Who Will Let the Dogs Out

Responsible Sheltering for a Humane Community: Moving Beyond the No-Kill Label

Our animal welfare system is reaching a breaking point.Across the nation, stray populations are exploding, intake waitlists are stretching for months, and shelters are op

Frontline to Shelter Director: Confronting the Memphis Stray Crisis

In this episode, host Cara Achterberg sits down with Suzy Hollenbach, Director of Memphis Animal Services (MAS), for a candid discussion on the animal welfare crisis in M

The Open Intake Dilemma: Rethinking Managed Admissions & Creating a Truly Humane Community

What actually happens when animal shelters turn away immediate surrenders? In this episode, we take an honest, unvarnished look at the reality of open intake versus manag

Has "No-Kill" Gone Off Track? 32 Years in Animal Welfare with Tammy Fox

In this episode, Cara sits down with Tammy Fox, Executive Director of the Florida Keys SPCA, to unpack how animal welfare has dramatically shifted over the last three dec

The Missing Safety Net for Our Pets

After our last episode on the critical differences between public shelters and private rescues, we received a lot of... let’s call it reactive feedback. In this episode

Shelter vs. Rescue: The Misunderstanding Breaking the System

Why are our animal shelters broken? It starts with a massive misunderstanding. Too many people judge a tax-funded municipal shelter by the exact same yardstick they use f

Is it time to retire the phrase 'no-kill'?

Words matter. Decades ago, the term "no-kill" revolutionized animal welfare and ignited a movement. But today, has that very vocabulary become weaponized?In this powerful

Tackling Warehousing, making the hard decisions and turning a shelter around

A conversation with Meridith Perry, who inherited a Mississippi animal shelter on the brink of collapse. When she took over, the facility was broke, dangerously underequi

A Larger Lens on this Animal Crisis

In this eye-opening episode of Who Will Let the Dogs Out?, co-founder Cara Achterberg tackles the escalating animal crisis with raw honesty and a glimmer of hope. While s

The Impossible List: Why Shelters are Set up to Fail

What happens when our "save them all" slogans collide with the heartbreaking reality of underfunded, overwhelmed animal shelters? After visiting over 200 shelters and hea

Shelter Crisis: No-kill, Warehousing, and the Impact of the Pandemic

The animal shelter world has shifted drastically since the pandemic, and we need to talk about the uncomfortable reality behind the headlines. In this episode, we share w

New Idea for Shelters and Rescues: Post Adoption Programs

The animal crisis in our country is growing every day. The solutions we've used for decades are helping us tread water but make no real progress. We need new solutions. H

5 Ways Local Businesses Can Help Animal Shelters Save Lives

Utilizing local businesses and organizations can be a shelter's superpower when it comes to engaging its community. Here are five ways to invite them to help you, not onl

7 Secrets to Successful Animal Shelters

We just got back from our latest shelter tour. We've now made more than 200 visits to shelters in 16 states, yet I learn more with every tour. We were able to visit some

Setting Shelters Up For Success

Explanation of the difference between different types of shelters (municipal, nonprofit, regional), examples of some exemplary ones, and how they function, plus ideas for

Shelters, Intake, and Hard Choices

We just got back from a tour of shelters in southern states and some things were very clear. A shelter's intake practices can compound the crisis, but they can also force

Stronger Together: United for Animal Welfare

Stronger Together is a program to bring together all the players: rescue and shelter employees, volunteers, and advocates, plus government officials and change makers to

Real quick - here's why we go to shelters

A brief episode explaining why we visit animal shelters, what our purpose is, and what happens when we go there - and afterward. For more information, visit WhoWillLet

Let's Have a Real Conversation about the Shelter Crisis

Shelters and rescues all over the country are overwhelmed. Our stray population is growing. More dogs are being surrendered. More dogs are being killed. Adoptions have sl

Chapter 5: (Part 2) Veterinary Access and Community Engagement

This episode dives into the critical pieces of veterinary access and community engagement for shelters and rescues. This is the second half of the chapter on Solutions an