Anger Won’t Keep the Dogs From Dying

March 6, 2020 by Cara Sue Achterberg ♥ 12 Comments

Okay, the first thing I need you to do before you read this post is park your anger somewhere. You’ll need to set it aside and listen with an open mind and heart. And remember that anger won’t solve this problem. Hate won’t help you either.

When we finally exited off the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway and followed the interstate towards Jackson, I was already bracing myself. As we drove past the municipal facilities and a steel factory and finally pulled into the driveway of MARL (Mississippi Animal Rescue League), I had convinced myself I needed to go in with an open mind, leave my judgment at the door and Read more ›

What Money and Support Can Do When It Comes to Saving Dogs

March 5, 2020March 5, 2020 by Cara Sue Achterberg ♥ 10 Comments

Only an hour from Corinth where they are struggling to raise money for the shelter by sitting outside the supermarket collecting donations is a beautiful, brand-new 2 million dollar shelter teeming with staff and resources.

Tupelo-Lee Humane Society is blessed with Read more ›

Raising the Roof at Corinth-Alcorn

March 4, 2020March 5, 2020 by Cara Sue Achterberg ♥ 8 Comments

“What people need to understand is that they aren’t collectibles.”

This was a comment made by Corinth City’s ACO, Stephen, in reference to the number of pit bulls that populate the shelter and that he picks up in his work.

“They all want certain colors. They should get a box of crayons.”

We met Stephen shortly after we arrived at Corinth-Alcorn Animal Shelter. We’d just sat down to interview Charlotte, the director, when Read more ›

Moving Puppies Out of the Midsouth

March 3, 2020March 5, 2020 by Cara Sue Achterberg ♥ 4 Comments

After spending part of our day at the Ripley Trade Market nightmare, it was wonderful to spend some time with Meridith Perry, the president of Midsouth Animal Welfare Foundation, whose rescue partners with OPH(our rescue) in Mississippi to save dogs.

Blond, petite, and determined, Meridith has never known a time when she wasn’t rescuing animals. Growing up, before rescuing was a ‘thing’, her parents were always bringing home dogs and cats that the family would foster and then find homes for.

In Mississippi, the need is endless and when we arrived at Meridith’s home, what she needed first was Read more ›

Purebred Puppies for Sale Cheap – Believe it or Not

March 2, 2020 by Cara Sue Achterberg ♥ 14 Comments

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 it or not.”

When we arrived at the market, we missed the first entrance and turned in the next, which happened to be the dealer’s entrance. At the attendant’s booth, we learned that a spot in the dog lot was $5 a day (unless you had a trailer and then it was $8, or if you had merchandise or poultry in addition to your dog then it’s a whopping $10). We explained our mistake, told her we had no dogs to sell, and turned around to go back to the other entrance.

After we parked, we took a moment just Read more ›

Superheroes Do Exist

March 1, 2020March 2, 2020 by Cara Sue Achterberg ♥ 11 Comments

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 had no understanding of how that actually worked, where the dogs went when it was all said and done, and if they were actual people or just this brilliant fantasy.

Yesterday we were on our way south to shine a light on the shelters, rescues, and pounds working so hard to save dogs, in the hopes of raising awareness and resources to help them do just that. It was our first official trip for Who Will Let the Dogs Out and we were excited to get started, maybe over eager. We woke to snow in Christiansburg, Virginia and Read more ›

Headed South to Meet Some Dogs and Some Heroes

February 28, 2020 by Cara Sue Achterberg ♥ 1 Comment

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 a 7-day trip has grown to 10 days. We plan to visit 16 shelters, rescues, and pounds, plus check out a market where anyone can sell a dog or puppy with no papers or vaccine records or verification of any kind, just cash on the nose. That’s the plan, but you know about plans.

So much of what we will see is foreign to the part of the country where I live. In fact, as if to underline that point, on Monday, the dog warden Read more ›

Who Will Let the Dogs Out?

There are dogs waiting in shelters and rescues and pounds all over the south. YOU can help.