Change lives, one paw at a time!

John Coward of Cedar Hill has always had an affection for wolves, and for older dogs. So when he spotted 8-year-old Lobo at Tri-City Animal Shelter in March of 2024, he knew he had found the dog he was looking for. Lobo was a husky, but his coloring and features were most definitely lupine.

Lobo had arrived at the shelter as a stray months earlier, passed up again and again for adoption. He was friendly and animated, even while battling a case of heartworms. But when John came back to the shelter a couple of days later so his wife could meet Lobo, “He was an entirely different dog,” John recalled. “He was listless. He was shy. And I said, ‘Is something wrong?’ ”

The shelter staff said Lobo was probably missing his friend. “His friend?” John asked.

He was told that another husky had come in at the same time as Lobo, and that the two had bonded. So John asked to see Lobo’s friend. As soon as she came out, Lobo lit up. John watched them play for a few minutes. “Okay she comes, too,” he told the staff. “I could not imagine breaking up that kind of love.”

Because he was taking home two dogs, both of whom were being treated for heartworms, the shelter waived the adoption fees. But in truth, he said, “I would have paid whatever they wanted.” John and his wife named Lobo’s friend Tala, in the Lakota Sioux language, to also honor her wolflike features.

Since they became part of the Coward family, Tala and Lobo have rarely been apart. When one goes to the vet without the other, the one at home will whine until they are reunited. They take walks together, and sleep side by side. They are rarely more than a few feet away from one another.

Although John went to the shelter with the intention of only adopting one dog, he is happy he came home with two. He could not imagine Lobo living without Tala, Tala living without Lobo, or him living without them both.

Deborah Binder’s first puppy from Tri-City Animal Shelter was what they call in the biz a Foster Fail. She was supposed to temporarily care for a collie mix named Charlie, who was just a few weeks old. Deborah already had two dogs. “And then I had three,” she said. Charlie stayed the next 14 years, until she passed away from old age.

That was in 2011, shortly after Deborah started volunteering. At the time, her mom Susie was already an avid shelter helper. Deborah, who taught herself to groom her own dogs, would host a salon for the strays who came in with dirty, matted hair. She took photos of the animals for adoption. Then she started fostering, and never looked back.

After Deborah adopted Charlie, she began taking in more foster animals. She kept a couple—a dog named Jersey, her cat Shiloh—but got more comfortable with sending the puppies and kittens on to loving homes. “At first you think nobody can take care of them like I can,” she said. But then she came to realize that every foster out the door makes room for more puppies and kittens coming in. “You just see how many animals are in need.” When one of her fosters is ready for adoption, she posts their photos and helps go through the applications. “I’m really picky with who gets them.”

A few years ago, when Deborah returned to work full time working in the public works department for the City of Cedar Hill, she thought her days of fostering were over. Puppies must go outside regularly for potty training, and tiny kittens need to be bottle fed several times a day. Her new boss, however, had a solution: Bring the kittens.

So every spring, Deborah arrives at the office with a pet taxi. The kittens stay behind her desk except when they need feeding or, as often happens, one of her coworkers wants a lap cat. When the kittens get old enough, she starts looking for homes. Currently her kittens Elvis and Priscilla (see photos!) are ready for new families.

Deborah estimates that she’s fostered hundreds of animals over the years, and many of the current owners stay in touch. “Sometimes I might be having a bad day, and then I get a text with a photo of one of my former fosters,” she said. “It just brightens everything.”

DeSoto Animal Control found Jane, a blue heeler mix, one day last November off East Little Creek Rd after she was hit by a car. Thanks to an x-ray machine donated by Tri- City Friends, the staff could tell that Jane’s front leg was badly injured. Still, she wagged her tail for anyone who came near. A veterinary crew from Operation Kindness – who were at the shelter helping with spays and neuters— soon amputated her leg.