Saving the Giants
When we pulled up at the gate for our first stop in Alabama, enormous dogs loped towards us. “What are those?” I asked Nancy, incredulous. I’d never seen dogs like this up close. We waited while Rhonda, the director of…
no-kill
It is Time to Step up Franklin County, Tennessee
We discovered the Franklin County Animal Control in Winchester, Tennessee just down a residential lane right next to the sewage treatment plant. It is a tiny aging building with no lobby, no indoor kennels, and just off the office, next…
A Shelter Among Shelters
We left Shelbyville Animal Control at 10:20am, and at 10:28 we were navigating the tight, tiny parking lot of Bedford County Animal Control. These shelters have more in common than I expected. Considering they serve the same basic public, I…
So Many Shelters, So Many Dogs
So many shelters, so many dogs. I knew at the start of this trip it would be a lot and that keeping all the dogs, directors, and shelters straight might be a challenge. Having Nancy with me helps. I badger…
The Mecca of Animal Shelters
On Monday we finally made a pilgrimage to the mecca of animal shelters. Or at least that’s the way I thought of it. I’ve followed Nashville Humane in the news and on social media for ages, and am always impressed…
Making the Impossible Possible
Cheatham County Animal Control is making the impossible possible. In fact, Cheatham’s director Kristin Reid, used that exact phrase when she explained her attitude towards her new job as director of a shelter that had such atrocious conditions before she…
Saving Them One Dog at a Time
It’s very easy to disconnect down here. Easy to forget there is a world north of us where there isn’t an animal crisis at every turn. Before we left, as we drove down, and now that we are here, I’ve…
Lebanon Tennessee Animal Control: Doing the Best You Can with What You’ve Got
I’d like to tell you about a shelter Ian and I visited on our way out of Tennessee during our trip in June. It’s taken me this long to catch up with the Animal Control Officer there to get answers…
Saving Animals in the Shenandoah Mountains
On Monday, I hitched up the wagons and drove to town. (That’s what Nick likes to say every time I say I need to go ‘to town’ which is 10 miles away.) I was headed to the Warren County Humane…
No-Kill is Not Rocket Science
Ian and I are still processing what we saw and what we learned in Tennessee, each in our own way. He is taking a break and feels he can’t look at the pictures for a bit. His pictures capture the…