Navigating the Hard in Responsible Rescue.

This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to walk through.

And I want to speak to it — not for attention, but because I’ve always believed that sharing the personal parts might serve someone else.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know writing is how I process. It’s how I teach. I’ve never been much of a video person — even though I know how powerful reels can be. Writing is where my clarity comes from, where I can breathe, and where I can tell the truth in the way that feels most authentic. It’s always been that way.

Leaving California.

Leaving the life I started rebuilding here.

Leaving the person I truly love more than anything.

Leaving the Huskies and Franklin.

Packing up Ava, Cowboy, Winnie, and Ronin and driving across the country because their safety, wellbeing, and my own integrity require it.

None of it is easy.

It’s heartbreaking in ways I don’t yet have full words for.

But this is the part of animal rescue most people never see:
The promises made.

The responsibility held.

The late nights, the panic, the logistics, the legalities.

The emotional, physical, and financial toll.

The weight of doing things the good and right way in an environment where “good and right” aren’t always rewarded.

The heartbreak of navigating public opinion — the assumptions, judgments, projections, and noise.

And the truth that responsible rescue isn’t just “love.”

It’s strategy.

It’s discernment.

It’s knowledge.

It’s stamina.

It’s sacrifice.

It’s emotional resilience.

It’s following through to the very end — even when the end costs you things you never imagined losing.

For the last year, Ava’s story — and the story of her babies — has been a living, breathing example of modern rescue as it really is:

The joy.

The trauma.

The setbacks.

The leaps forward.

The grief.

The hope.

The commitment.

The consequences.

The disappointment.

The fear.

The systems that fail these dogs every single day.

Truth is, I’ve never seen what I’ve seen here in California — not like this. It’s gut-wrenching. And I know places like Texas are facing the same crisis.

I didn’t even know what “dog flipping” was until I moved here.

Here, I’ve seen dogs constantly “getting lost,” an explosion of backyard breeding, so many dogs dumped or abandoned, an overwhelming amount of rehoming, people wiping their hands clean the second life shifts or becomes inconvenient… the lack of responsibility and general carelessness is astounding.

And heartbreaking.

And exactly why responsible rescue requires so much more.

I’ve shared the personal pieces not because it’s comfortable — but because it matters.

Because people need to understand what responsible rescue actually looks like behind the scenes:

The measures taken.

The efforts made.

The emotional rollercoaster of advocating for vulnerable animals in a world that routinely misreads, mislabels, and oversimplifies what they truly need.

The stress and anxiety of all this is very real.

My health has taken a substantial hit, and I can feel my body begging for relief.

I’m doing everything I can to stay well, because I have a lot to carry — packing up my life, packing up these dogs, and making a cross-country move in less than two weeks.

It hurts.

It’s beyond stressful.

And I don’t have help driving back across the country, so I’ll be doing that part alone.

I won’t pretend it isn’t scary — it is — but I’m doing it anyway, because it has to be done.

I don’t know what life will look like once we leave California — and that’s the most frightening part.

We’re now 38% of the way there with the GoFundMe.

Thank you — from the depths of my heart (and theirs) — for helping me see this rescue through.

Because responsible rescue doesn’t end when a dog is pulled from the streets or saved from an overcrowded shelter.

It’s about ensuring they end up with people who honor their commitments, treat them like family, and meet their true needs — as the individuals they are.

For those who’ve asked:

Travel food is still needed (Amazon Wish List below).

And yes — I’m still in need of cross-country help.

Which brings me to this:

Is there anyone I personally know who’s up for an adventure?

I thought I had someone able to make the trip, but something unexpected came up.

If you’ve never done a cross-country road trip before, I highly recommend it. This will be my 3rd in 3 years. We live in an extraordinarily beautiful country… and there’s no better way to see it than with a dog as your co-pilot. ; )

We need more aware humans.

We need more caring humans.

We need to reverse the cultural obsession with “fastest, easiest, cheapest, most effortless” — a mindset hurting so many lives, including our own.

We need stronger protective laws, real accountability, and meaningful consequences for backyard breeding, neglect, abuse, carelessness, and the quiet suffering happening behind closed doors every day.

We need a cultural shift — one that honors responsibility over convenience, commitment over impulse, and the lives of animals over what feels easy in the moment.

If my story has brought even one person deeper awareness… deeper compassion… deeper understanding of what happens on the human end of the leash — then the vulnerability has been worth it.

This move isn’t about choosing the dogs over anyone.

It’s about choosing integrity.

It’s about finishing what I started.

It’s about honoring the promise I made the day I took Ava and her babies in.

It’s about acknowledging that maybe I’ve needed them every bit as much as they’ve needed me.

It’s about seeing this effort all the way through — not just for them, but for everyone who has followed their journey and believes in doing rescue the right way:

Even when it’s the hardest.

The most costly.

The most inconvenient.

The most exposing.

So if you’ve been here through this… thank you.

If you’ve read my posts from start to finish — even fighting your ADHD to do it — thank you. I see you. I appreciate you.

Thank you for supporting.

Thank you for caring.

Thank you for understanding that behind every rescue story is a human holding the weight of it all.

I hope this continues to bring awareness… and helps us all become just a little more awake, a little more compassionate, and a little more committed to doing right by them.

I hope it continues to serve.

I hope it continues to shine a light where it’s needed most.
Because these dogs — and the countless others like them — deserve nothing less.

Remember:

100% of all profits from my books, Dog Walking Meditations album, Shop items, and every masterclass or digital course through Dog Mom University go directly toward this move, this rescue effort, and ensuring these dogs get the safe, stable future they deserve.

Everything is at:

kimberlyartley.com

Amazon Wish List:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3FO6IN56H45BD?ref_=wl_share

GoFundMe:
https://gofund.me/83407a134

Cowboy is due to return within the hour… and it’ll be so good to see him again.

(picture of Winnie in her post-surgical outfit)