Soul Touched by Dogs

Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs
Podcast, the show for dog lovers who

see dogs not as toys or tools, but
wise souls worth our respect and care.

I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.

I talk to poor some humans, people who
do great work for dogs and their people.

So come and join us for
today's conversation.

Anke: Hello and welcome, Cara.

I'm very happy to have you here today.

Cara: Hey, it's great to be here.

Anke: So let's dive straight in.

Let people know where in this
lovely world are you and so

what's your business with dogs?

Cara: Uh, I'm in the United States.

I'm in Virginia in the Shenandoah
Valley of Virginia, which I think

is the prettiest part of the
eastern part of the United States.

Um, and my business with dogs, oh
my gosh, it's huge, but I will try

to be quick with what it really is.

It is.

Um, I am a the co-founder and,
uh, and board president for

who will let the dogs out.

And, um, I started this organization
with a photographer friend because I

had traveled to the shelters in the
southern part of the United States,

um, as part of a book tour for a book
I'd written about fostering dogs and

my family's adventures fostering dogs.

And since I was going south, I
thought, well, I'm, I'll go visit these

shelters where the dogs came from.

I thought it would be.

You know, this wonderful, fun experience
and I was just shocked and then I was

shocked that I was shocked because I
had fostered over a hundred dogs by

that point and I didn't, I couldn't
believe I didn't realize what was

happening in our nation's shelters.

So, um, I, I just felt like if I didn't
know, a lot of people don't know,

like most people don't know just how
mad it really is, and so I started

going back, eventually bringing my
friend, photographer Nancy Slattery

with me because people don't read.

I'm a writer, and I was writing
about all of this, but you know,

it's very hard to get people to
read, uh, and pictures are powerful.

So she started coming with me and
then together we finally were like,

well, we, we need to make this bigger.

We need to create an actual nonprofit
organization so that we can get

more support, more people behind it.

Um, and that's what we did.

And we formed Who Will Let the Dogs Out.

And our mission is to raise awareness
and resources for homeless dogs

and the heroes who fight for them.

Anke: I love, I love that so much.

I'm curious, like, when you first
sort of realized, Jesus, I have

no idea what's going on here.

Um, what were things that you didn't
expect or that you saw that you

think that surprised you at the time?

Cara: Um, at the time it was, it was, It
was shocking just how many animals were

crammed into this very small building,
which we had a hard time finding because

it was like the other side of the
railroad tracks, underneath the water

tower, near, surrounded by swampland.

And these dogs, there were so
many, and they were living in

outdoor kennels, most of them.

Heartworm disease is a big issue in
our country and it kills a lot of dogs.

And I mean, you know, anybody who
has a pet pays a lot of money to

keep their dog un preventative.

Um, these were dogs were not
getting preventatives, and they were

living outdoors next to a swamp.

And heartworm is transmitted
by mosquito bite.

So 80% of the dogs in that
shelter were heartworm positive.

Which, um, this was in
19, I mean, in 2018.

And it still is pretty much a,
you know, a, the end for a dog.

Most rescues don't have the
money to treat heartworm, it's

a very expensive thing to treat.

So, it was really sad, and as
I was talking to the director

there, and I said, you know, how
many dogs do you guys take in?

She said, well, we had, we
took in 50, 50 dogs this month.

And I said, well, how many were adopted?

We're taking a rescue and she said
three and so doing the math on that.

Um, you know that it comes to a point
where they don't have enough room and so I

was just I was shocked by the conditions.

I was shocked that these
dogs lived outside.

I was shocked at how little anybody.

It knew what was going on or
was coming there to volunteer.

They didn't have basic supplies.

The dogs were not dewormed.

They weren't treated for flea and tick.

When I asked the director, what can we do?

I have a whole van of supplies.

What can, you know, she started
crying because she just, she

was like, we need everything.

Um, And that was just, I just
couldn't believe it that this was

a county funded shelter where the
dogs were all contracting heartworm

and were not being cared for and
basic care wasn't being done.

It was, I just couldn't believe it.

So, and I, as I said, since I was
seeing this and I, and I was so

involved in rescue, you know, I thought
nobody knows what's happening here.

Anke: Oh, that's for sure.

I mean, I'm like, I'm, I'm in Spain and
here they don't even You know, like rescue

place, shelter, they don't even put their
address anywhere because they're kind of

so worried that people will, that they
come in the morning and there's another

50 dogs dumped over the fence, right?

So they won't even tell
people where they are.

So it's, it's actually, can
you just clarify something?

I don't know.

Maybe I'm the only kind of dumb person.

It's, it's.

Between the shelter and the rescue,
like, what's the difference?

Who's who?

Cara: Um, so, county run
or municipal shelters are

usually funded by tax dollars.

Um, it could be county or city.

In most of, like, the northeastern
part of the United States, every

municipality has an animal control agency.

And they are in charge of the
shelter, or they contract with a

nonprofit to run their shelter, but
ultimately it's their responsibility.

And that's typically when we say
shelter, that's what we mean, like

a county or municipal city shelter.

Rescues are usually nonprofit, usually,
um, They, they could be, they could

have a shelter, or many are foster
based, and they are generally pulling

dogs out of shelters to find homes for
them, and they, so they sort of, you

know, to me, crazy, and I say this a
lot, it's crazy that we use our tax

dollars to pay for a shelter to, to kind
of care for animals, and at the same

time, nonprofits always pop up for us.

near the kill shelters to save
the dogs from that shelter.

So these are residents whose tax dollars
are paying for the shelter who are then

using their money and money they raise
to save dogs from that very shelter

that their tax dollars are paying for.

To me, this is crazy.

It's a crazy system.

It's a broken system and, um, and
that's a big part of why I want to

tell the story, why we tell the story.

We travel shelters and
rescues all over the South.

We've made 150 visits now and We
just want to tell their story.

We just want more people to know what's
happening, because I believe if people

knew, they would do something about it.

And I've said all along, it's
not that people don't care,

it's that they don't know.

And if they do know, they don't
know what they can do about it.

So, our mission is to tell them.

Anke: That's so true.

I mean, you would have thought that
a shelter like that, the job is

to get the dogs adopted, but that
doesn't seem to be the case, right?

Cara: In many of the shelters, the smaller
municipal shelters, and um, they are, they

function as the traditional dog pound and
that they're really just, they're impound

dogs that are unwanted for whatever
reason or lost or, you know, abandoned.

And, um, they, that's, that's their main.

Function is just, is just to do that
and it's all they have time for.

Many of the places we visit, one animal
control officer running all the calls

for the county or the city or whoever,
um, it's all they can do to feed the

dogs, adoption events or fundraisers.

Anke: So if somebody wants to, if somebody
finds out, you know, through your travels

and, and, and, you know, somehow finds
out, so what can somebody do to help?

Cara: Oh, gosh, there's
so much they can do.

So many people that are
just doing amazing things.

Now, if they're in an area where there
is a struggling shelter, Or no shelter.

Um, the very first thing they can do
is get involved, is to speak up, to go

talk to the people who are in charge.

You know, it's crazy in this
country, but in every municipality,

it seems to be somebody different.

It might be a mayor, it might
be a judge executive, it might

be, could be almost anybody.

Find out who's in charge, find
out, um, you know, what the

policies are and how it works.

So getting, getting educated
to start with, but then getting

involved at your shelter.

And we've seen it again and again,
shelters that were struggling

that are now doing well.

They have three things in common.

They have a leader.

Who believes in saving all the dogs,
who is determined to save all the dogs

and is trying all different kinds of
solutions and bringing in help and

networking and doing all they can.

So they have a leader who is committed
to creating a progressive shelter.

Um, they have an engaged community,
so their community is they're

volunteering, they're fostering,
they're adopting, they're having, you

know, events, they do training classes.

They have engaged community
supporting that shelter, and

then they have veterinary access.

And veterinary access is a big, big
challenge right now all over our

country because we have a vet shortage.

So, finding affordable veterinary
care for these dogs, um, is hard.

So, those three pieces of leadership,
community engagement, and veterinary

access, and if they have those three
pieces, the shelter's on their way to

being a successful progressive shelter.

Anke: And see, you know, what always
sparks my curiosity, it's almost

like, what can be done before that?

Like, how can we get less dogs who need
or end up, and they're like, what can be

done so less dogs even have to go there?

Like, you know, it's almost, um,
you know, I've hosted a summit and

I speak to people all the time.

And so there is this.

common theme that a lot of dogs get
returned or abandoned because they're

kind of like too, like people don't
know how to deal with dogs when they

don't do what they're supposed to do.

Like they don't know how to, you know,
basically train or how to help their

dogs adjust to their family life.

I mean, do you feel that there's
a lot that could be done before

they even get into the shelter?

Cara: Oh, absolutely.

I mean, we, we, we humans
domesticated these animals, and

they are our responsibility.

And the people that shirk
that responsibility, I think

they just don't understand.

I don't think that they're evil.

I don't think that they're, I
just think they're ignorant.

They don't realize.

That we have a responsibility
to these animals.

And there's a lot that can be done
at a good shelter, um, to help with

those things, like providing resources.

The shelter, to my mind, should
be a resource for their community.

They should offer training help.

They should have classes.

They should have clubs.

They should have everything
they can to support people.

I mean, these days, everybody
wants to adopt the perfect dog.

Um, and there's no such
thing as a perfect dog.

And at the same time, I'd
say every dog is perfect.

So they, they need their
resources to know how to do that.

Which means we need to educate them,
and there's a, there's a county in

North Carolina, this brilliant woman,
whose name is escaping me right now, she

created a curriculum, and then lobbied
hard, and got a whole group behind her,

and they go into every single school in
that county, and they do a seven, it's

a seven or eight week curriculum on
humane education, just on how to properly

care for a dog, and it culminates in a
big festival where kids can bring their

parents, they talk about spay neuter,
and, Um, they can bring their dogs.

It's like a, you know, they'll do like
microchips, and they'll vaccinate,

and they'll give spay neuter vouchers,
and it's brilliant, and it's going

to help that one little county.

Now, I wish we could multiply
it, do it all over the place.

I think everybody should know how
to safely interact with a dog.

That would save a lot of
dogs a trip to the shelter.

Um, we have a program on our
website that we give away for free

called, um, Paws for Kids, Kids
for Paws, it's one or the other.

Um, and it's just how to safely interact
with a dog you don't know, and most

people don't, don't know that, don't know
the things they're doing that could be

triggering this dog, and so it's sometimes
dogs end up biting because that's how

dogs communicate, and it doesn't mean
that it's a bad dog or, you know, unsafe

dog, it just means that the communication
didn't work right, and um, we need to

know how to, how to communicate with them.

So, um, Um, I think educating people
from the beginning, and I wish,

just like, you know, kids have
to, in this, at least where I am,

um, they have to pass a swimming
test to graduate from high school.

So this should be a basic life
curriculum, just like anything else,

how to safely interact with a dog and
how to humanely care for an animal.

Um, if we did that, I think we'd be
well on our way to solving this problem.

Anke: Yeah, I love, I actually,
you know what's funny?

An incident I've had with one of my dogs
where this family came and like a whole

bunch of people and this little boy,
maybe five, six years old, he stayed

back, saw me with the dog and he was Mr.

Nervous, right?

So he wasn't like the, oh,
friendly, cuddly, chilled out dog.

So I was like, that little boy
came and just kind of, how are you?

Yeah, I wasn't, like, using polite
language to tell him to fuck off.

And that little boy just stared
at me and you could really

tell nobody had told him that.

Like, nobody had told him that he couldn't
just, kind of, launch onto the world.

A dog he'd never met before, you know,
or any dog for that matter, right,

like, definitely not one that he doesn't
know, you know, and I thought it was

actually one of the reasons I even
started Soul Touched by Dogs, because

I'm like, Jesus, like, the narrative
needs to be changed, and it almost has

to start there, because you think if
you keep relying on the parents who will

just repeat what they've been taught,
this will just continue, you know.

Because, you know, I was, I
was like, you can't do that.

And this is how you do it.

And he goes, okay, and I'm touched.

So we had this little teaching
moment, but he was little enough,

you know, and then he was very gentle
and then he walked away all happy.

You know, and everything was fine, but
I thought, imagine if he, if I hadn't

seen it and he'd come from behind and
if he had grabbed the dog and the dog

would have bitten him, those parents
who didn't pay attention to any of

this would have been right there and
insisted my dog be put down, you know?

And I'm thinking that's almost where I see
like the biggest levers in a sense, right?

Cara: Yeah, we absolutely need to
do a better job of educating kids.

It's also a great tool.

We always push this also when
we're, um, at shelters in terms of

helping them engage their community.

A lot of times, you know, they've
been, they've had a dark history.

There's a lot of people think
negative things about that shelter.

And, you So you've got
to change that narrative.

And so one of the things we'll say to
them is, instead of waiting for them

to come to your shelter, go to them.

Go to your local library, ask, can we come
and do this program, Kids for Paws, and

teach them how to safely interact, you
know, and bring either a personal dog or

a dog you know to be safe, or puppies are
actually the best thing to take, and take

them to the library and do this program.

And it's a, it's a chance for the
community to see, here's something

that, here's the shelter helping you.

And also for them to become aware that the
shelter exists if they don't already know.

Um, and, and a chance to tell them
about their program, so it's a really

great, easy way for a shelter to just
dip their toe in the water of getting

out and engaging their community.

So that's, that's a program.

We really push hard
because kids are the key.

I mean, if you get the kids,
they bring the parents.

Anke: Yes.

Oh, I totally, totally love that.

So if, if a shelter, um, is listening
to this and goes like, Oh my God,

like, what, what kind of support?

Okay, you've mentioned that program.

Are there other things that you, you
offer to shelters to help them, you

know, somehow get their head above water?

Cara: Yeah, so we travel to
the shelters because we want to

learn their story and we want to
develop a relationship with them.

Um, and, and once we do that and we kind
of see the lay of the land, what they

need, what their situation is, we get to
know the leadership there, the structure,

how it's working, if they have volunteers
or foster, what, once we understand a

little bit, then we're able to help some.

We have a resource guide on our website.

It's enormous.

It grows constantly.

We put every idea in there
that we ever find on all of

our trips, um, About anything.

Volunteers, fostering grants, grant
programs, resource programs, enrichment

ideas, tons of community engagement
ideas, um, and the fundraising stuff

always gets a ton of hits, but that's
where we put all of these ideas.

And then ongoing.

As we move forward, we assign a
shelter liaison to them, and that's

someone who volunteers for us, and
their job is to track that shelter,

basically stalk that shelter.

I always tell them, um, follow them, you
know, look for a good idea, let us know,

and let our resource guide editor know
if a good idea comes through for us.

Anything, the smallest, tiniest
thing is a great, you know, we'll

add it to the resource guide.

Or if that shelter goes into, has
a crisis or something happens that

we need to be aware of, that we
might be able to step in and help.

We have a small grant program of our
own, and we have a grants advisor who's a

professional grants writer who volunteers
with us, and she will work one on one with

shelters to help them apply for grants.

So she's a wonderful resource.

I'm always available just to talk
through stuff, just having been to

so many shelters and seeing so many
models to try to give them ideas.

And occasionally we try
to network to rescue.

Many are looking for rescue help.

They want rescues to come and pull some of
their dogs, and so we're actually in the

midst of developing a rescue directory.

It's going to go live on the website,
I think in October, um, that will list

breed specific rescues or any rescue that
will take dogs from struggling shelters.

So those are just a few of them and
we're constantly looking for more and

more ways that we can have an effect,
that we can impact these shelters.

Anke: I mean, that's fabulous because
I think just a little feed, you know,

one, somebody has a good idea here, but
it actually helps other ones as well.

That makes so much sense.

Yeah.

I think it's even getting together.

Yeah.

I love that.

Love that.

So where can people go and find out
and get in touch, you know, help out?

Is there, you know, if somebody
says, Hey, I want to volunteer with

you, you know, is that an option?

You know, you, because you mentioned you
have volunteers, like who would you need,

you know, for your, for your organization
and, um, you know, where can people

find out and get in touch and support?

Cara: So everything's on the website.

Who will let the dogs out.org and
don't put will, because if you

say who let the dogs out, you're
gonna get a bunch of rat videos.

But it's who will let the dogs out die.

And on that website, you can, you
can sign up to follow our newsletter

blog, which comes out every week.

We put in it, um, the newsletter
once a month is, is usually theme

related and it has all the new ideas,
everything that we've heard this

month and things that can be used.

So that's useful for shelters or
anybody who volunteers in a shelter

or a rescue or anybody who's just
interested in trying to help this cause.

Um, on the other weeks, what comes out is
a blog post and it's usually trips, um,

telling you stories about the shelters.

Or, um, create a solutions we part of
that we think maybe this would work.

Some of them are my crazy
brainchild and sometimes they're,

um, ideas we hear from others.

So, signing up for that as a way
to stay connected and get a weekly

shot of here's some great ideas.

Here's some things you can do.

Um, we also have a volunteer.

You can volunteer with us.

We take volunteers from
anywhere in the United States.

Um, and their jobs can vary from what
I mentioned, the shelter liaison.

We have volunteers that help
with our social media and create

graphics, and we have volunteers
that do some of our fundraising.

Um, I'm trying to think, we've got a bunch
of little projects going on, plus, The

resource guide is always a big, biggie.

Um, so we have lots of
volunteer opportunities there.

And as I said, on the, on that website,
under the resource guide, it's a, it's

just a font of information and any
time, it definitely gets more hits

than anything else on the website.

So anytime anybody needs.

An idea for anything.

You just need a little inspiration.

That's a really great resource
to go and find and see the

new stuff that's coming in.

Um, and there's lots of other
little things on that website,

but you can find us there.

You can, you can reach us there.

There's definitely, uh, contact
information on the website also.

Anke: Wonderful.

Well, thank you so much.

And I think it's such important
work and like, yeah, the dogs

will be grateful, I'm sure.

And everybody loves as well.

Well, thanks so much for
coming on and sharing.

Cara: Thank you for having me.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you enjoyed the episode, don't forget
to subscribe, and leave a review so

other dog lovers can find the show.

If you haven't already, head
over to soul touched by dogs.

com and sign up for weekly doggy cuteness
tips, recommendations, and personal

stories to warm your dog loving heart.

And if you know a pawsome human
you think I should interview,

I'd love an introduction.

Email me at Anke.

That's A N k E at Soul
touched by dogs.com.