Women Inspired: Issue 2
Sometimes the smallest paws can leave the biggest impressions.
For three women, their pets weren’t just companions—they were the spark that ignited a fire. Inspired by the unconditional love and resilience of their furry friends, they embarked on new paths, one small step a time. From advocating for animal welfare to building supportive communities and spreading kindness, these women prove that even the simplest acts of compassion can ripple out and transform their worlds and those around them.
“I met Ms Fanny Wiggles in a dog pound in Huntingdon, Tennessee in the summer of 2019. It was an awful, deserted place with filthy kennels in the blazing sun where unclaimed dogs were ‘euthanized’ once their time was up.
When I brought Fanny home she blossomed into the best frisbee dog we’ve ever had and her once dull brown coat turned chestnut.
I couldn’t save all the dogs that day, but Fanny is a daily reminder that there are so many dogs still down there just like her.
Not long after bringing Fanny home, I formed Who Will Let the Dogs Out, a nonprofit that works to raise awareness and resources for homeless dogs and the heroes who fight for them.
We continue to work to find solutions that will create real shelters and finally put an end to dog pounds.”
(Cindy’s note: Cara has written a game-changing book based on 150 visits to rural animal shelters, dog pounds, and rescues. It will help transform dog pounds into true shelters while helping the people working hard to help animals. Buy a copy today! Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues.)
“My animals inspire me every day. I started writing with them and about them on Substack in August 2022. The newsletter, Conversations with Critters, reflects my lifelong love of all creatures great and small.
My cats are Chris and Jasper, and I adopted my little senior dog, Jojo, in October 2024. I have also featured my two dogs, Panda and Star, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2024. Their antics lift me up and their love sustains me.”
(Cindy’s note: We all wish we knew what deep thoughts occupy the minds of our pets, especially how they interpret their world and ours. Naturalist and animal lover, Heidi, explores that very concept through “conversations” between her menagerie. Read for the antics. Stay for the poetry.)
“Having had dogs all my life, I thought I knew what I was doing, until my Moo, an 8 week old Tibetan Terrier X Cavalier King Charles came into my life. He was absolutely adorable, and cuddly and I fell in love with him instantly when I met him at four weeks old. The day I went to view the litter, he did a roly-poly on my foot, then I picked him up, he fell asleep on my hand, and I was smitten. Four weeks later he was home with me.
It began as itching, which led to him chewing bald patches in his fur. He stopped eating and would throw up blood. He also would pass blood at the other end. Slowly his behaviour became really aggressive and he would lay and tremble on my lap. It was heart-breaking. I begged and begged the vets to help him, but they kept telling me that an intolerance or allergy test wouldn't work. We tried a hydrolysed diet, which didn't work either, and he deteriorated further.
At 18 months, he was half the weight he should have been and the vets wanted to put him to sleep. But I refused, which in hindsight was quite brave of me, as I live with PTSD and Generalised Anxiety Disorder, after an awful, violent marriage a long time ago, and standing up to anyone, let alone those in authority is scary. The local trainers didn't want him in their classes, because of the aggression, so I didn't know where else to turn but the internet.
I found a few little udemy type courses and fell into a rabbit hole of learning about nutrition and behaviour. From there I started to take more in-depth and high level courses until I qualified as an accredited behaviourist and began helping out at the local puppy class, working for an online dog behaviour school doing admin and social media etc in return for more courses, and doing bits of dog walking to gain experience.
Eventually, I branched out on my own and in 2017 my first dog behaviour business, Locke's Dogs, was born. From there I developed the Fun Not Fear® Club and approach to teaching anxious dogs, and took up writing. I also started working with some of the dog behaviour organisations in more substantial roles, such as being the Co-coordinator of ICAN: International Companion Animal Network, and on the committee as secretary and membership officer at The Association of INTODogs. I was gifted The Dog Welfare Alliance also, which I run as a separate entity to my Locke's Dogs - Fun Not Fear® Company.
I'm now on my second level 6 behaviour course, and aiming to achieve clinical animal behaviourist status by 2026. Moo went from strength to strength, once I worked out how to formulate him a fresh diet, I sourced tests from USA for him which showed intolerances to all kinds of things, plus an allergy to storage mites that are found in kibble. He changed seemingly overnight into the dog I knew he could be. He was seriously clever and would do tricks in the park for the local kids, he entertained people from our front garden in lockdown, he visited my Nan weekly almost as a therapy dog, and his aggression left and was replaced by a whole gang of doggy friends in the park.
Sadly he was taken from me aged 6, due to a very odd grass seed injury. He was the love of my life and I was broken. He passed in my arms, the same hour as my Nan (for whom I was a carer), and I have no idea how I survived the loss, it's a haze. But through him I learned so much and now I tell his story with so much pride. He taught me so much, and it is because of him that I do what I do - I never want to see a dog in pain or distress if they can be helped to live a fantastic life.”
In case you missed these stories and photos:
PetStack First Edition features a cornucopia of dogs, cats, horses, and a big-eared donkey and just a few of the alternate monikers by which they are called. Because, what pet only has one name?!
Men Inspired: Issue 1 is the first story in a series to elevate the animals whose lives and personalities inspired their people to make a difference in the world.
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