06/15/2026
Monday Recap: Last Week’s Rescue Chaos
Also known as: “We survived last week, but the animals are still very much here.”
It’s Monday, which means we’re looking back at last week and trying to figure out how seven days managed to contain approximately 43 emergencies, 19 moving parts, several medical cases, multiple transports, and one collective shelter-wide eye twitch.
Last week was one of those weeks where animal rescue felt less like a job and more like trying to solve a giant puzzle while the puzzle was actively chewing on your shoelaces.
And while last week is technically over, the work from it is not.
The animals we took in are still here.
The vet bills are still coming.
The medications are still being given.
The babies are still growing.
The injured are still healing.
The scared ones are still learning they are safe.
And our shelter is still full.
We are overrun right now. Completely out of space, stretched thin, and still getting calls about animals who need help immediately. So we do what rescue people do: we get creative, we make phone calls, we shuffle kennels, we call in favors, we drive, we cry a little, we laugh because otherwise we might melt into the floor, and we keep going.
And last week was a lot.
Rhi jumped in her car and picked up a mostly deaf and mostly blind Sharpei/King Charles mix. She is safe with us now, but she is currently fighting an unknown infection. She is on antibiotics, and once we get her temperature down and she is healthy enough, she will be spayed and eventually start looking for a home.
Dogs like her remind us why rescue is not just about “finding homes.” It is about meeting them where they are, medically and emotionally, and giving them the time they need to feel safe again.
We also took in a dog who was found after his owner had passed away. He had been alone in the home for several days with limited to no access to food and water. He is safe now, but he has a long road ahead. He will need a lot of rehabilitation, patience, nutrition, vet care, and emotional support before he is ready for a new beginning.
That kind of trauma does not disappear the moment an animal is rescued. Rescue is the start line, not the finish line.
We also had a mom and litter of puppies who needed to get out of an apartment in Humboldt Homes ASAP, but we did not have room at the shelter. So we did what rescue often requires. We called our friends for help and started figuring out the safest way to get everyone placed.
Dubuque Regional Humane Society was able to take a mom and puppies from Emmet County, and Rhi and Amy transported them one day. That opened up a safe spot, and then Miranda and her kids transported the mom and puppies from Humboldt Homes up to Emmet County so they could land somewhere safe.
None of these were Moffitt dogs, but they were dogs who needed help, and sometimes rescue means doing the behind-the-scenes shuffle to make sure every animal involved ends up safe. It takes partner shelters, transport volunteers, gas money, coordination, and a whole lot of “okay, how do we make this work?”
We are incredibly grateful to Dubuque Regional Humane Society and Emmet County Animal Shelter for helping make space when there was no space.
This is what people do not always see behind the scenes: the gas, the miles, the rearranged schedules, the “can anyone meet halfway?”, the crates in cars, the emergency stops, the planning, the hoping, and the constant math problem of how to help when there is no room.
Oliver also went on the radio with Mix 94.5, helping get the word out and giving our animals another chance to be seen, heard, and supported by the community. Some animals need a spotlight, some need surgery, some need a couch, and some apparently need a media manager. Oliver is working on his public relations career.
Miranda and Jenna also started working through a cat overpopulation situation in a home that became an emergency and had to be addressed immediately. All of the kitties involved will need extra TLC, rehab, and in some cases extensive vetting before they are healthy enough to start their new lives.
Cat overpopulation can spiral quickly. One unaltered cat becomes many cats faster than most people realize, and by the time help is needed, the cats are often sick, under-socialized, overwhelmed, or in need of major medical care. Spay and neuter is not just important. It is prevention. It is mercy. It is how we stop the flood instead of constantly bailing water with a teacup.
Right now, we also have 6 dogs in our care who are part of court cases. That means they are safe with us, but they require ongoing care while the legal process plays out. They still need food, cleaning, enrichment, medical care, and daily attention, even when their future is stuck in legal limbo.
Brownie, our FELV-positive cat, will be getting eyelid surgery to fix his sore eyes. Once he is healed, he will be looking for a new home with people who either have other FELV-positive cats or where he can be the only cat. We follow our veterinarians’ guidance on best practices for FELV-positive kitties.
FELV-positive cats are not “throwaway” cats. They can still have love, comfort, personality, sass, snack opinions, and wonderful lives. They just need the right placement and care.
We also took in a feral-ish mom and her newborn babies, an injured kitten, and a big injured tom cat who are all currently healing with us. Once they are feeling better, they will be looking for homes too.
On top of that, we coordinated abandoned kittens with nursing moms who were able to care for them, giving those tiny babies the best shot at life. When orphaned kittens can be safely placed with a nursing mom, it can make a huge difference. Mom cats are tiny miracles in fur coats, and we will absolutely let them do their magic when they are willing and able.
And that was just last week.
One week of transports.
One week of emergency intakes.
One week of injured animals.
One week of radio visits, bottle babies, nursing moms, court case dogs, medical needs, shelter partners, and impossible decisions.
One week of trying to stretch every dollar until it becomes a trapeze artist.
But now it’s Monday, and all of those animals still need us.
We are doing everything we can, but we cannot do it without help.
Donations right now will go directly toward vet care, medications, surgeries, food, litter, supplies, transport costs, gas, and the daily care of the animals who have nowhere else to go.
A lot of the gas, transportation costs, emergency supplies, and everyday rescue expenses have been coming out of our personal pockets, as so many things in rescue do. We do it because the animals need us, but we need help carrying the weight. Every transport, every vet trip, every bag of food, every pan of litter, every medication, every mile matters.
We also want to explain something important about adoption fees.
Our adoption fees are already as low as we can possibly make them while still trying to recover even a portion of the vet care that goes into each animal. Every animal who comes through our doors needs something: vaccines, spay or neuter, deworming, flea prevention, testing, medications, surgeries, emergency care, follow-up appointments, or sometimes all of the above with a side of “surprise, this is more complicated than we thought.”
Adoption fees help, but they do not come close to covering the full cost of what many of these animals need.
That gap is where donations make all the difference.
Your donation helps us say yes when the next call comes in.
It helps us fill a gas tank for a transport.
It helps us buy antibiotics for an infection.
It helps us get surgery for sore eyes.
It helps us feed nursing moms and orphaned babies.
It helps us care for animals waiting on court cases.
It helps us rehab the scared, the sick, the injured, the forgotten, and the ones who had nowhere else to go.
If you can donate, adopt, share, or support us in any way, it truly matters.
Even $5 helps.
A share helps.
A bag of food helps.
Adoptions help.
A kind word on a hard day helps more than you know.
Last week was full.
This week is already moving.
Our shelter is full.
Our hearts are full too, but unfortunately the vet clinic does not accept “good intentions and emotional damage” as payment.
Please donate if you can and help us keep going for the animals who still need us.
They are counting on us.
And we are counting on our community. 🐾
