08/17/2026
STORY TIME: Why Swampland Husky Rescue will no longer be accepting fosters — for any dog, for anyone, for any reason.
First, I want to sincerely thank the Cherokee County Police Department and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office for their responsiveness and professionalism this past weekend. Both agencies were extremely responsive to my calls, and the Sheriff’s Office ultimately helped bring an incredibly frustrating situation to a swift and appropriate resolution.
This weekend was also a hard reminder of just how complicated foster-based rescue can become — and why we have made the decision to change the way Swampland Husky Rescue operates moving forward.
Last week, we made the decision to terminate Maxine’s foster agreement. Her foster was notified the day before that we would be retrieving Maxine on Saturday.
When we arrived, however, we were met with resistance.
We waited nearly an hour for Maxine to be returned to us before I contacted the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy promptly responded, took my information, reviewed our documentation, and assisted in having Maxine returned to us.
Maxine is safely back in our care.
But Maxine wasn't the only dog we had to retrieve.
We also picked up Sox, who had been dropped off at a boarding facility by his foster because of his crate anxiety. Sox is not a dog who spends excessive amounts of time crated, but he does struggle with crate anxiety, and we have been actively working to make his crate a safe, positive space for him.
And we picked up Good Boy, who had been struggling in foster and boarding environments and had begun nipping/biting at fosters and boarding kennel staff. Good Boy needs structure, consistency, training and an environment equipped to safely work through those behaviors.
So, in one weekend, we found ourselves retrieving and taking responsibility for three dogs whose placements were no longer working.
And that brought us to a difficult conclusion.
Effective immediately, Swampland Husky Rescue will no longer be accepting new foster homes.
Not temporarily. Not on a case-by-case basis.
We will be removing the foster option from our applications and restructuring how we handle dogs moving forward.
I also want to make something very clear regarding what happened with Maxine: involving law enforcement is NEVER what we want.
We don't want disagreements involving our dogs to escalate to the point that authorities need to become involved. We would always prefer issues to be handled professionally, peacefully and according to the agreements everyone signed.
When we terminate a foster agreement, we are also not going to publicly litigate every detail or disclose every issue that led to that decision. Sometimes a foster relationship simply cannot continue.
But what should never be difficult is getting our dog back.
At the same time, this decision should not overshadow the incredible fosters who have helped this rescue over the years.
We have had fosters who have opened their homes repeatedly, rearranged their lives, driven countless miles, attended vet appointments, worked through difficult behaviors and loved our dogs like their own.
To those fosters: THANK YOU.
Some of the dogs we've saved simply could not have been saved without you. This change does not diminish your dedication or everything you've done for Swampland Husky Rescue.
Unfortunately, the risks and complications that come with placing rescue-owned dogs into other people's homes have reached a point where we have to change our model.
Maxine is safe. Sox is safe. Good Boy is safe.
Now we move forward — stronger, more focused, and committed to doing what we believe is best for every dog entrusted to us.
🐾 Until Every Husky Has a Home.
