When you hear “Slumber Party at the Shelter,” you may picture cozy blankets, late night snuggles, and cute dogs in pajamas. But I’ve walked these kennels when they’re loud, when they’re mess, when they feel heavy and claustrophobic. So when I was asked to participate in this event, honestly my initial thought was, "Heck no! That sounds super uncomfortable, smelly, sleepless, and I'll be counting the minutes until I can go home and crawl into my own bed." And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The dogs don't get that choice. This IS their bed. This is their morning, their night, their every single day. They don’t get to opt out when it feels scary, heavy, monotonous, or overwhelming. They don’t get to go home until someone chooses them, and they cling to that hope as long as they can. So yes. I can absolutely stay one night in their shoes if it helps more people understand.
I became involved with the shelter in the summer of 2022. My favorite way to help is to take shelter dogs on day trips to give them a break from their kennel, find out more about them, take photos and videos, and then share on social media to try to reach potential fosters, adopters, and rescues. I have also done walk group, in and out-of-kennel enrichment, training, shelter projects, community events, and foster coaching. There are so many ways to help - even from your home. Cincinnati Animal CARE is pretty unique that way. They try as hard as they can to bring in resources for the animals in their care, and they want the community to be involved in a positive way. They have staff dedicated to all aspects of care, and they allow volunteers to go through training to help work alongside them in these endeavors. I have seen firsthand the difference it makes when people brave the difficult emotions and let their own hearts break in hopes to heal the hearts of the animals. While it's never easy, it's always worth it.
(Gracie: still adoptable through Second Chance Dog Ranch!)
Communities across our country have been in an animal welfare crisis for years. Too many dogs being born and too few people who want them. Shelters are stretched beyond capacity. And despite what some people say to make themselves more comfortable, good dogs end up in shelters every single day. Dogs whose owners died or whose families lost their home. Dogs surrendered by people who were in over their heads. Dogs who were deeply loved, and one day their people just…didn’t come home. The stories in these kennels are real. You can see it in their eyes. You can feel it in the way some shut down and hope to wake up somewhere else, and others cling to their kennel doors hoping to be loved.
A shelter is not a home. It is a stopgap - a lifeline. It's a place of temporary safety, but not belonging. The only way this changes is through US. People. Through humans choosing to do better. To spay and neuter. To foster. To adopt. To donate. To show up. I’ve seen what happens when the tide turns for these animals. When someone says yes, a kennel door opens for the last time, and heartbreak and skinny bones transform into soft beds, backyard zoomies, and family photos. It’s absolute magic. But it only happens when people decide to act.
If the thought of sleeping in a tiny, loud, potentially smelly shelter kennel makes you uncomfortable, imagine living there without a choice. If this crisis makes you uneasy, that just means you have what it takes to help - compassion. It makes me uncomfortable, too. The only way I know how to sit with that discomfort is to lean in and do something. So I’m asking you to help me turn one long, loud, uncomfortable night into real change. Sponsor my Slumber Party. Share this fundraiser. Donate if you can. Help me show these dogs that even when the world feels small and concrete and lonely, there are still people willing to show up and stay.
