🦄 Well… since we last talked, a lot happened.

Sorry we went quiet for a bit.

Too many balls 🎾 ⚽ 🏈 in the air. Not enough capacity or bandwidth.

(Carley here 👋—the one who also runs socials and briefly believed she could keep a few newsletters alive during a rescue avalanche.)
If you’d like to buy the social media girl a coffee (or whatever emergency beverage is required after writing this) → @Carley_R (Venmo)
It directly fuels chaos management, late-night dog spreadsheets, and whatever fundraiser graphic I’m panic-designing at midnight.

We didn’t disappear.
We just hit the point where something had to give.

🐶 The stretch that changed everything

2025 didn't go out quietly.... December made sure of that!

It closed out with a litter of tiny wire haired (Yorkie) Aussie mix potatoes—now known as the Dolly Pawton litter —landing in care and immediately shifting everything into overdrive, during freezing weather of course!

Then Noel Anne decided January 19 would be a great time to give birth in rescue. That brought us the Peanuts litter : Patty, Marcie, Chuck, Sally, Lucy, Franklin, and Red Baron (he had a cleft palate, and was transferred to a speciality cleft rescue).

And with newborn litters in rescue—especially back-to-back ones: They don’t just take space, and resources. They multiply demand. 

These fosters become round-the-clock caregivers.
Puppy timelines, multiple cleaning rounds during the day.
As they grow, so does the tiny, adorable chaos - and inevitable messes - those get bigger too. 🤣
And suddenly every “we’ve got this” starts turning into “we need help.”

🚐 Gas Pedal 

January escalated quickly. Thanks Noel. 🤪

A young Aussie named Chueco came in after being pulled from a shelter. His name means “crooked” in Spanish—and yeah, it fits. Facial deformity, unforgettable face, no pain, no special medical needs. Just a dog who stops you for a second and makes you look twice in the best way.

Then came Ian and Dexter , left outside after their owner was evicted, trying to survive freezing temperatures with nowhere to go.

During the same stretch, the ice storm hit—and we received one of those updates that never really resolves cleanly: A recently adopted pup from the Color litter, Sakura (renamed Daisy), went missing during an ice storm and was never found. 💔
Some updates don’t get closure. They just get carried.

And layered into all of that was ongoing medical care like FHO surgery for Carrots 🥕 , plus everything else coming in behind it.

By the end of January: 🚨 53 dogs rescued in one month.

But we were already running on fumes.

Our foster pool wasn’t just low anymore—it was empty. ⛽

And that’s where the real problem showed up: We could still pull dogs in… But we no longer had enough fosters to sustain the need, and it was questionable if we could recruit new fosters to help with this insane demand. We kept trying, pushing on socials for fosters, the weather remains a bit wild in North Texas as far as freezing temps go til March-ish usually. 

🧭 February: everything at once

A hoarding case involving ~40 dogs.
Five puppies immediately pulled into care.
And a dachshund mom with 7 newborns—just days old—who became the Ted Lasso litter .

At the same time, we were coordinating with partner rescues to help stabilize the rest of the case and prevent further overwhelm across the already stretched system.

And behind the scenes, leadership work didn’t slow down either—supporting broader rescue coordination and ongoing investigations tied to:

• breeder bailouts 

• multi-state rescue efforts (Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas)

• a developing case involving 270+ Cavaliers in inadequate conditions

• a ~20-dog Golden Retriever breeding operation being worked toward closure

Hours, weeks, long nights.... This is the closed door stuff, the planning and coordination, before the dogs can be moved. 

And through all of it…

Dogs kept coming in.

🛑 The pause: why we stopped intake

By March 9th, we were at 102 dogs in care .

And that’s when we made the decision nobody in rescue makes lightly: We paused intake.

For 30 days, no new dogs unless it was true emergency.

At that point we had:

• rising vet costs

• slowing donations

• and a foster network that was completely stretched

So we stepped back *DEEP BREATH* and focused on stabilizing current dogs, getting adoptions moving, catching up medically, and rebuilding financial footing. And probably a tiny bit of therapy. 

It wasn’t a break. It was a correction.

🐾 What actually happened during the hold

Even with intake paused, rescue work didn’t slow down. We were just breathing inside the "controlled" chaos.

And the numbers tell part of that story:

• 54 dogs were still adopted out during Feb/March , even with intake slowed (compared to our normal ~37 adoptions/month pace)
  
  That only happened because foster homes kept saying yes even after we hit capacity. 🙌

• By the end of that stretch, we were sitting at 128 adoptions year-to-date

• Intake year-to-date sat at 130 dogs

So yes… technically we were “close to even.”

But, “Breaking even” is doing a lot of emotional heavy lifting there. 😅

And while things were stabilizing on the intake side, the financial reality was still very real:

April vetting expenses: $11,987.68

The bills must still be paid!
🌏 The world continues to spend 💸, I mean spin. 😬

🐾 Where we landed 🏝

When we reopened intake, we were sitting around 63 dogs in care . * Whew* 😅
Numbers came down to sustainable, or at least keeping our heads above water. It didn't solve everything but adoptions, fosters stepped up, medical was wrapped up for many, and space finally existed again where there was none before. 

We didn’t “catch up.” But we stopped the slide.

💛 Where We Are Now

We didn’t die. The dogs didn’t die. In fact, many of them are now vetted, adopted, and thriving like none of this ever happened.

The dogs were OUR support system, IKYK. #wedontdeservedogs 

We never thought we’d slam on the brakes like that—but 2026 came in hot with some absolutely unhinged energy #firehorse , and at a certain point we had to tap out.

The intake hold wasn’t elegant. It was more like slamming on the brakes and yelling “PLEASE HOLD” while everything kept moving anyway.

But we’re here. Still here. Dogs still here. And somehow… still doing this.

We’re continuing to build systems, processes, and community support that don't require hitting that level of chaos again to function.

NTASR grew from a small rescue into a much larger one almost overnight. Faster than anyone expected. Maybe it was in the stars honestly… where are my astrology ✨ people at? 🤪


Emotional support dogs and emotional support stuffies were in high demand...

🐾 Data Dorks UNITE! & 🌍 What we’re thinking about right now

There’s been a lot of conversation in rescue about capacity, burnout, and what “sustainable” actually means.

One resource we’ve been looking at:
👉 Shelter Animals Count data (2025 organizational size + capacity trends)

It’s a reminder that what feels local is actually part of a national pattern —rescues and shelters everywhere are dealing with similar strain points.

And voices like @life.of.addy have been doing a heavy lift translating that reality into accessible, grounded education around animal welfare in the U.S.

Both matter:

• the data that shows the system pressure and the storytellers making that pressure visible to the "casual" rescuer. 

📅 Events & Fundraisers: 

Here's your sign to buy random canine treasures you absolutely do not need but will emotionally attach to immediately

Sit , Stay , Slay : Drag Bingo 💅🐶

Get ready for a chaotic-good evening of drag, bingo, puppy snuggles, and questionable levels of excitement over tiny plastic bingo balls.

Join us for Sit , Stay , Slay : Drag Bingo benefiting North Texas Australian Shepherd Rescue — featuring fabulous queens, hilarious bingo moments, adoptable NTASR puppies, good food, cocktails, and enough serotonin to carry you through at least part of the week.

Where: The Bearded Lady
             300 South Main St Fort Worth, TX 76104
When: June 8
            6 - 9pm  
🎟 Tickets 

 

Bring your friends, your lucky bingo energy, and prepare to aggressively baby-talk puppies between rounds.

Each ticket includes:
✨ Bingo games
✨ Prizes
✨ Unlimited puppy cuddles
✨ Emotional support from tiny floofs

The amazing crew at The Bearded Lady will also have a special event menu for the hoomans — snacks, cocktails, entrees, and other things your diet can emotionally process later. 👀

A few quick notes:
• This event features NTASR puppies only
• Please leave personal pets at home
• Tickets are limited
• Every Ticket helps support rescue dogs in our care

Craving more NTASR shirt styles to show off your rescue love? We’ve got you covered (literally)! Check out our growing collection of NTASR swag—because one shirt is never enough when you're reppin' the floof squad!  🐾🧡
NTASR Swag

🐾 Save the Date: North Texas Giving Day - GIVES TO ANIMALS!

Mark your calendars— Wednesday, May 14th your chance to make a life-changing impact for rescue dogs, and the first $100,000 donated gets matched (one $100 donation at a time). 💙

Given everything you’ve already read… you can probably imagine our monthly burn rate is not exactly small.

You would be correct.

Depending on the month, we average around $25,000 in expenses .

Again, we aren’t such a tiny rescue anymore, annndddd, low key, it feels like that happened overnight.

Carley here still (why am I suddenly talking in third person? who allowed this?) * ahem* — I’ve got posts scheduled throughout the week giving a few different peeks behind the rescue curtain.

The dogs who return to rescue.
The puppy mill survivors still figuring out how to trust a year later.
The dogs whose healing takes months, not moments.

Because rescue is a marathon, not a sprint.

And when we say NTASR is a support system, we mean it. We’re still here for every dog who has come through our doors, and every family who adopted them.

You know how restaurants say “When you’re here, you’re family?” Yeah. Same same. You adopted from NTASR? Congrats. You’re family now. No takesies backsies. 🐶✨

And while we’re caring for the dogs currently in foster homes, we’re also still showing up for our adopters every single day.

(Also, if you didn’t know: Samantha Anderson is an actual superhero 👩‍🎤. I have no idea how she does all of it while somehow driving across the entire metroplex at all hours. beep beep )

Honestly, buy her a coffee. Or better yet, donate to NTASR.

💌 Want to make a bigger difference?

Set that alarm for MIDNIGHT on May 14th and help us make every dollar count. Donations up to $100 will be matched, and every gift helps us keep showing up for the dogs who need us most.

Or become a foster with us! 

Ok.

Love ya, mean it.

💙 Your NTASR Pack

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NTASR Partners

Thank You for Making 2026 Possible 💛

 

We couldn’t do what we do without our incredible partners and supporters—every single one of you helps change lives. Together, we’re stronger, more effective, and able to reach dogs who desperately need us.

Special Thanks To:

• Uptown Pup - Dallas 
• The Barkday Planner
• Three Dog Bakery - DFW Locations
• Deaf Dogs Rock This amazing organization supports NTASR with the care of our deaf dogs
• Cuddly for feeding our growing foster network 🍲
• Mercy Pet Hospital, Summerfield, and Park Place Pet Hospital -  for providing compassionate, ongoing medical care
• VEG ER
• All our monetary donors and social media supporters —liking, sharing, attending events, and helping us find forever homes 🏡

And of course, our fosters—you’re the heartbeat of NTASR. Your love, patience, and dedication turn scared, neglected dogs into confident, happy pups. 💕

This community is inspiring, and we are endlessly grateful for each and every one of you.

The NTASR Team 🐾

P.S. If you loved what you read, please forward this monthly newsletter and spread the word, they can subscribe to NTASR Woof Wire. NTASR is working hard to save lives of all dogs and advocate for greater change in Texas. 

 

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We want to hear👂from you!