Outta the Cage

06/17/2026

Check out Jill's latest PupStack post. It's about Frisbee, a Panda German Shepherd who proves that being adoptable and being easy are not always the same thing.

Some dogs make sense immediately. Others reveal themselves slowly, like a good book.

Frisbee is the second kind.

In which Jill maintains that the dogs are easy; finding their people is hard.

06/11/2026

🎉 MAXIMO HAS BEEN ADOPTED! 🎉

If you remember Maximo, he was one of those dogs who couldn't catch a break. He landed on the urgent list at West Valley shelter, not because he was aggressive or dangerous, but because he had terrible kennel presence. Every time someone walked by, he'd bounce up and down as if to say:

"Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!"

Unfortunately, he meant it so enthusiastically that he injured his wrist. And that's when the shelter scheduled him for euthanasia.
Fortunately, that's not where the story ends.

Around that time, we met Maggie, who was looking for a medium-sized Staffy-type dog. Maximo showed up to the interview looking handsome, charming, and perhaps a little overqualified for the position.

The connection was immediate. We rescued Maximo and Maggie agreed to foster him while his wrist healed. Four weeks, three splints, countless tail wags, and a dozen good decisions later, Maximo has officially failed foster and won himself a forever home.

These days he goes by Dolby, and Maggie reports:
"He's doing great. No limping. Happy as can be."
That's the update we've been waiting for.

A huge thank-you to Kai and Izzy at USS Bear Rescue, who stepped up and gave this dude a place to land while we worked out his plan. It truly takes a village.

As for Dolby? He got exactly what he'd been jumping up and down for all along. ❤️🐾

06/07/2026

Jill confirms what we already knew: rescue is a team sport.

In which Jill reflects on how ordinary people can change a life.

06/03/2026

MEGA-PUPDATE on Candle!

Back in December, Candle landed at West Valley shelter. He was 90 pounds of enthusiasm, optimism, and whatever genetic cocktail produces a dog who thinks every stranger might be carrying liver treats.

He was great with other dogs and people. Even little kiddos. So naturally, we assumed someone would adopt him. That's how this works, right?

Except it didn't.

Weeks turned into months. Candle attended adoption events. Volunteers took him on field trips. He charmed everyone he met. He'd come back from an outing, hop out of the car, and then put on the brakes in the shelter parking lot because he didn't want to go back inside. Heartbreaking.

Honestly? We didn't blame him. Then we posted picture of him looking depressed at an adoption event.

A few days later, we got a call from Michelle in Montana.

For the record, we don't usually send bully breeds out of state unless there's a rescue partner involved. We've been around long enough to know that when things go sideways, it's often the bully breed that gets blamed.

I explained all of this to Michelle.
Michelle did not care.
Not in a dismissive way. In a "that's my dog and I just haven't met him yet" way.

We talked again. She told me about losing their beloved pittie a few months earlier. She sent photos of their property. She asked thoughtful questions. Her husband Mac was on board. Her sister-in-law was campaigning for Candle in the Comments section.

Then Michelle and Mac offered to drive to California.

At some point, it became obvious that we were no longer interviewing them. They were interviewing us. So we broke our own rule.

We rescued Candle, loaded 90 pounds of potato into the car, and drove to Barstow, where Michelle and Mac were waiting.

Candle immediately adored Michelle. Mac? Candle was a bit more reserved.

Not because Mac did anything wrong. Candle just needed a minute, as many good dogs do. I suggested they take turns feeding him. Build the relationship one meal at a time.

Over the next few weeks, Michelle sent updates. Reports from the road trip. Stories about Candle settling in. The announcement that Candle was now "Tater" (as in "Tater outta-stater.")

Then last week Michelle sent us this video of Mac coming home. Remember the guy Candle wasn't sure about?

People ask us all the time if rescue is worth it. If the heartbreak is worth it. If the uncertainty is worth it.

Watch this video. Then tell us.

Love you, buddy. We knew there was a family out there for you.
We just had to color a little outside the lines to find them. ❤️

05/29/2026

Big News! Outta the Cage has rescued Macy from West Valley shelter!

A few weeks ago, Macy was sitting in a shelter kennel, euth-listed for Giardia. After she was cleared of Giardia, she was diagnosed with Coccidia and... euth-listed again.

This gentle 3-year-old joined us at Malibu Farmers Market last month and handled the whole experience like a pro. She was patient with some delightfully bratty dogs (yeah, we said it 😏), gentle with little kiddos, and greeted strangers with her trademark tail wag.

The truth is, we couldn't let Macy die over Coccidia—a common, easily treatable intestinal parasite. So we got her out.

We brought Macy straight to Mid Valley vet, where she spent time in isolation recovering. It wasn't her favorite thing in the world. Macy is a people dog, and being alone wasn't exactly her idea of fun.

But she did it. She's now cleared, healthy, fully vetted, and ready for what she's deserved all along:

A family. A couch. A routine. A backyard to sniff around in.
Someone who says, "There she is!" when she walks into the room.

And here's the best part: Macy is currently staying with our friend Megan Karasch, who reports that she's has been an absolute gem. She's house trained, sleeps through the night in her crate, and happily joins the family dogs on leash walks. No drama. No surprises. Just a good dog settling into home life exactly the way you'd hope.

Macy has endured losing her home, losing her owner (he fell ill and couldn't keep her), losing her health, and spending months in a shelter. Through all of it, she has remained gentle, affectionate, and hopeful.

Now it's our turn to give her a break. Interested in meeting Macy? She's ready. Hit us up. We think you'll fall for her the way we did. 🐾

05/19/2026

Shhh… wanna hear a secret? 🤎

We think Mimi might be part chocolate lab. Maybe. She’s definitely got that soft, silky “please pet me immediately” coat going on. There’s pittie in there, too. But honestly? Mimi is just… Mimi. Sweet, soulful, gentle Mimi.

Mimi stopped by one of our adoption events recently and quietly became everyone’s favorite. She greeted children with the kind of polite sweetness that melts you on contact. She leaned into pets from strangers like she’d been waiting all day.

And the thing that really got us?
Mimi checks in with her handler constantly—looking up softly, as if to ask: “Am I doing okay? Is there anything else I can do?”

No one taught her that. That’s just who she is.

At the shelter, Mimi enjoys playgroup and has a few doggie pals she really loves. But she’s just as happy lounging in the sunshine, soaking up a little peace away from the noise of the kennels. She recently got a bath and stood there like an angel for the whole thing—even the blow dryer. 💅

And yet… she’s still waiting.

We worry that people see “gray pittie in a shelter kennel” and scroll past. But Mimi is so much softer, kinder, and more special than the label people assign her in half a second.

She deserves to be noticed.
She deserves a couch, a family, and someone who sees the sweetness we see.

And honestly? It could save her life. Please DM us if you need help meeting Mimi.

✨ Mimi:
📍West Valley Shelter
20655 Plummer Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311
☎️ (818) 374-5469

05/17/2026

Jill's latest Substack post was born from the heartbreak of watching dogs land in bad situations—or increasingly, having to save dogs from those situations.

Rescue is damn hard.

We don’t just want dogs to survive. We want them to thrive—to exhale, stretch out on a couch, learn routines, become family.

But until the public understands how this system actually works—and until politicians recognize that animal welfare is HUMAN welfare—we’ll keep doing what rescue people do:
showing up, improvising, and chasing the dream anyway. 💔🐾

In which Jill reexamines “safe with rescue.”