10/06/2026
Red will be removed from our care tomorrow. She is going to a foster home and we wish her the best of luck. She will be missed deeply and is welcome back anytime. ❤️❤️
I’m sorry, Red. We tried.
We advocated for you. We showed up for you. We worked with you and watched you make progress. We tried to find resources and options for you when you needed them. Dog Star and Uptown Paws stepped up to make sure you were cared for, your nails were trimmed, you had baths and your day to day needs were met.
There have been concerns throughout Red’s case that we have tried to address privately. We have advocated for additional veterinary and behavioral support, asked difficult questions and continued showing up because at the end of the day, our concern has always been Red.
Unfortunately, we have reached a point where the decisions being made and the way this situation has been handled no longer align with our professional or ethical values.
We need to be very clear about something: we did not give up on Red.
If Red were remaining in boarding, we would continue showing up for her and working with her.
We know Red is a serious behavior case. We have never minimized her history or the risks that come with it. Advocating for Red has never meant pretending those risks don’t exist. We can believe in the progress she has made while also being honest about what she is capable of. Both things can be true.
We know that progress is real because we have physically been there and watched it happen.
We have now also learned that Red will be moved into a home with multiple dogs and young children. That is a decision we cannot professionally support. Regardless of how experienced or dog savvy someone may be, management is not foolproof. With Red’s behavioral history, the consequences of management failing could be devastating for Red, another animal or a person.
Our decision to step away was not because Red was “too much,” and it was not because we stopped caring. The placement is one more decision in a situation where we have repeatedly voiced concerns because we believe Red deserves people willing to look honestly at the entire picture.
We aren’t going to publicly share private conversations or turn this into a back-and-forth between organizations. But we also won’t allow our decision to step away to be portrayed as Hackles & Hide simply giving up on Red.
We didn’t.
Sometimes advocating for an animal means continuing to show up and do the work. Sometimes it means speaking up when you believe something isn’t right. And sometimes you reach a point where the decisions are no longer yours to make and continuing to attach your name to them would mean compromising your own values.
We stand up for the animal. That’s what we do.
I genuinely hope Red thrives in her new home. I hope everyone involved stays safe, and I hope every concern we have turns out to be wrong.
But our part in Red’s story has come to an end.
I’m sorry, Red.
We tried.
️EDIT: We do want to clarify that we were not trying to imply the rescue had accused us of giving up on Red. They have not. We simply wanted to explain our decision to step away. We still stand by our concerns and genuinely wish nothing but the best for Red moving forward.
