Book Excerpt and How You Can Help

Excerpt from Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues

Our hope is that this new book can be the beginning of a new conversation about how we, together, fix our shelters. It’s not up to a national organization or a local government or a celebrity who loves animals, it’s up to you and me.

There is no reason we can’t solve this crisis. But the first thing we have to do is stop arguing about it. We need to find ways to work together with the same determination that Dr. Sanders had when she arrived at Anderson County PAWS. We have to decide we’re going to fix it.

Instead of dwelling on the problem, let’s focus on the solutions.

We are offering this book free to shelters and rescues. Every purchase of this book and your support of our organization helps us do that. If you know of a shelter or rescue that would like a copy, please reach out to me directly (cara@wwldo.org) and we’ll get a copy out to them.

We are excited to have conversations in communities that are ready to solve their shelter crisis. This book doesn’t have all the answers, but it has ideas and inspiration to empower communities to start with these ideas and add their own, creating answers that will work for them.

Here are a few ways you can help:

• Connect us with ‘influencers’ or rescue/shelter advocates who have a large following or platform who might be willing to promote the book to their audience.
• Purchase a book for yourself and/or a shelter (you can do that here).
• Share the book within your own circle of influence.
• Review the book on goodreads or Amazon (coming soon!)
• Organize an event to discuss the ideas in this book. Nancy and I will even show up in person if possible or by zoom to present the ideas in this book and participate in a discussion/brainstorming centered on the challenges specific to a community.

Reach out if you have ideas, questions, or would like us to come to your community. You can email me at Cara@wwldo.org.

Here is one more excerpt from the conclusion of the book:

Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Nothing changes if nothing changes.” It’s true of pretty much everything in life, and it’s especially true in the present situation in our shelters. If we don’t change the way we are sheltering, nothing will change. We will keep on as we are—sacrificing human and canine hearts as we fight an endless battle of removing sand grain by grain from a beach being steadily replenished by the ocean of not enough resources, a lack of leadership, and basic apathy.

Instead of looking at what we don’t have, let’s focus on what we do have. We have people passionately committed to saving lives. We have communities who do not want animals to be neglected or destroyed. We have families in search of healthy and happy dogs. We have large organizations doling out grants to help with the problem. But the most important resource we have is our own creativity and ability to change. We can try new ideas and programs. We can open our minds to ideas and energy and possibility, which means listening to each other and asking for help from the very communities we serve. Creating a shelter system that provides shelter in the truest sense of the word and becomes a beloved community center for its citizens is not an insurmountable problem. It can and should be done.

Maybe it can only happen one shelter at a time. We can focus our efforts on one shelter, examining its unique resources, the needs of its community, the population of animals in its midst, and the current laws and regulations the shelter operates within. Then, we can look for what needs to change or, more importantly, how we can capitalize on what it already has to help it evolve to be a true shelter.

We will get nowhere if we disparage the efforts that are being made as insufficient. They are a start. Now, we must build on that beginning and creatively move forward, one small change at a time.

Until each one has a home,

Cara

If you want to learn more, be sure to subscribe to our email list to get the latest stories and solutions delivered to your inbox. And help us spread the word by sharing this post with others. Visit our website to learn more.

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Coming in January 2025:

You can buy your copy and/or buy a copy for a shelter or rescue HERE. On January 28, the book will be officially released and available for sale through Amazon (and our website where all funds collected go toward giving away more free books to shelters and rescues). Books ordered during our Indiegogo campaign or through our buy link will begin shipping by the middle of the month.

To see our Emmy-nominated, award-winning short documentary, Amber’s Halfway Home, click here.

For more information on any of our projects, to talk about rescue in your neck of the woods, or partner with us, please email cara@WWLDO.org.

And for links to everything WWLDO, including volunteer application, wishlists, and donation options, check out our Linktree.