https://www.rolandsillygoosecrew.org/

Roland's Silly Goose Crew, Austin, TX (2026)

03/23/2026

And without further ado, this is Blanche. The Queen B. 👑

She was, and will always be, Roland’s best friend. We adopted her as a puppy from when Roland was one, and he adored her from day one. She’s a chug with big diva energy and an even bigger heart.

Blanche was with Roland the day he died. She was there when we dropped them off. She came home. He didn’t.

What followed for her looked a lot like what followed for us. Regression. Anxiety. A noise phobia. A sensitivity to stimulation she didn’t used to have. Even nail trims have become a whole process - working with our groomer and vet to keep her calm, supported, and not overwhelmed.

She’s still healing. So are we.

But she’s also still the life of the party when she’s comfortable. Still a diva. Still Roland’s girl. 💕

I share this because when something goes wrong at a dog care facility, it’s never just one loss. The ripple effect is real. It shows up in the dogs who come home, in the behaviors that change, in the extra care and patience and advocacy they need afterward. Blanche is a living example of that, and also a living memory of Roland.

With Blanche, I’m not gonna lie - we have an even higher bar for her care. For dogs like Blanche we’re asking: Can you accommodate dogs with special needs? How do you handle stressed or over-stimulated dogs? Will my dog have access to a space away from other dogs or people if she needs to decompress?

She’s making progress. We celebrate every bit of it. 🪿✨

03/22/2026

This is Sterling. He turns 13 this year and he has been the emotional anchor of this household for over a decade. He’s been with me and since before we were married. He’s been the welcoming committee for every animal we’ve adopted or fostered. And he has been with us before, during and after Roland 💛.

If you are familiar with , Sterling is what he calls a “mojito cat.” He greets every single person who walks through the door like he’s been expecting them and already has their drink ready. He has never met a stranger. He is constitutionally incapable of meeting a stranger. He reminds me of Rufus from The Rescuers, the wise old one who shows up exactly when you need him (and loves a good catnip snap🥹).

He’s also 13, which means any sitter who watches him gets a very detailed handoff. His routines. His medications if any change. What normal looks like for him. What to watch for. Who to call.

When picking a pet sitter, one of our pro-tips is to: Pose an emergency scenario and see how they respond. If your pet begins vomiting multiple times a day, how will they handle it? For a senior animal, testing your sitter’s emergency instincts before you leave is not optional.

The same questions that matter for a dog matter just as much for whoever watches your cat. Especially one who has been by your side for thirteen years. 🍹🪿

03/21/2026

This is Jonesy. He turns 8 this year. He is a menace. We are obsessed with him.

He embodies pure ✨one orange brain cell✨ energy. He operates on pure chaos and good(ish) intentions. He pulled down crown molding in our kitchen, which eventually led to a bit of a kitchen remodel. On a separate occasion he got tangled in birthday balloons, I got tangled trying to help him, and I ended up with stitches. He was not sorry.

He also has no concept of personal space and will redistribute himself across whatever part of you is currently in use. He’s been this way since day one and he will not be changing.

Here’s the thing about Jonesy; a sitter who doesn’t know him might genuinely not understand what they’re walking into. Is he okay? Is something wrong? Should I be worried about this? The answer is no, he’s just being Jonesy.

If you’ve got your own orange menace at home, it’s important to clarify with pet sitters: are there certain rooms that are off limits? Are there certain activities or treats your pet cannot partake in? Communicate these early, often, and in writing.

Our guides work for any animal (or agent of chaos) you’d trust to someone else’s care. Pop over to the link in our bio to grab your pet sitter guide today!

Every animal deserves thoughtful care. Even the ones who got you stitches. 🪿

03/20/2026

This is Vesper Rey. She turns 10 this year and most people who visit our house have absolutely no idea she exists. 👻

She’s a calico with a gorgeous coat and the softest meow you’ve ever heard. She’s also deeply shy. She chooses who she shares herself with very carefully, on her own timeline, on her own terms. We respect a queen with boundaries 👑.

Which means anyone who stays with her needs to know it going in. Not try to find her. Not coax her out. Let her come to you if and when she decides you’re worth it.

When we’re trying to pick the right sitter for pets like Vesper Rey, it’s important to know if they are able to accommodate your pet’s specific needs. Come prepared with a list of your pet’s individual needs, personality quirks, feeding schedule, and routines. A sitter who doesn’t know Vesper exists and panics is a problem. A sitter who pushes too hard and stresses her out is also a problem.

Our guides work for any animal you’d trust to someone else’s care: dogs, cats, and beyond. Pop over to our bio to grab the link!

Every pet deserves someone who actually knows them. Vesper Rey is proof. 🪿

03/19/2026

Up next, we’ve got Wally Walnut!

He’s six pounds. He has a little husky DNA in him somehow, which truly raises more questions than it answers. He looks like a tiny pocket version of Roland, and he was adopted from the same rescue Roland came from, .

We didn’t plan that. But it felt right.

Wally can be nervous meeting new people and navigating new spaces. He’s working on his confidence and honestly he’s come so far (peep his graduation photo from the Brave Dogs Confidence Class by !) He is also a frequent flyer at the emergency vet; we are basically on a first name basis with the staff at this point (in fact last year we sent them a Christmas card featuring Wally as a thank you 🥲).

With a dog his size, small things can cause big reactions, and those reactions have a habit of happening outside of normal vet hours. Knowing who to call and how to act fast isn’t a nice-to-have for anyone caring for Wally. It’s the whole job.

Wally is proof that the smallest dogs sometimes require the biggest questions. 🪿

03/18/2026

This is Niles.

We adopted him from the amazing rescue about a month after Roland died. His original owner had passed away and he needed a home. We needed something to hold onto.

We’ve been each other’s missing piece ever since. Both of us had someone we loved removed from our lives suddenly and without warning. Both of us have been figuring out what comes next.

Niles is my shadow. Wherever I am, he’s there. He’s funny and sweet and deeply loyal in the way only dogs who’ve known loss seem to be.

He’s also leash reactive, barrier reactive, anxious, and has a history of seizures. Which means he requires a lot of thoughtful, patient care from us, and from anyone we ever trust him with.

He’s one of the reasons the trainer guide matters so much to us personally. Finding someone who meets a dog like Niles where he is, who doesn’t try to suppress or punish what is really just fear, that’s not easy. And knowing the right questions to ask makes all the difference.

Welcome to the crew, sweet boy. We’re so glad you found us. 🪿

P.S. be sure to check out the last photo to see how far Niles has come ❤️🥹 we’re so proud of him!

P.P.S. Yes his original name was Nacho and yes we still kept it as his nick name 🌮

03/18/2026

Before we go too much further, we want to introduce you to the reason this work is so personal.

Not just Roland, though everything starts and ends with him. But the whole crew. The ones who are still here. The ones we make every decision for. The ones who remind us every single day why transparency, accountability, and asking the right questions matter.

Over the next couple of days, we're going to introduce you to each of them. Three dogs. Three cats. Six very different personalities. All of them connected to this mission in ways that are sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and always real.

You'll meet Niles, who came to us in the middle of our grief and has been my shadow ever since. Blanche, who was there the day Roland died and is still healing from it, honestly, just like us. Wally Walnut, our six-pound treat fiend who looks so much like a pocket version of Roland. And our cats Sterling, Vesper Rey, and Jonesy, who remind us that safe care matters for every animal you love.

I have them all tattooed on me. Roland included. Because that's what you do when something matters this much, you carry it with you (or in my case, you tattoo them so they're with you forever).

This series is about them. But it's also about why the work we do at RSGC isn't abstract to us. It's personal. It's every single day. It's every care decision we make for each of these animals and every question we ask on their behalf.

They're our silly goose crew. We're so excited for you to meet them. 🪿

03/12/2026

Here’s the honest truth about a small nonprofit.

We don’t have a big team or a big budget. What we have is a mission we believe in, a community of people who show up for it, and a pretty relentless silly goose energy.

Everything we’ve built has been possible because people like you shared a guide with a friend, told a dog parent about us, or just stuck around long enough to care.

So if you want to be part of this, here’s how:

✨ Follow and share our posts. Reach changes people we couldn’t reach alone.
📚 Use our free guides. Then pass them to someone who needs them.
🌈 Donate if you can. Every dollar goes directly toward building more resources and pushing for real change. Link in bio.
📣 Tell a dog parent about us. Word of mouth is our most powerful tool.

Roland was our silly goose. You’re the crew.

Thanks for being here. 🪿

03/08/2026

Meet Roland. 🌈🪿

Our silly goose. Our reason for everything.

He was small and scrappy and obsessed with pulling the scrunchie out of my hair. He wore a canary yellow harness on his walks and he hiked McKinney Falls like he owned the place. He was a rescue. And when he died, the state of Texas told us his value was limited to what we “paid for him”. They believed his value could be quantified by receipts.

We disagree.

Three years ago we started Roland’s Silly Goose Crew in his name because we believed something good could come from something devastating. We had no roadmap. Just grief, a lot of anger, and a stubborn belief that dog families in Texas deserved better.

Today we’re showing up a little differently. Same mission. Same heart. Same silly goose at the center of it all.

03/03/2026

You’ve probably seen us popping up in your feed and stories a bit more recently - and that’s not by accident! There’s a lot we’ve been working behind the scenes to kick things up a notch for RSGC in 2026 and beyond.

We’ll be sharing more very soon and we can’t wait for y’all to join us in this new silly goose era 🌈✨🪿

Katelyn & Michael

03/01/2026

I am so excited to announce our ✨official✨ 2026 evaluation and safety guide line up for this year!! The feedback from our last post was fantastic and reaffirmed that we’re focused on the right topics for dog families across Austin!

Swipe through to see what’s in development for 2026!

🌈🌈🌈 And now for the fun part - we need to pick a whole new set of Roland photos to feature on these guides - and we’d love your help! Head to our stories to see some of our favorite photos of Roland and help us pick the right silly goose vibe 🌈🪿❤️

🎨 Roland art courtesy of

06/05/2024

🥁 Drumroll please! 🥁

We are SO excited to finally announce our newest guides to the RSGC resource lineup! Our two newest guides come directly from feedback and requests from all the people we’ve spoken to over the last year.

⭐️[NEW] Roland’s Guide to Finding & Selecting a Dog Sitter
⭐️[NEW] Roland’s Boarding Facility Evaluation Guide
⭐️[UPDATED] Roland’s Dog Daycare Evaluation Guide
⭐️Roland & Friends Guide to Finding & Selecting a Dog Trainer (in partnership with

A couple highlights to look forward to:
✨ How to decide between a Dog Sitter, Daycare or Boarding facility for your dog
✨ How to evaluate if a Dog Sitter did a good job caring for your dog (and what are some best practices + expectations to set before heading out!)
✨ Green flags and Red flags for evaluating Dog Daycares
✨ Special considerations to ask potential Boarding facilities
✨ …and much more!

We just sent these off to the printers and should have them in hand next week.

If you are a local business, vendor, vet office or rescue and would like to have stack on hand for guests, adopters or customers - please reach out!

We’ve made drop offs all around Austin and we would love to make a special silly goose delivery for you too 🌈

Roland's Silly Goose Crew

03/23/2026

03/22/2026

03/21/2026

03/20/2026

03/19/2026

03/18/2026

03/18/2026

03/12/2026

03/08/2026

03/03/2026

03/01/2026

06/05/2024

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