Divine Intervention.

Boy, do I have an update for you.

I’m still pinching myself.

I’m writing to you from Home… back in California.

Something completely unexpected happened — something I can honestly say is nothing short of Divine Intervention and an absolute Miracle.

It didn’t spare the heartbreak, the stress, or the countless tears…
But it saved all of us from so much more.

After we packed my entire life into the moving pod.

After the final, gut-wrenching walkthrough of our bare home.

After Steve’s daughter and I cried together as I loaded the Jeep.

After I kissed the Huskies and held little Franklin — for what I believed was the very last time.

After I held Steve — both of us quietly breaking in ways words can’t hold.

After pulling out of the driveway one last time… coming completely undone.

After six long, grief-heavy hours through the desert with four stressed dogs.

After arriving in Phoenix on zero sleep, no food, and a level of stress no human nervous system is built to withstand…

After all of that… God’s Miracle arrived.

There is simply no other way to describe it.

I truly believe this was the answer to the prayers of all you amazing prayer warriors out there... talking to God on our behalf.

By the time I reached Phoenix, everything was unraveling.

My dysregulation, stress, grief, exhaustion, and anxiety were impacting the dogs in every way.

I was living exactly what I wrote about in "The Human End of the Leash: Dog Training's Missing Link" — the human end collapsing, and the dogs going down with me.

Ava and Cowboy — overwhelmed and absorbing all of my panic — began fighting.

They suddenly could not be in the same space at all.

When I intervened, I sustained several deep, stitch-worthy puncture wounds (not intentional — they were in full fight mode).

Everything was falling apart.

I was falling apart.

It was dangerous, heartbreaking, and completely unsustainable.

There was no reality in which this trip could have continued safely.

I was spiraling — and they were spiraling with me.

Then...

At the very first AirBnB, the owner called to answer a few questions about the property.

She heard my exhaustion… my panic… my grief.

She listened to the story.

And everything shifted.

She didn’t just hear me.

She heard a younger version of herself — a woman who once tried to save everyone alone, who pushed until her health, finances, and relationship collapsed, who sacrificed everything because her heart was too big… and barely survived the cost.

As fate would have it, she’s deeply connected in Phoenix’s rescue community.

She came over the next morning to meet the dogs and me.

She recognized the toll on my face — because it had once been written on hers.

She said: “Kimberly… you don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did. I spent nearly a million dollars on rescue work. Lost the love of my life. Made choices I regret to this day… All because I put the dogs first.”

I broke.

“I don’t know what to DO!” I cried.

She took my shoulders gently and said: “You stay still. You just… stay still.”

I protested — the route, the reservations, the timeline, the donations, the mission, the rental home waiting for us…

She stopped me softly: "You are in no condition to drive. This house is free tomorrow. You can stay another night or two — for free — until we figure this out.”

Then came the sentence that changed everything: “I know the Founder of an amazing rescue. A really good one. Let me make a call.”

Within hours, this rescue had three wonderful fosters ready and mobilized to take in all three dogs: Winnie, Cowboy, and beautiful, amazing Ava.

They offered exactly what the dogs needed: safety, decompression, structure, grounding, regulated humans, and a full team of support.

In that moment…

Phoenix became both the place where everything fell apart…
and the place where everything - and everyone- was SAVED.

The place where I was saved.

Releasing them was heartbreaking — especially after everything we had survived together — but it was the most loving, responsible, compassionate thing I could do.

For them.

And for me.

They now have everything they deserve.

They are safe.

Supported.

Learning.

Healing.

Cowboy’s neuter is already scheduled for the 17th.

Watching them drive away — especially Ava — broke my heart…
But for the first time in a long time, I knew we were all going to be okay.

After they left, I made a large cup of coffee, got in the Jeep, and immediately began heading back home. To Steve. His kids. The Huskies. Franklin.

Ronin slept the entire way.

He’s still recovering.

We all are.

Steve and his daughter Maddie met me in the driveway when I pulled up.

HOME.

Joy. Tears. Hugs.

A collective: “WTF JUST HAPPENED?!?!"

Steve fed me then immediately started tending to my leg — medical glue, butterfly bandages, strict orders not to move.

Now I’m on the couch, leg elevated, Operation Rest, Repair, and Restore in full effect.

I’ve already begun undoing the move.

I’m not going anywhere.

I was only leaving to save the lives of these three dogs.

And… WE DID IT.

It took longer.

Cost more.

Broke me open.

But we did it.

The house feels like Home again.

I can breathe again.

Steve can breathe again.

And everyone can focus on repairing and rebuilding.

My nervous system finally has permission to come down after a year of unrelenting pressure.

I know that releasing Ava, Cowboy, and Winnie was the kindest, most loving thing I could do for them.

And returning to my Love, our Family, our Home, our Life
was the kindest thing I could do for myself — and for the people I love.

Choosing THEM and choosing ME were not opposite decisions.

They were, in the end, the same act of Love.

These next weeks will be spent with deep focus on:

- Healing

- Restoration

- Repair

- Decompression

- Regulation

- Gratitude

- Rebuilding

My nervous system, my heart, my body, my Home — all finally have the space to settle, soften, and begin again.

PSA — FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS LIVED THIS

Please — never scoff at a rescue’s adoption fees.

Thousands of dollars go into these dogs:

- medical and vet care

- behavioral support

- feeding

- surgeries

- spay/neuter

- training

- foster care

- emergency support

Behind every dog is a team giving countless hours of their time, energy, tons of money, sleep, and very often… pieces of their hearts.

After this year, I can say with absolute conviction:

The work these people do is worth thousands.

Every penny is earned.

Every penny is justified.

Rescues are truly the unsung heroes of the animal world.

They are doing God’s work.

It is **unbelievably** hard.

Messy.

And requires a powerful village.

And know this: YOUR DONATIONS MADE THIS MIRACLE POSSIBLE

Your generosity carried us to Phoenix — to the exact intersection where this Divine Intervention could unfold.

Your donations not only saved the dogs, they saved me, too- as well as my relationship, our Home, and the entire trajectory of our lives.

Of course, I made a substantial donation to the rescue who stepped in — and you made that possible.

The pod is on its way back with my life stuffed inside of it.

Anyways, you didn’t just support a road trip to save three dogs.

You funded a life-saving intervention.

You changed everything.

THANK YOU — FROM THE DEEPEST PLACE IN MY HEART

Thank you for standing with us through one of THE most challenging years of my life.

Here is the incredible rescue making this miracle possible:
https://adoptadogrescue.net/

They're not up on the website or on the rescue's social media yet, but here are pictures of each of them in their own, individual foster homes. I suspect they'll be featured after some serious decompression and they get to know the dogs a bit better.

Ava is reportedly doing amazing (which isn't shocking) as far as adapting and decompressing.

Winnie and Cowboy are struggling a bit, which I suspected would be the case. Though Winnie will likely bounce back and adapt in no time.

Cowboy... the sweet, sensitive soul he is... will likely take a bit longer.

So... that's where we are now.

Returning to "Life as we knew it" prior to this massive undertaking we took on nearly a year ago to this day.

With love, awe, and the biggest, deepest exhale of my life…

Kimberly

(I swear this needs to be turned into a Hallmark movie. What a year this was!!)