My 2 Traveling Dogs family,
This is Girl Person. I won’t pretend this has been an easy year for me. I’ve struggled with depression, surgery, ongoing complications with my health, with losing my sense of purpose and with wondering some days how I was going to keep going. I don’t know where I would be without Brickle, Digby, Fruitycake and this 2 Traveling Dogs family. You’ve carried me through chapters of my life when you probably didn’t even realize you were doing it. And maybe that’s one of the biggest things these dogs have taught me after fifteen years: we need each other in this world. The animals need us, but we need each other too.
I need to tell you something that may sound strange after fifteen years of doing this: I don’t love the cause of animal rescue. I actually hope there comes a day when there is no animal rescue cause at all. No dogs waiting in shelters. No animals needing someone to speak for them because people failed them. No endless fundraising just to save another life. I have spent fifteen years doing this work not because I love the cause. I do it because I love THEM.
2 Traveling Dogs started with Brickle and Digby and grew into something I never could have imagined. We traveled across 48 states, visited rescues, told the stories of dogs and the people fighting for them, and spent years asking the world to Make Rescues The Breed Of Choice! Now Fruitycake is beside us, and our recent shelter visit here in Italy reminded me why I am not ready for this story to end. In fact, I think we’re supposed to make it bigger. I want our next chapter to focus even more on the individuals behind the word “rescue”—to give dogs a voice, tell their stories and find new, creative ways for this family to participate in helping them.
But we have reached a crucial point. Support is very down, just as we need to begin preparing for our trip back to America and expanding this mission. Our work isn’t sponsored. The travel, necessities, fuel, food, equipment, websites, videos and everything it takes to keep 2 Traveling Dogs going depends on the people who believe in what we’re doing. If you’ve ever believed in 2 Traveling Dogs, in this mission, or in me and what you believe I can still accomplish, I need you now.
One of the most important ways you can help us build what comes next is by joining our Patreon for only $5 a month. Recurring support gives us the stability to actually plan instead of wondering from one week to the next whether we’ll have enough support to continue. And I want Patreon to become even more of a place where our 2TD family gets something special in return.
So we’re starting this Sunday. 🇮🇹🐶
Fruitycake and I are premiering a special Patreon-only COOKING WITH FRUITYCAKE video! We’re making Fruitycake’s first Italian frittata together—a dog-friendly Italian recipe made right here with Girl Person, Fruitycake and the ONE pan we have. 😂 You’ll get to cook along with us, get the recipe and, most importantly, witness Fruitycake determine whether Girl Person is actually qualified to prepare Italian cuisine.
This Sunday’s full cooking video will ONLY be on Patreon. It won’t be posted on Facebook, YouTube or anywhere else.
Join for $5 and you’ll also get our weekday blogs and audio blogs while directly helping us continue and expand this work:
PATREON:
www.patreon.com/2travelingdogsrescue
If Patreon isn’t possible, there are other ways we desperately need help right now as we continue our work and begin preparing for the journey home:
NECESSITIES — OUR MOST IMMEDIATE NEED:
www.tinyurl.com/2tdnecessities
VENMO:
travelingdogs2
ZELLE:
FRUITYCAKE’S SEPTEMBER AFFIRMATIONS FOR DOGS AND PEOPLE WORKBOOK: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/RCVRLZ8U4583C
You can also support us through our Make Rescues The Breed Of Choice! and Girl Persons For Animal Rescue shirts, or simply share 2 Traveling Dogs with someone who might need this family as much as I’ve needed it.
Fifteen years is a long time. There have been highways and rescue shelters, RVs and airplanes, America and Italy, laughter and grief, Brickle and Digby and now Fruitycake. There have been times I thought I knew exactly where we were going and times—like now—when I’ve had to find the courage to admit that I’m still figuring it out.
But I know this much.
I’m not finished.
I don’t want to simply keep talking about animal rescue. I want us to help change why it’s necessary in the first place. I want to keep telling their stories until people stop seeing “a shelter dog” and start seeing someone.
If you’ve ever believed in us, please help me keep going now.
From this Girl Person to my 2 Traveling Dogs family, thank you for fifteen years of believing in the dogs, believing in this crazy journey and, during some of my hardest days, believing in me.
We need each other in this world.
And I still believe we can do something good together.
Rachael
Girl Person
2 Traveling Dogs
Make Rescues The Breed Of Choice
