Bringing Hope to the Shelters
The following post was written in 2019, right before Nancy and I formalized our work as Who Will Let the Dogs Out that December. It’s been five years, but the sentiment is still the same: What We’re Bringing is Hope…
North Carolina
The Most Resourceful Shelter Director I Know
I’m pretty sure Maureen, the director of Anson County Animal Shelter in Polkton, North Carolina (about an hour east of Charlotte) is the most resourceful shelter director I know. Between applying for grants, appealing to local businesses, picking up the…
Shelter Tour Was Inspiring: A Few Things We Learned
Last week’s shelter tour was inspiring. To be honest, I had braced myself, expecting the worst, as headline after headline declares shelters everywhere are overwhelmed. And yet, we met amazing people making the most of tough situations. For sure the…
Tiny Shelter Dependent on Small Group of Volunteers to Save Lives
Bertie County is a small county most people pass through on their way to vacation on the Outer Banks. The county’s tiny shelter is the next to last stop on a road that ends at the regional jail. The shelter…
A Shelter Where Military Involvement Just Might Change the Story
Onslow County Animal Services Shelter is located in Jacksonville, North Carolina, an area bustling with military operations and plenty of Marines. The shelter is a busy, bright, welcoming place conveniently located near schools and beside a county park. Municipal shelters…
Rescues Help Municipal Shelters Save Lives
Our visit to CARA – Carolina Animal Rescue & Adoption, a private, nonprofit rescue in Sanford, North Carolina, a town in Lee County that sits pretty much smack dab in the center of the state, was our 100th shelter stop.…
What We Learned Visiting Shelters in North Carolina
After a week in North Carolina visiting 6 shelters, we learned a lot. Despite now visiting over 100 shelters, each visit teaches me something new about the challenges of saving dogs in the south and/or reminds me of some of…
What the Numbers Tell Us
We leave next week for shelter tour. This time to Virginia and North Carolina – one of the notorious five states killing the most animals, according to Best Friends Animal Society, the unofficial leader of the No-kill movement. In North…
Animal Control AND Care
After visiting nearly 80 shelters and rescues, I can tell a lot about a shelter just by walking through their kennels. At Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement, it's pretty peaceful in their kennel rooms....
Together We Can Let the Dogs Out
After nearly two weeks in Georgia and Florida (with one quick stop in NC), we are home and I’m sifting through all that we learned. The chorus of too many dogs and not enough adopters, resources, or rescues were variations…