in this crowd.

Nancy was here for a photo shoot over the weekend and Continue reading “One Hundred Percent Chance of Mutt” →

dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, litters, puppies, Runt

Mostly Fat and Happy in PA

Cara Achterberg

Almost all of the PA Pups are fat little butterballs.

 

11-4 foster puppiesIt’s been a challenge to get to know them as Continue reading “Mostly Fat and Happy in PA” →

dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, oph, pregnant dog, puppies, shelters, Spay and Neuter

Fifteen Dogs in My House

Cara Achterberg

We survived our record-setting weekend.

Now we just have fourteen dogs. Which we’ve had before.

Gosh, this makes me sound like a dog-raving lunatic. Which maybe I am. Or at least I feel like one after this weekend.

Saying we fostered fifteen dogs this weekend is somewhat misleading since Continue reading “Fifteen Dogs in My House” →

dog rescue, emergency transport, foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, puppies, shelters

A Puppy Hero

Cara Achterberg

This week, I was reminded again when it comes to rescue—you can’t predict anything.

Or, at least, I can’t predict anything.

The wild ride began last Wednesday when Continue reading “A Puppy Hero” →

dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, puppies

You Know You’ve Fostered Too Many Puppies When…

Cara Achterberg

Maybe you’ve had too many puppies funnel through your home when you have to schedule ‘puppy socialization’ into your day and beg your kid to play with them. My two older kids were home briefly before taking off for more exciting destinations and neither of them even went in the puppy pen while they were here.

Ian’s a great photographer, so I keep bugging him to take their picture, anything to give them a little attention. (If you want to follow his 365 project on Instagram, look him up at iachterberg_photo – he posted the BEST picture of Gracie yesterday and sooner or later the puppies will turn up I’m sure.)

Having failed at getting Ian to take the puppies’ photos and running up against the deadline for them to go out to the Puppy Waiting List (the people who are approved and get first dibs), I decided to Continue reading “You Know You’ve Fostered Too Many Puppies When…” →

dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, puppies, shelters

Foster Dog Overwhelm: Saving Dogs Even When Your House (and heart) are Full

Cara Achterberg

Sitting down to write this morning, I’m debating with myself how much I should tell you. There are times during this fostering experience when the difficulties stretch my commitment thin as tinsel and I am certain it will snap.

I don’t blame the dogs or OPH or even the wrongness of the necessity of the work we do. I occasionally blame my husband, because Continue reading “Foster Dog Overwhelm: Saving Dogs Even When Your House (and heart) are Full” →

foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, pregnant dog, puppies

A Mama’s Instinct

Cara Achterberg

The natural instincts of animals are remarkable. Spending so many of my hours with animals in the course of a lifetime, I’ve come to respect this, but I’ve also come to wonder at length about human instinct and whether we are compelled to follow it the way animals do, but that is decidedly a topic for another post.

A week ago today, I had just finished a post about Thelma’s arrival and the happenings in this foster house, when Continue reading “A Mama’s Instinct” →

dog rescue, foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, pregnant dog, puppies

Time for some Puppies!

Cara Achterberg

Puppy watch has begun in earnest. After a week of her temperature holding steady at a consistent 100 degrees, this morning Thelma’s temp dropped to 98.7. She is still happy to see me and thumps her tail, but she doesn’t get up and climb over the side of the whelping box to greet me.  More tellingly, Continue reading “Time for some Puppies!” →

Dixieland, foster cats, fostering, kittens, oph, Oreo, puppies

And Then There Were Kittens….(what?)

Cara Achterberg

The puppies are gone. It’s just us now.

Well, us and four dogs.

And Hermoine.

And the horses.

And a few visiting cousins.

And two foster kittens.

What? Continue reading “And Then There Were Kittens….(what?)” →