One Hundred Dogs and Counting

June 1, 2020
Achterberg and her family have fostered and found forever homes for 162 dogs. In this follow-up to Another Good Dog (2018), Achterberg continues her efforts to raise awareness of the desperate need for dog foster families. She also throws a blinding light on the horrors of abuse and neglect occurring in some rural southern shelters, and shows how often healthy and adoptable dogs are euthanized due to lack of food, medication, and funds. By working hand in hand with pet rescue organization Operation Paws for Homes, Achterberg has taken in dogs and puppies that have been tossed aside along a highway, abandoned, or just thought to be too much trouble. She succinctly describes how many people seek "turnkey" dogs: those that are already crate/leash/potty trained and completely obedient. This combination personal story and heartbreaking manifesto will both shock and move readers as it outlines just what we humans must do to make a difference in vulnerable animals' lives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2020

Blogger, novelist, and advocate Achterberg (Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs) begins her latest book by chronicling a difficult year with Gala, her 99th foster dog. The author's experiences with all of her foster dogs, and with the grueling, quicksand-like nature of rescue, compelled her to expand her focus to the shelters, rescues, and dogs across the rural South. Combining her book tour for Another Good Dog with a shelter tour, Achterberg visited facilities of all kinds, including those tucked away in unwelcoming parts of cities and counties, where less than 10 percent of dogs who enter will leave alive--and the numbers are in the hundreds for even the smallest shelter. The phrase "at capacity" repeatedly describes the environments Achterberg encounters: kennels full, emotions stretched, funding nonexistent. Similar to Peter Zheutlin's Rescue Road, this portrait of animal rescue in the southern United States is equally heartbreaking and heartwarming. With a mission to expose the work being done at the shelters and rescues she toured, Achterberg hopes that once people know about the need for help, they will pursue it. She ends the book with resources and guidance for doing so. VERDICT This honest, engaging journey should be shared with all animal and pet lovers, especially those in the Southern states the author profiles.--Meagan Storey, Virginia Beach

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