Long-Term Sheltering in No-Kill Shelters
When you have a career that involves dogs, everyone you know sends you memes and articles about dogs. Unfortunately, those little gems, meant to...
A Budding Crisis in Animal Shelters?
The potential for the loss of liability insurance is closing shelter doors to volunteers.
As many of you know from personal experience, volunteers in animal...
Parvovirus and Foster Puppies
With just a couple of exceptions, every time I have fostered a dog or litter of puppies, I’ve done it for my local shelter....
The Dog Days of Summer
I hope you and your companion animals all survived Independence Day, the least favorite holiday of many of us dog owners. I live close...
Your Kindness Is So Appreciated
As one could predict, I was a bit of a mess last week. Making the euthanasia appointment for my beloved Otto, and being with...
Tribute to our Fallen Leader
I first spotted Otto in a jail-mugshot-type photo on my shelter’s website in June 2008. My husband had just agreed that we were ready...
Car Chasing
Phoebe, my little foster mama, is a car-chaser, and, unfortunately, we have a perfect property for her to practice her passion. I live on...
Oh, Mama
I didn’t plan to foster this year – not until Otto has passed. But a friend, the vet tech from my local shelter, called...
Please Stop Saying “Kill Shelter”
Seen on my local Nextdoor page: “Is this your dog? If so, contact me ASAP. I do not want to take her to the...
Mixed-Breed DNA Tests and Bully Breeds
I just received the results of my youngest dog’s mixed-breed DNA test from Embark; I already had results from Wisdom Panel. Over the years,...
Morning (and Evening) Meds
What you see in the photo here are the morning meds. I thought it was bad that all three of my dogs are currently...
When Your Dog Depends on Human Medicines
Last September, I thought we were at the end of life for my 15-year-old dog Otto. His arthritis pain is severe, and his daily...
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Parallels between Force-Free Training and Gentle Parenting
Both gentle parenting and force-free training emphasize empathy for the living being you're responsible for, and patience with their behavior as their core tenet.