News & Updates from Labradors & Friends

What a difference a week can make.

When Tara became a Labradors and Friends dog, she was frightened, uncertain, and still trying to understand that the world around her had changed.

We promised her time.

And Tara is already showing us what a little time, patience, and kindness can do.

Tara’s Journey Has a Happy Ending ❤️

Tara’s story didn’t end when she was safe. After time in foster care, a family who had been patiently waiting for the right dog came along—and Tara found exactly where she belonged.

A Little More Tara Every Day

Tara is still in boarding, but she isn’t going through this transition alone.

Every day, our walking volunteers are showing up for her. They’re taking her out, spending time with her, and giving her the consistency she needs to begin building trust.

And little by little, Tara is letting her guard down.

She’s relaxing. She’s engaging. She’s seeking out attention.

She’s even discovered that rolling around in the grass with your belly in the air is a pretty great way to spend an afternoon. ❤️

The frightened girl we met a week ago is beginning to show us who Tara really is.

This Is What Rescue Looks Like!

Freedom rides are the moments everyone loves to celebrate. But rescue doesn’t end when a dog walks out of the shelter.

For Tara, the work happening now is quieter.

It’s a familiar face showing up again tomorrow. A patient walk. A few extra minutes sitting together. Learning that a leash means something good is about to happen. Discovering that hands can bring affection instead of fear.

Our walking volunteers are giving Tara those moments every day, and slowly, they’re adding up.

Trust isn’t built all at once. It’s built one good experience at a time.

And Tara is beginning to believe.

The Next Step: A Foster Home

Tara has already come a long way, but boarding is only a stop along her journey.

What she needs next is a foster home where she can continue building confidence and begin experiencing the rhythms of everyday life — a quiet place to rest, a familiar routine, and people she can learn to trust.

Fostering Tara doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means giving her a safe place to continue becoming the dog we’re already beginning to see.

A week ago, Tara needed someone to save her life. Today, she needs someone to help her build one.

Tara’s Journey

← Tara Survived. Now She Gets to Live.

Some dogs come to us with stories that are difficult to imagine. Tara is one of them.

Before Tara became a Labradors and Friends dog, she survived something we may never fully understand.

She was found trapped in a water trough in the backyard of an abandoned home. No one knows how she got there. No one knows how long she had been struggling.

We only know that when someone finally found her, only her head was above the water.

Found With Only Her Head Above Water

A neighbor spotted Tara and called Animal Control. She was removed from the property and taken to Riverside Shelter.

She had survived the water trough, but her ordeal wasn’t over.

Tara entered the shelter on June 22. Frightened and unsure, she found herself in another unfamiliar place, surrounded by noise, strangers, and everything that comes with life in a shelter.

And Then She Waited

Tara spent more than two months at the shelter waiting for someone to choose her.

But the frightened, shut-down dog people saw in the shelter wasn’t necessarily who Tara was. Fear had taken over, and the longer she remained there, the harder it became for her to show anyone the dog hiding underneath it.

Eventually, Tara was red-listed and scheduled to lose her life.

August 28 was supposed to be Tara’s last day.

Instead, it became the day everything changed.

The Day Everything Changed

Tara had already survived more than anyone should have asked of her. Now she needed someone to give her the one thing she couldn’t give herself:

A way out.

On August 28, Labradors and Friends said yes to Tara.

The dog who had survived being trapped in a water trough, spent more than two months waiting in a shelter, and was now out of time was finally leaving.

But rescue doesn’t magically erase everything that came before it. Tara didn’t walk out of the shelter suddenly understanding that she was safe.

She was still frightened. Still unsure. Still trying to make sense of a world that hadn’t given her many reasons to trust it.

And that’s okay.

We weren’t going to ask Tara to suddenly understand that everything had changed.

We were simply going to give her time.

Time Is Exactly What She Gets

Time to decompress.
Time to learn that people can be kind.
Time to discover that gentle hands don’t have to be frightening.
And most importantly, time to realize that no one is giving up on her.

Tara is currently in boarding, where our dedicated walking volunteers are spending time with her every day. They’re giving her consistency, patience, and positive experiences while she begins to adjust to life outside the shelter.

For Tara, rescue isn’t about rushing toward the next milestone. It’s about giving her the safety and space to move forward when she’s ready.

Tara doesn’t know she’s safe yet. But we do. And we’ll give her all the time she needs to figure it out.

Tara’s Story Is Just Beginning

We don’t yet know who Tara will become as she learns she’s safe. That’s something she gets to show us in her own time.

What we do know is that she won’t have to figure it out alone.

This is Chapter One of Tara’s story. And for the first time, what’s ahead of her is filled with possibility.

Tara’s Journey

Tara Begins to Shine: Look What a Week Can Bring →

For 473 days, Jesse waited.

He entered the shelter system as a young dog, and at just 1 year and 11 months old today, Jesse has spent a huge part of his young life growing up behind kennel doors.

He waited through changing seasons, a transfer between shelters, and hundreds of nights without a home of his own.

On August 29, 2026, the waiting finally ended.

Jesse was free.

Jesse’s Journey Continues ❤️

Jesse made it out after 473 days, but freedom was only the beginning. Now in foster care, he’s learning to trust at his own pace—with a family giving him all the time, patience, and space he needs.

473 Days of Waiting

Jesse arrived at Coachella Valley Animal Campus as a stray on May 14, 2025. On December 30, 2025, he was transferred to Riverside Main, where the waiting continued.

Today, Jesse is listed as just 1 year and 11 months old. Think about that for a moment: 473 days in the shelter system for a dog who hasn’t even celebrated his second birthday.

The shelter wasn’t simply somewhere Jesse stayed while waiting for a family. For much of his young life, it was the only world he knew.

As the months passed, shelter life took its toll. Jesse became increasingly overwhelmed, frightened, and shut down. And as a young black dog—dogs who can too easily be overlooked—he continued to wait while the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months.

Somewhere underneath all that fear was the young dog Jesse should have had the chance to be. He just needed someone to give him that chance.

Then Everything Changed

After 473 days, Jesse was running out of time.

He had been placed on the euthanasia list for Wednesday.

We knew we wanted to help him, but wanting to save a dog and being able to save one are two very different things. For Jesse to leave the shelter, he needed somewhere safe to go. He needed a foster.

And then, someone said yes.

With a foster home waiting for him, Labradors and Friends could say yes too.

Jesse was going to be safe.

The Freedom Ride

On August 29, 2026, Jesse walked out of the shelter and into the beginning of a completely different life.

For the first time in 473 days, there was no kennel waiting for him at the end of the day. No shelter noise. No more wondering whether anyone was coming for him.

Jesse didn’t know it yet, but he had just been given something incredibly important:

Time.

Time to decompress.
Time to feel safe.
Time to learn what a home feels like.
Time to discover that people can be kind.
Time to finally be a dog.

For a young dog who has spent so much of his life in the shelter system, those ordinary things aren’t ordinary at all. Jesse now gets to experience a world that most dogs his age have known all along.

The Road to Adoption Begins

Jesse’s Freedom Ride wasn’t the end of his rescue story. It was Chapter One.

After spending so much of his young life in the shelter system, Jesse doesn’t need anyone to rush him toward what’s next. He needs time to decompress, settle into his foster home, and begin discovering who he is outside of a kennel.

There will be new sounds, new routines, and new experiences. He’ll learn what it means to have a soft place to sleep, people he can trust, and a home where he can finally exhale.

And we’ll get to learn about Jesse, too — what makes him happy, what makes him feel safe, what kind of home will help him thrive, and who this young dog becomes when fear no longer has to define his days.

Jesse gets to set the pace now.

When he’s ready, we’ll help him take the next step on his road to adoption. Until then, he gets something he waited 473 days to have:

A chance to simply be a dog.

Follow Jesse’s Journey

Jesse’s story is still being written, and we’ll be sharing updates as he settles into foster care, builds confidence, and continues his road to adoption.

For now, we’re celebrating the moment everything changed:

473 days waiting.
Not yet two years old.
And finally, free. 🖤🐾

Jesse is safe today because a foster stepped up when he needed one. Every foster home gives us the opportunity to say yes to another dog waiting for a second chance.