08/17/2026
Joshua and I truly appreciate every local person who is beginning to see and understand the animal welfare crisis happening right here in your counties own backyard. We really do. ❤️🩹
For a long time, it felt like we were screaming into the void. So seeing people notice, care, share posts, and want something better for these animals means more than you probably realize.
But we need people to understand something, too: Joshua and I are not the fix-all.
We don’t have a magic wand.
We cannot take in every dog or cat that is dumped, abandoned, unwanted, or found wandering.
We don’t have unlimited space.
We don’t have unlimited time.
And we definitely don’t have unlimited money.
Joshua and I both work out of town. Right now, I am working anywhere from 50–80 hours a week. That doesn’t include my drive time, which by itself can add up to what most people would consider another workweek spent sitting behind a steering wheel.
And somewhere between work, driving, sleeping occasionally, and trying to have some semblance of a life, we’re still answering messages, networking animals, arranging transports, raising money, coordinating vetting, finding rescues, and trying to clean up a crisis we did not create.
A little over a week ago, a mom and her four puppies were dumped near a county line.
They landed in one of those terrible gray areas where two shelters shared that county line, yet neither did right by this family.
So we started working.
Thankfully, through our rescue connections, we were able to secure placement for the entire family with a rescue friend up north.
But “we found rescue” doesn’t mean the work magically ends.
It took phone calls. Messages. Networking. Rearranging schedules. Transportation. Vetting arrangements. Health certificates. Fundraising. Coordinating people. Time. Energy. Gas. Money. And a whole lot of figuring things out as we went.
The rescue that tagged this family has graciously taken on the brunt of the financial responsibility, but here’s a part of rescue people don’t always see:
Every animal we help costs us something.
Even when another rescue pays the veterinary bill.
Sometimes it’s gas. Sometimes it’s supplies. Sometimes it’s hours on the road. Sometimes it’s taking time away from work or home. Sometimes it’s paying for something ourselves because there simply isn’t time to wait.
Usually, it’s a combination of all of it.
And that’s why we need more than people who care.
We need people who want to participate.
If you’ve been watching and thinking, I want to help, but I don’t know how, please reach out.
We’ll help you learn.
There are fundraisers that need organized.
Benefits that need volunteers.
Dogs that need networked.
Transports that need drivers.
Animals that need temporary holds.
Rescues that need connections made.
Posts that need shared.
Supplies that need collected.
And about a thousand little things happening behind the scenes that could always use another set of hands.
There is work to be done locally, and there is work to be done throughout the network of rescue organizations and volunteers we’ve built relationships with across the country.
You do not have to foster 20 dogs to make a difference. You just have to be willing to become part of the solution.
The reality is simple:
We, the rescue community, cannot do this alone.
But we also cannot operate in constant chaos.
For the sake of the animals, ourselves, and the longevity of this mission, there has to be a plan. There have to be boundaries. There has to be organization. And there have to be more people willing to carry pieces of the load instead of expecting the same few people to carry all of it.
Because despite everything, here’s what that work accomplished this month:
🐾 SIX DOGS SENT TO RESCUE. 🐾
❤️ Oakley went to a rescue that partners with a prison program, where dogs receive training and preparation to help them become successful, adoptable companions before finding their forever homes.
❤️ Momma and all four of her puppies made it safely to The Good Life Rescue, where this little family now has the opportunity to move forward instead of becoming another statistic.
Six lives.
Six dogs who aren’t wandering.
Six dogs who aren’t waiting for someone to decide whose responsibility they are.
Six dogs who now have a path toward permanency.
That is what rescue is supposed to look like.
Not one or two exhausted people trying to save everything.
A community of people, volunteers, donors, transporters, fosters, networkers, and rescues each doing their piece until an animal reaches safety.
If you are able to donate toward the continued care of these dogs, please consider supporting the rescues who stepped up and gave them somewhere to go. Helping them recover the money they’ve invested into these six dogs allows them to turn around and say YES to the next animal who desperately needs them.
And there will always be a next one.
We know we can’t save them all.
But with more people beside us, we can save a hell of a lot more of them. ❤️🩹🐾
