California is on fire… can you help us help them?

Will we save five lives this week? Or up to 25? The answer depends on YOU. Yes, you. And me - I’m rolling out another 25K match. In short: us.

On what we manage to achieve this weekend together.

Bethany here. Let me explain.

We’d decided on a hard intake hold going into 2025. We want to reduce our on-site number to 150 by midyear so we can give our Halfway Huskies even more attention and care. We’ve got 209 on-site right now.

To rescue responsibly requires discipline. Not to take more than you can handle no matter how much your heart wants to help. So we started the week devastated to see so much SoCal suffering. Aching to help. Knowing we could not.

Then I saw the singed husky at Pasadena Humane. PLOT TWIST. The moment I saw him, I decided we were going to help. But how? Well, step one was of course to get the HBIC on board.

I pitched Jenni yesterday morning: EMERGENCY OVERRIDE OF INTAKE HOLD. LET’S TAKE 25.

She correctly said absolutely not. We don’t have cash in hand to take 25. Going back to >230 dogs on-site will strain the team. It’ll cost north of 25K just to get to CA and pull and transport the dogs. And then who is going to pay for their care, feeding, and placement? That’s likely another 25K.

Good points. But I am not so easily deterred.

“I bet we can get the money,” I told Jenni. “If we tell our community what needs to happen here, they’ll find a way to make it happen. They’ll stand with us.”

Jenni was hesitant. “But what if we can’t raise the money? And how can we strain the on-site team to >230?”

Not the response I was looking for. Time for a modified pitch.

“What if you drive to California and take five dogs? We know the team can handle five more. And we know we can raise the funds to take five more. And that way we’re at least doing *something.* And then we tell our community what it’s going to take to get to 25 and ask them to help us make it happen.”

Well, that got the HBIC’s attention. “What if we could get 25 credible adoption applications so we know we can place 25 of our existing huskies, and then have the peace of mind that we can take 25 from SoCal without straining our team for long? And what if we ask our community to join me in finding $25,000 more, so we cover the costs of not just the pull but the care, feeding, and placement of these dogs? And if we only get part-way there, we only take the number of dogs we can take responsibly?”

Bingo. I got buy-in. We’d found a way to help - but responsibly.

Now we see what we can achieve as a team. Honestly, I’d love for us to use this to show Jenni the power of the community she’s built. So what’s the ask?

1/Help us find 25 adopters. Is one you? Have you been mulling over adding one to your pack? This is the time to dive in. You’ll be matched with a husky who’s gone through H3 rehab and will work with your life - AND know that you’ve directly helped save the life of a wildfire-impacted SoCal husky.

What if you can’t adopt? No problem. Help us find adopters. Spread the word far and wide to every husky person you know. Into every online community you can think of that would care. To every family member or friend who *might* want a husky. If you help us find one credible adopter, you directly save a life in SoCal.

2/Help us find 25K. We know so many of you have donated generously over and over again and feel tapped. (Me too. Seriously, me too.). But this is an emergency. Can you dig a little deeper? If yes, please do. Regardless of whether you can donate, please see if you can help us find at least one donor. Start a fundraiser for us. Share. Talk. Advocate.

SoCal wildfire life saving starts RIGHT NOW. Help us help them. Let’s do the damn thing.

Bethany