Saving Dogs That Many Have Forgotten

Together We Rescue – Saving Dogs That Many Have Forgotten

Earlier this year a friend told me about an amazing woman named Cara Sue Achterberg. Cara is a published author and she’s a foster for Operation Paws for Homes (OPH) – an all-breed rescue based in my home town of Alexandria, Virginia. Cara had combined her gift of writing with her love of fostering through her latest book, Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Cara and her family have now fostered over 100 dogs for OPH. I reached out to Cara on social media, told her about PawsGo, and offered to host a book signing for her and OPH.

As it turned out, the PawsGo book signing was the last on her tour. It was a remarkable opportunity to hear about her tour and what’s next for Cara and her passion for helping dogs that many have forgotten.

In August and September, as part of her book tour, Cara toured several shelters in the rural south. The dogs in her book came from these shelters. What she saw was a turning point in her own life. Cara told us she believed Something must be done. The number of good dogs dying in our shelters and the conditions they are held in are simply not acceptable. So many dogs (and cats) are dying because there is not space or time or money to save them. These are good dogs (and cats) who deserve a chance.

Cara was very quick to defend the individuals she met who work in the shelters – they are NOT the villains. They are animal loving people who are put in an impossible situation and are doing all they can with much too little. Time and again Cara said she was in awe of the sacrifice, effort, and love they put into their jobs (paid and volunteer). So what needs to happen? Laws need to change. Attitudes need to change. Local governments need to step up. But most of all, people need to know. Again and again, as Cara toured the shelters, she thought, “How can this be? I’m up to my ears in dog rescue and I had no idea it was this bad.” Every shelter she visited was filled to capacity. They were grateful for the dog food and supplies Cara brought, but what they needed more was hope. None of us should stand for it. As a result of her tour, Cara has committed to speaking up as loudly and as widely as she can until this very solvable problem is solved.

No doubt, Cara has a plan. And PawsGo will be there to help! As she develops her plan, you can join PawsGo in helping those nine shelters in rural North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia receive gifts of unbudgeted items – things like flea and tick medication, treats, toys, beds, collars and leashes – things that all dogs deserve, but most shelters have no budget for.  To further impact the need, several of these shelters were damaged by Hurricane Florence, that ravaged North and South Carolina in September.

You can help in two ways – you can go to Cara’s website here and learn how you can help these individual shelters — http://www.anothergooddog.org/how-to-help.html

You can also purchase one of the PawsGo wine bags, we’ll donate $5 from every bag sold to Cara’s efforts to help these rural shelters. You can find the wine bags and our popular dog-inspired shirts at www.PawsGo.com  By working together, our collective efforts will have a major impact for the dogs and the individuals who are working in these shelters. As Cara said, “I know the issue is not that people don’t care, it’s that people don’t know. I intend to tell them.” And we can help!