As we drove towards Ripley, MS, I really didn’t believe the Monday Trade Market could be as it was described by several area shelter directors. They had to be exaggerating. Nancy and I surveyed the barren landscape of the drive between TN and Ripley, MS and joked on Facebook – “We’re headed to Ripley- believe…
I’d heard about the Animal Rescue Corps before, snippets mentioned by other rescue people in passing, but nothing solid, nothing that I thought had anything to do with the world of dog rescue I inhabited. I pictured a group of superheroes who swooped in during the direst of situations and rescued the dogs, but I…
We are headed south today. There were snowflakes falling as I walked Fanny for the last time, assuring her that she would see me in ten days, but knowing my absence will be hard on her. I am hoping it will be warmer where we are going. Our schedule is full and what was originally…
Yesterday I called an ACO (Animal Control Officer) at a county pound in Tennessee. I was inquiring as to whether we might be able to visit on our next trip in March. I’d left a message and figured I had about a 50/50 chance of him calling me back. You see, when a writer leaves…
So much of our rescue efforts are focused on the rural south, as well they should be. That’s where the majority of dogs are suffering and dying, where shelters are overwhelmed, and money runs short, but recently I participated in a rescue that wasn’t in the south. It was actually four hours north of my…
Now that we are home and settled and sifting through all that we’ve seen and learned at our latest shelter visits, I am embracing every opportunity to share all that we learned visiting southern shelters. Nancy and her dog Edith Wharton (my fiftieth foster dog who signs books with me) accompanied me to a speaking…
My first experience with a northern shelter rescue, plus an update on what ever happened to Houdini from Walker Co, AL….
Our next to last shelter visit was actually two visits in one. We would visit the Giles County Animal Shelter, and also meet with some of the volunteers from the Giles County Humane Association, a foster-based rescue that supports the shelter. This Humane Association/County Shelter partnership model is fairly common and usually turns out to…
“I hope this isn’t some wild-goose chase,” I warned Nancy as we headed south from Montgomery to visit our next shelter on the tour. I’d heard about SHARK (Safe Haven Animal Rescue Kennel) from a Humane Society representative. I’d asked her about shelters further south in Alabama and her immediate response was, “You have to…
Our next stop in Alabama was The Humane Society of Chilton County in Clanton, AL. I’d heard great things about this place and it didn’t disappoint. Chilton has a very relaxed, happy air about it which made complete sense upon meeting the director. Jennifer is a former stay at home mom who began as a…
