A must read for all dog lovers! It profiles the life of a fosterer/rescue extraordinaire and her journey to the shelters down south. It was so interesting to see where what works and where we are failing. Very inspiring and hopefully will save more lives.

I read several books each month and have never before written a review about any of them. This book touched me so deeply that I just had to do whatever I could to help get this information in front of the animal loving public.

ONE HUNDRED DOGS & COUNTING: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and A Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues is Cara's second work about the world of dog rescue. Her first book, "Another Good Dog" looked primarily at the joys and heartbreaks of fostering these dogs (providing temporary homes until permanent homes can be found).

One of her fosters, Gala, was a particularly frustrating and difficult one, and led Cara to wonder why the flow of these dogs from southern shelters never seemed to lessen. This led Cara to combine her book tour for "Another Good Dog" with a road trip around the south, visiting many of the animal shelters and 'dog pounds' there. (She made multiple trips south researching this subject.)

What she found was both shocking and heartbreaking, but also fixable. Animals were not the problem. Money alone wouldn’t fix the problem. Management, knowledge and attitudes had to change.

This book, ONE HUNDRED DOGS & COUNTING, is Cara's 1st effort to shine some light on the problem of the discarded and unwanted dogs (and cats) that end up in the animal shelters, mainly in the south, with far too many of them being destroyed. Education, she believes, is the beginning of the answer to this seemingly never-ending problem.

If you are an animal lover, this book (and her first) are must-reads. As Cara says, "The problem exists not because people don't care, but rather that they just don't know about it". Please help spread the word.

Remember (as Bob Barker always reminded us) "Have your dogs and cats spayed or neutered".

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#whowillletthedogsout ( )

A little bit of a ramble, a lot of passion and even more heart, One Hundred Dogs and Counting takes us on a journey to shelters in the American South and examines the harsh conditions many abandoned animals in our country experience.
Our Book Club read Cara Sue Achterberg’s eye-opening story of sheltering and fostering dogs and came away with a new respect for pet Foster Families and what it takes to care for abandoned dogs in our Country.
We did not realize is how poverty and a lack of respect effects the treatment of pets. That was remarkably interesting and brought much more understanding of how shelter overcrowding happens and how these attitudes contribute to the overwhelming situation in some regions.
The positive side of shelters and fostering is what Cara Sue highlights in the book, though there is so much on the negative side, it seems more productive to find the good, find what works and focus on that.
That was a favorite part of the book; how the success stories can inspire us and create a desire to foster animals. Focusing on the villains does stir an emotion, but usually it is vitriol toward the perpetrator and not always channeled into positive action. The telling of Kristen Reid’s Tennessee Shelter story, -how she has made a difference- inspires us absolutely. Even the author herself is a study in what positivity can accomplish
One Hundred Dogs and Counting has changed the way I look at shelters, good and bad. I have gained so much respect for the families that foster dogs and how that impacts their lives. The book definitely makes me want to take in many dogs, short term, until they find a home.
Many thanks to GalleyMatch and Pegasus books for providing an ARC for this honest review.
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