A challenging foster dog invites an experienced foster mama to explore where the endless stream of unwanted dogs is coming from and how it will ever end.
After welcoming her one hundredth foster dog (and her puppies), Cara grabs her best friend, fills a van with donations, and heads south to discover what is really happening in the rural shelters where her foster dogs originate. What she discovers will break her heart and compel her to share the story of heroes and villains and plenty of good dogs, in the hope of changing this world. Cara fosters her most challenging dog yet and she and her husband are pushed to the brink of what they will do to save a dog. Cara wonders why the need seems endless. She hatches a plan to head south on a Thelma & Louise-style road trip. Each stop exposes more of the realities of rural animal shelters. The hopelessness seems unsurmountable until they discover one shelter, deep in South Carolina that has found the answers and is truly a ‘no-kill’ shelter. One Hundred Dogs and Counting will introduce the reader to many good dogs, but also to inspirational people sacrificing personal lives and fortunes to save deserving animals. It will offer not just the entertaining stories of plenty of loveable good dogs, but the real problem of unwanted animals in our rural shelters, and how the reader can be part of the solution.
"Full of passion and compassion, this is an urgent and eloquent call to arms for anyone who cares about the countless dogs in the nation’s shelters every year.”
"It takes not just a special writer, but a special human being to go into the darkest corners of dog rescue and tell the story with so many glimmers of hope and light. Cara Sue Achtenberg’s One Hundred Dogs and Counting documents a journey of compassion, curiosity and faith—that knowing and sharing the truth is worth the effort, for it’s what ultimately will save so many more dogs."
"An inspiring, call-to-action story about one woman’s dedication to the solution. Through her candid and heart-warming adventures, Achterberg proves that even small acts of kindness can save lives. Her message is a beacon that shines light directly on the path to end suffering; her journey proves that together we can end the needless suffering of millions of shelter animals across the nation."
"Saddened by her emptying nest, Cara Sue Achterberg started fostering dogs—dozens of them. Here she shares the journey (and some super cute photos)."
