http://www.erinregananimalsanctuary.com/

Erin Regan Animal Sanctuary, PO Box 1012, Picayune, MS (2026)

08/31/2026

The dogs who need us most are often the dogs people scroll right past.

Puppies get attention.
Small dogs get tons of applications.
The sad stories that tug at people's heartstrings get tons of interest.

But what about the ordinary dog?

The big adult dog who isn't tiny, isn't a puppy, isn't injured, and doesn't have a heartbreaking story to tell?

He's just a good dog who needs a home.

And unfortunately, research shows that those dogs really are at a disadvantage. A large study of nearly 20,000 potentially adoptable shelter dogs — including dogs in Mississippi — found that both age and size affected a dog's risk of euthanasia. Large dogs were at greater risk than small dogs in every region studied, and senior dogs faced substantially greater risk than younger dogs.

Other research has found that puppies have the shortest shelter stays, while dogs tend to wait longer as they get older.

There isn't necessarily anything wrong with the dogs who wait. They just aren't the dogs who stop your scroll.

And in an overcrowded shelter, being overlooked can cost a dog his life.

So the next time you're looking for a dog, look twice at the one you almost scrolled past. The big mixed breed. The senior. The dog whose story isn't particularly sad or dramatic.

A dog shouldn't need a tragedy to get our attention.

Speaking of overlooked dogs, meet Copper.

Copper is a 7-year-old hound mix who spent about six months in a county shelter before coming to us last October. He's a big dog. He's a senior. And he's dog-selective. Three strikes that make finding a home harder.

But Copper is also an absolutely wonderful dog. He is crate trained, housebroken, doggy door trained, sits and gives paw on command, loves everyone he meets, is laid back, and learns quickly.

In almost a year with us, he has received zero applications. Zero Petfinder inquiries. No one even asks about him. His social media posts don't get shared or noticed.

He's just been quietly waiting while the world scrolls past.

Maybe it's finally Copper's turn to be seen. 💚

08/30/2026

💚 PICAYUNE-AREA VOLUNTEER NEEDED FOR TNR ASSISTANCE 💚

We are looking for a dependable local volunteer with a flexible daytime schedule to help an 86-year-old Picayune resident trap and transport two approximately 12-week-old kittens currently living in her yard.

She will cover the cost of having the kittens spayed or neutered and will monitor the traps herself. What she needs is a little physical and transportation assistance.

The volunteer would need to:

• Help set the humane trap in her yard
• Be available when she reports that a kitten has been trapped
• Pick up the kitten—safely contained in the trap—and take them to a veterinarian in Picayune
• Pick the kitten up after surgery and return them to her property

We will coordinate everything with the volunteer as each kitten is trapped. There should be very little driving involved, but we do need someone reasonably flexible who may be available during the day when a trap is successful.

If you live in or near Picayune and would be willing to help this kind woman get these two kittens safely fixed, please send us a private message. Experience with community cats or TNR is helpful, but reliability and a willingness to follow instructions are most important.

Local friends, please share!
This is a time-sensitive project as we want to tackle this before the kittens get to mature reproductive age.

08/30/2026

Today was Greater Goods Charities goodie pick up day!

Rocky went along for the ride.

He got to meet some new people and got a few new toys, harnesses, and snacks.

The car was stuffed floor to ceiling in the back, so he rode home on the front seat.

But that was too far away. He decided the arm rest was a better spot.

It's the perfect size for him 😭

08/29/2026

Bon voyage, doggies!

Today we said goodbye to FOUR beautiful doggies as they began their journey north!

🐾 Siegfried & Roy, our Walmart parking lot puppies, are such big boys now! At about 6 months old, they’re more than ready for their forever familes!

🐾 Roe & Banks, the two dogs we recently pulled from St. Tammany Parish Animal Shelter are making the trip with them.

All four are heading to Pennsylvania, where happy new lives are waiting for them. 💚

We are incredibly grateful to Cherie Hawley and the entire Dixie Adoptables/Foster Luvs Transport team for once again safely transporting our babies up the East Coast. They take such wonderful care of the animals along the way. And sometimes that requires a little improvisation. 😂

About an hour after leaving Gulfport today, Banks apparently decided the accommodations were not to his liking and CHEWED HIS WAY OUT OF HIS PLASTIC CRATE. 🤦‍♀️😂

That was definitely not on the itinerary.

The transport team had to pull over, get him secured in a metal crate, and rearrange the van to accommodate Banks’ unexpected upgrade request. 😆 We truly appreciate their patience, care, and ability to handle whatever our dogs throw at them.

In addition to our transport fee this trip, it appears we also owe them one plastic crate. Thanks, Banks. 😂

And a HUGE thank you to all of our donors, followers, supporters, fosters, adopters, and everyone who shares our posts and cheers these animals on. Every veterinary visit, every meal, and every mile toward a forever home is possible because people choose to support what we do. These 4 happy endings belong to all of you, too. 💚

Safe travels, Siegfried, Roy, Roe & Banks!

Here’s to the beginning of FOUR beautiful new chapters. 🐾💚

08/29/2026

Rocky is a forever puppy. 💚

If you saw Rocky's story earlier today, you know that his owners moved away and left him behind. It was obvious the moment his neighbor dropped him off at our meet point that something about his growth wasn't normal. So instead of bringing him home, we went straight to the Animal Health Clinic. Dr. Natalie and her amazing staff squished him into their busy Friday schedule. He spent the day with them being shown around the office, loved on, and spoiled with treats.

Rocky's testing and X-rays have now given us an answer:

Rocky has congenital hypothyroidism, which has caused dwarfism and delayed skeletal development.

Basically, Rocky appears to have been born without the ability to produce enough thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormone plays an important role in normal growth and bone development, so his body simply never developed the way it was supposed to.

Rocky weighs 36 pounds, but his head and paws look like they belong to a much larger dog. His body is unusually small and underdeveloped, his growth plates are still open, and his vertebrae show delayed development as well.

At one year old, he even still has that soft, fuzzy puppy coat because his body never fully transitioned through normal development.

So, essentially, Rocky is a big-breed puppy whose body just never finished growing.

The good news is that the hypothyroidism is treatable.

Rocky will start thyroid hormone replacement medication now and will likely need it for the rest of his life. We'll repeat his bloodwork in 3 weeks to make sure we have his medication at the right dose.

In a few months, we'll repeat his X-rays because his growth plates are still open and his skeletal development has been delayed. We don't know exactly what his body will do once it finally has the thyroid hormone it has been missing.

Will some of those bones continue to mature? Will his growth plates eventually close?

We don't know yet.

What we do know is that Rocky will never look like a “normal” dog. Some of the changes that happened while he was developing will be permanent.

And that's perfectly okay.

Because Rocky doesn't seem to know there's anything different about Rocky.

He's affectionate. He's curious. He gets along with dogs and reportedly lived with cats. He's smart enough that someone taught him to sit on command. And within minutes of meeting me, he was already curled against me with his head resting on my shoulder.

There is absolutely nothing we've seen so far that says this little dog can't have a wonderful life.

He may just have to live it looking like a puppy forever.

For now, we'll monitor his thyroid levels and repeat those X-rays in a few months to see what his little body decides to do.

And somewhere along the way, we're going to find the perfect family who thinks their lives could use a 36-pound forever puppy.

After everything Rocky has been through, being different isn't the sad part of his story.

Being left behind was.

Now he gets a new story. 💚

Rocky will be available for adoption in thr coming weeks or months. We adopt to many states with transportation available at no cost to the adopter for the right home.

If you'd like to help with Rocky's veterinary care or apply to adopt, our links are in our IG profile or FB comments.

08/28/2026

His owners moved away and left him (and a bunch of their other pets) behind.

A concerned neighbor reached out, begging for someone to please take Rocky. She had already taken in two of the other dogs they abandoned, bringing her own household up to seven pets, and simply didn't have room for everyone.

Rocky was never a loved family dog. He spent his days and nights outside, often wandering the neighborhood looking for attention. Thankfully, this neighbor had always looked out for him.

And when the owners moved away, their response was essentially, “They're someone else's problem now.”

I will never understand this.

No one is required to have pets. So why get them if they mean so little to you that you can drive away and never look back?

Thankfully, Rocky became someone else's “problem.”

Ours. 💚

Rocky is safe now.

And I can tell you that I already love this little dog.

This morning, I put four dogs on the transport van headed north to their new lives—and brought one new dog back with me.

But Rocky didn't come straight home.

It was obvious immediately that there is something different about him. His growth appears stunted, and his body isn't proportionate to his large paws and head.

So our first stop was the Animal Health Clinic, where he is spending the day with Dr. Natalie and staff undergoing testing to hopefully figure out exactly what is going on.

Rocky is only about 30 pounds, but his paws and head look like he should be like 50 or 60.

He's basically a big dog who somehow ended up in a little dog body.

And he absolutely broke my heart on the ride here.

During that hour-long drive from Gulfport, Rocky climbed onto the armrest beside me and rested his head on my shoulder.

He barely knew me.

But somehow, he knew he was safe.

We are currently on an intake hiatus while we focus on caring for the dogs already here and getting them into their forever homes.

But every once in a while, there is a dog you just can't say no to.

Rocky was one of those dogs.

He has reportedly lived peacefully with both dogs and cats. At the veterinary office he initially barked at the other dogs, but seemed friendly and very interested in getting closer to everyone. We'll obviously learn much more about his personality after he has had a few days to decompress and we can do a more thorough behavioral evaluation.

But know one thing about him for sure. He desperately wants to be loved.

And after being treated as disposable for his entire life, I don't want him waiting months or years for that to happen.

I want the next place Rocky goes to be home.

Once we have answers about his unusual size and get the rest of his veterinary care completed, Rocky will be looking for his forever family. We adopt to many states and can provide transportation at no cost to the adopter for the absolute right home.

I have a feeling there is a very special family out there who is going to look at this little oddball and know immediately that he belongs with them.

Please share Rocky and help us find that family.

If you'd like to help with Rocky's veterinary expenses, donations toward his care are very gratefully appreciated. I'll put our donation options in the comments. 💚

One more plea: A mama cat and her 5 kittens were also left behind and still need rescue placement. The neighbor is looking out for them, but they need rescue asap. If you know of a reputable cat rescue with space to help this little family, please have them reach out to us. We can assist with transport for them, if needed.

08/27/2026

11 out of 50!

We are off to a great start!

If you live in one of the light-blue states, will you help us meet our goal of getting at least one donation from each state? If you live in a green state, any extra donations will be added to the tally. So far PA and MS are winning the race!

As a 100% volunteer 501(c)3 rescue, all funds raised go to help the animals!

Donation options can be found in the FB comments or IG profile.

Thank you for helping meet this big (but fun) goal! 💚

08/27/2026

Phoebe and Monica are the best dogs. 💚

And doesn't Monica (all white face) remind you of Snoopy??

These sweet pups are housebroken, crate trained, quiet, well-behaved, good on leashes, and great with people of all ages. Everyone who meets them absolutely adores them. If I didn't have a literal house full, these 2 would be the ones I would want to keep for myself!

These 2 sisters would love nothing more than to finally get a home together, one where they can have a fenced yard to run around and play in. They are about 3 years old, around 50 pounds each, fully vetted, and healthy. Active, but not hyper. They enjoy a good afternoon nap each day and are great with routine! They are very smart and taught themselves to use the doggy door.

They can get along with other friendly dogs with a proper introduction, but they prefer no kitties, birds, or small animals.

Adoption fees are waived, and we also transport to the perfect home at no cost to the adopter. Located in Mississippi, but please do not let distance stop you from applying. We transport to most states!

Please reach out if interested.

SHARESHARESHARESHARESHARE They need a home!!

08/27/2026

It's National Dog Day!

Need a dog in your life? We have some amazing dogs waiting for their forever homes!

We transport to most states for the perfect home at no cost to the adopter.

PLEASE consider one of these pups if you are looking. Reach out for more information!

08/25/2026

Do you live in one of the blue states?

We have a goal to get one donation from each state! We have 8 states checked off so far!

Any amount counts!

Please include your state in the notes when you donate, or send us a message afterward. We’ll color in each state green as it joins the campaign and keep a running count of how many donations come in from each state. We’ll post updates as the map fills up until we reach all 50!

And our friends outside the U.S. can play too! If you donate from another country, include your country in the notes and we’ll add it to the graphic.

Funds raised will help cover the everyday costs of rescue, including veterinary care, food, medications, electricity, supplies, and everything else it takes to keep the animals safe, healthy, and cared for.

Thank you to everyone that donated so far! 💚

Check FB comments or IG profile for ways to donate.

Erin Regan Animal Sanctuary

08/31/2026

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