In Case We Need To Prove Ourselves

This is Girl Person.

For those questioning whether we can truly walk the walk when it comes to animal rescue, I want to share what fifteen years of dedication looks like. Not because we feel the need to prove ourselves, but because I believe our past work is the foundation for everything we are preparing to do next.

Our animal rescue work by the numbers:

5,000+ hours spent working in person with animal rescues, meeting the animals, understanding the challenges and helping the people who save them.
15 years, seven days a week dedicated to advocating for rescue animals and encouraging adoption.
7 years traveling across America for animal rescue, visiting shelters, meeting rescuers and sharing their stories.
An average of 3 rescue animals featured every day, giving thousands of animals opportunities to be seen, shared and hopefully chosen.
Countless products and supplies donated to rescues through our outreach to companies willing to help.

These aren’t simply statistics. They represent real animals, real people, real relationships and thousands of opportunities to make a difference. They also represent an education that no classroom could have given us. We have learned what shelters need, what works, what doesn’t, and how important it is to connect people who want to help with animals who desperately need that help.

And we’ve learned from our mistakes, too.

Coming to Italy wasn’t a mistake. But it taught us one of the hardest lessons of our lives. Our hearts have always propelled us toward our purpose, but our minds have sometimes become consumed with the circumstances of living. Finding a house, fixing a house, moving to another country, trying to make everything work financially. Somewhere in all of that, we can spend more energy maintaining a life than fulfilling the purpose that makes that life meaningful.

We only have so much time. And we don’t want to waste any more of it being sidetracked.

We are not returning to America to start over. We are returning with fifteen years of experience, lessons and relationships to move animal rescue forward in innovative new ways.

We have already begun developing programs like THIS IS…ME, giving verified, real rescue animals a voice and connecting them with sponsors who can help share their stories. Fruitycake’s Pawcast is another new way to educate, encourage and bring attention to the animals and people who need our support.

But these are just the beginnings. We envision programs that connect animal rescues, businesses and supporters in ways that are practical, creative and sustainable. We want to use everything we have learned to make helping animals easier, more personal and more effective. And we want to spend our time doing that work instead of continually finding ourselves distracted by circumstances that take us away from it.

I think about Brickle and Digby often as we prepare to leave this Italy place. They inspired us to begin this journey without knowing where it would lead. We didn’t have a perfect plan then. We simply believed that rescued dogs deserved to be celebrated and chosen. And somehow, with your help, that belief became fifteen years of work.

Now Fruitycake carries that inspiration forward. He reminds us every day that our mission isn’t tied to a particular dog, a house, a country or even a chapter of our lives. It is something much bigger than all of those things.

We have made mistakes. We have taken wrong turns. We have faced circumstances that nearly stopped us. But we have never stopped believing in the animals we started this journey for.

And perhaps that is one of the most important statistics of all. Fifteen years later, we are still here, still working and still determined to do more.

We don’t expect everyone to understand our choices. But we hope that those who have followed our work will recognize that everything we have experienced has prepared us for what comes next.

We aren’t asking you to believe in a dream without a history. We are asking you to help us build on fifteen years of work, experience and dedication.

Brickle and Digby inspired us to begin. Fruitycake inspires us to continue. And you have helped make it possible.

We’ve walked the walk. Now we’re ready to take everything we’ve learned and walk farther, with one purpose guiding every step.

Make Rescues The Breed Of Choice.

Thank you for believing in us, encouraging us and helping us turn the next chapter into something that can save more lives.

With love and gratitude,

Girl Person, Boy Person and Fruitycake

P.S. We still have immediate necessities to cover while we wait for the closing and prepare to return to America. Food, heating supplies, everyday expenses and Fruitycake’s remaining veterinary and travel requirements cannot wait. Every purchase, contribution and subscription helps us get through this difficult transition while continuing our rescue work.

Help with our immediate necessities:
https://www.tinyurl.com/2tdnecessities

Help Fruitycake get ready to return to America:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/JBCWYW7YJPJF6

Join our Patreon for $5 a month: Support our daily rescue work and receive our weekday blogs and audio.
https://www.patreon.com/2travelingdogsrescue

Get our 2027 calendars: Two special calendars celebrating our journey, with proceeds helping us move forward.

Under The Crow Rustico Calendar:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/SNB5CCR7YX5QL

2 Traveling Dogs Calendar:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/6TLHKT85EC9YL

Get our Porch Light shirt or mug: A reminder of the people who have been our encouragement and our true home throughout this journey.

Shirt:
https://www.bonfire.com/help-2-traveling-dogs-get-back-home160

Mug:
https://www.bonfire.com/help-2-traveling-dogs-get-back-home160-1

Sponsor a rescue animal through THIS IS…ME: Help us feature verified, real shelter animals and give them the attention they deserve. You can sponsor in honor or memory of someone special. We need sponsors to keep this program growing.
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/Q56YEJJTKXY96

Listen to Fruitycake’s Pawcast! Our new podcast for dogs, by a dog, features encouragement, interesting things to learn and animal rescue organizations making a difference. Please listen, share it with other dog lovers and send Fruitycake a question from your dog!