Sanctuary Rescue

09/06/2026

Last month we told you about FOMO, a little gray pittie with a cleft lip and satellite dish ears that reminded us so much of our dearly departed Goosie. He got neutered and spent the last few weeks being fostered at playfulpackrichmond where he filled his days running and romping and wrestling with other dogs and soaking up all the benefits of being fostered at a doggy daycare center. Today, though, he graduated from being a foster dog to being someone’s new best friend. FOMO got adopted! We are so grateful to the Wilson Family for opening up their hearts and home to this cool dude with a crooked smile. We are also eternally grateful for partners like Playful Pack that help us get dogs out of shelters and give them a soft place to land while they wait for their forever families to come find them. Happy life, FOMO!

09/05/2026

On Thursday our friends at Chesterfield County Animal Services reached out and said, Hey, we have these tiny itty bitties that need help. And so we responded, Help is on the way! Bottle feeding fosters went and grabbed them from the shelter and started caring for them. They are absolutely scrumptious and doing well so far. Upon hearing that it was two boys, of course we named them Joel and Bieber, mostly because it’s hilarious, but also to remind you to go vote for Hailey in the The Joel Bieber Firm Billboard Contest 🤣🤣. Link to vote in the comments.
But seriously, scrumptious.

09/05/2026

Little Petit went to the cardiologist yesterday and got some good news. He does, in fact, have a congenital heart defect; however, the doctor didn’t feel like he needed immediate surgery. We were told to have a followup echocardiogram in six to eight months and see how it was going then. As of now he’s a tiny, yet playful, happy, and appropriate puppy.

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

Last week it was French Fry’s turn at the cardiologist; this week it is Petit’s turn to head over for an echocardiogram. We found out at his puppy vaccination appointment earlier this week that this little fella has a very severe heart murmur and likely needs surgery quickly. He’s on his way to the cardiologist now to find out just how bad (or not bad 🤞🏼🤞🏼) it is.
PS - Have you voted for Hailey today (white dog, blue background)? Link to vote in the comments.

09/03/2026

Friends, we NEED you and all of your email addresses and voting fingers and friends’ and families’ voting fingers to go to the comments and click the link for The Joel Bieber Firm Billboard Contest. The winning rescue gets $3,000 which we need for all of these surgeries! Make sure you vote for Hailey, pictured below, and vote EVERY DAY until next Wednesday, vote with as many email addresses as you have (the contest hosts told me this themselves so we’re not being shady or breaking any rules!). Also, please don’t unfollow us when we post a voting reminder every day for the next week. Thank you! Love you like a meatball!

09/01/2026

Friends, a much-needed reminder that it’s not all doom and gloom around here. Sometimes we have Puppy-In-A-Boot days. Enjoy!

08/29/2026

A couple of weeks ago we told you about welcoming a new dog into rescue, and after some welcome-to-sanctuary snuggles and belly rubs we highly suspected she had been the victim of at least one, if not more, home c-sections. Well, since then she has seen our vet, and the doctor not only agreed but went on to say that whoever did this hack job of a surgery didn't even close up her body wall. This poor dog's innards are just free floating; she's basically one big walking hernia. Okay, this is horrific and unimaginable, but it is fixable, right? Yes, but there is one big complication.

French Fry (or Fat Fry as we sometimes lovingly refer to her) has a 4/6 heart murmur, so she can't go under anesthesia until she's had a full cardiac workup and been given the greenlight by a cardiologist. We took her to the cardiologist yesterday to see exactly where we stand with her ticker. After an echocardiogram, where she was the model patient, it was determined she has a couple of leaky valves, one with aortic stenosis. The cardiologist feels that French Fry going under anesthesia is risky, but not having the surgery and leaving her as-is is even riskier. In order to make this happen, though, she needs surgery by a board-certified surgeon and overseen by a board-certified anesthesiologist. What for a "normal" dog would have been a basic spay surgery, for French Fry has turned into a very complicated situation with several specialists involved - - all because some greedy human didn't want to cut into his puppy profit by providing reasonable vet care. Also, that's me being very, very nice.

French Fry is absolutely amazing. She's the happiest, sweetest, funniest little thing. Her legs are about 2 centimeters long and watching her do her silly little dwarf run would bring a smile to any grump's face. As you can see in this picture she is loved by all and loves all. She insisted on going around to everyone at the hospital and giving them love (or insisting that they give her love, whichever). Despite being cut open on someone's kitchen table without any anesthesia to sn**ch her babies, this dog holds no grudges. She's just happy to be here.

As I'm sure you can imagine, complicated surgery with specialists is rather expensive, and we already spent a chunk at the cardiologist. There is a link in the comments to donate for anyone that may still have two pennies to rub together in this tough economy that feels called to help us get French Fry her surgery and close up her butchered insides. Our goal is $5,000, and if for some reason there's anyone out there that can donate the full amount (person, business, or other), they will be considered the Diamond Sponsor of the Midlothian Day Parade and Festival and can be the Grand Marshal of the parade as a little added incentive. Otherwise, we are just as happy to work towards our goal one smaller donation at a time. Thank you for considering and thank you for caring about this sweet, smushy girl.

08/26/2026

Meatloaf has been Sanctuary Rescue’s Ambassadog for the last couple of years. He’s not only incredibly handsome and squishy but a friend to all. Meatloaf has been to every school visit, every nursing home visit, fundraiser, and community event. We could always trust him with any dog, any cat, any child, any human. He has been the greatest ambassador of rescue animals we’ve ever known. Despite being a seemingly healthy young man, though, Meatloaf experienced a cardiac event yesterday and passed suddenly and unexpectedly. The sadness that has permeated Sanctuary Rescue is indescribable. Meatloaf was such a life force, a source of joy to absolutely everyone; we lost our favorite coworker.

Immediately after his death I had the sinking thought of, Oh no, if deaths come in threes, who will be next? I worried about all of our other beloved Sanctuary dogs, several with medical issues, and let the intrusive thoughts creep in.

And just when things couldn’t possibly be any sadder around here, we heard the news of Dolly Parton’s passing. I thought, Wait, does this count as “the second of three”? Can a dog’s passing be equated with a human’s passing? I think it can. It’s just as real, just as devastating and painful. A friend is a friend whether they have two legs or four.

I remember reading something on the internet not too long ago where someone asked who the one person that everyone would agree was absolutely beloved by all. Who stretched beyond religious, political, socioeconomic, cultural lines and was internationally loved without condition? The overwhelming answer was Dolly Parton. In today’s world where we are all on edge, can’t seem to agree on much, and are more divided than ever, the fact that we could agree that Dolly Parton was a life force and a source of joy to absolutely everyone was comforting and hope-filled.

So yes, for us here at Sanctuary Rescue Dolly and Meatloaf are so much more alike than different. Dare I say Meatloaf was the Dolly of the dog world. He was universally loved even by people that proclaimed to not like dogs. You could put him in any situation with anyone and anything and it would be positive. He was adored for being inherently, born-this-way special. The kind of dog that only comes around once in a lifetime, just like Dolly. I don’t know when another human will come around and unite the world in their light and love quite like she did, and I don’t know when another dog will be so perfectly infallible in every way the way Meatloaf was, but thank God I lived in a timeline that had them both.

08/24/2026

Dalton and Sako!
Okay, now that I have your attention, feast your eyes on the most seasoned and patient foster brother in the known world. Sanctuary Rescue alum, Ferris, has raised dozens of puppies, and it shows. That playful little mess you see caught up hus the tail feathers is Ramsey, and she’s available for adoption. Obviously she loves toys and other dogs. Sn**ch her up before she gets too attached to Ferris’ backside.