Cara Achterberg / Waldo Publishing / 217 pages
Cara Achterberg is the cofounder and board president of the nonprofit organization Who Will Let the Dogs Out. In Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues, she chronicles the conditions of dogs in shelters across the southern United States. Through storytelling, data collection, and personal anecdotes, Achterberg has penned what amounts to both an exposé of the current lack of resources and support for homeless dogs and a blueprint for change.
Achterberg traveled to over 150 shelters through the course of her research, talking to the individuals who run these facilities and spending countless hours with the animals. In doing so, she uncovered many common themes impacting the welfare and adoptability of shelter dogs in the region, from social stigmas around spaying, neutering, and the adoptability of certain breeds, to the steep costs of veterinary work and systemic lack of licensed veterinarians in the South. She also tells of the innovative ways in which some shelters have sought to overcome these challenges, with special focus on individuals making the biggest difference as they devote their time, money, and outsized empathy to the cause.
Her findings are remarkable, and the stories she tells shine a light on the urgency of the situation and the incredible work already being done. Achterberg takes a nuanced approach, acknowledging how complicated the situation really is—no one system or group of people is to blame for the current crisis. Rather, she argues, it is an interdisciplinary issue that requires contributions from all facets of society to enact real change. By focusing on committed leadership, affordable veterinary care, and an engaged community, Achterberg believes shelters can make great progress toward what is, in her words, the mission of every shelter: “saving every savable dog.”