ABRA, Inc.

01/15/2026

From Fred's foster mama:

"Fred is not perfect. 🙂 Nobody is!
The question is - is he perfect for you?
Do you want to be adored? Once you’re “in”, you’re “in”.
He loves nothing more than to nuzzle in close. I catch him staring at me sometimes while I work, patiently waiting to be acknowledged.
Ask him to “shake”, he’s likely to oblige, but sometimes he’d rather just give you his chin to rest in your hand.
He’s not destructive. But if you have a short kitchen trash can, he just might pull your last few used paper towels out if there’s any tasty morsels left on them.
He’s not a fan of getting pawdicures. He grudgingly prefers the grinder over the clippers, but has low tolerance. I stock up on cheap hot dogs because little hot dog discs go a long way. We just do it more frequently because once he’s done, he’s done.
He’s a little reactive to some new people (he'll hard bark until he knows you). When he came to us, 3 years and 9 months ago, he was skin and bones and just so sad. Now he just doesn't want to share, either his people or his food, with other animals, so it's just going to be best if he can be your one and only!
He’s very light on his feet. Think Fred Astaire on four legs…crossed with a deer.
He’s low-medium energy (same, Fred, same). Mostly he’s content to just hang out with me, but every once in awhile, the zooms take over.
He has mixed feelings on letting go of his stuffies. Even loving me as he does, he's very vocal when we tug of war, but when I let go, he brings it close. I interpret this as loving it so much, he can’t bear to let it go but really wanting me to still share in the fun. This often results in “crusty” stuffies once the doggie spit dries (iykyk). On a positive note, he doesn’t gut them and leave the stuffing everywhere. Most of the time.
He likes an audience when he eats. Sometimes he waits until we’re settled in watching TV. He’s a bit quirky. A quirky rescue dog makes life interesting."

**I'm going to add my two cents. I went to visit Fred on NYE, because he's one of my favorites. I had such a great time hanging out with him. He's literally just the sweetest! If you don't like kisses and cuddling, he's not the dog for you. It's a mystery to those of us that know him that he hasn't found his forever home (he's had a few failed trial adoptions). He was adopted last year and he was perfect - he was in an apartment, with an adopter who worked out of the home full time. He didn't bark during the day, wasn't destructive, didn't need to be crated - he literally just chilled on the couch and snoozed the day away, waiting for his person to get home! He was returned to us through ZERO fault of his own. He'll be 5 years old in June. It's our sincerest hope that he gets to spend his birthday in his forever home with his special person. - Amy**

01/14/2026

We posted about Tilly, a lil senior lady adopted out in 2018 that was being returned. She’s now almost 13 years old! The circumstances in her home changed drastically and she was alone 5 days a week for 10 hours. For a dog like Tilly, who has true separation anxiety, that was torture.

Here’s what we can tell you about Tilly, Tillbilly, Matilda Jane, Tilly W***y (it’s scientific fact that the more nicknames an animal has, the more they are loved. Just trust the science.):

She is short. She is long. She’s around 27 pounds. She needs someone that’s home most of the time. She likes to cuddle/snuggle, but she isn’t super clingy. She just needs to know you are there. She’s ok with dogs after a slow intro, but we are going to go ahead and say no cats for Tilly. She loves kids. She’s pretty chill in the house, but even at her age, she LOVES to go for walks and even short jogs!
She came back to us up to date on vaccines, but she’s still going to get a full exam and check up on Monday, just so we can make sure she’s in tiptop shape.

This sweet gal just needs a retirement home where she can hang out with someone who’s a homebody like she is! She really is a wonderful companion.

Please share Tilly so we can find her a final forever home!

01/12/2026

Order some soap, ya filthy animals!
Back by popular demand (and I know several of you have been patiently waiting, we thank you), is our laundry detergent/fabric softener/scent bead/dishwasher pod fundraiser!

These are just a few faces that you help to feed, vet and support whenever you participate in one of our fundraisers.

You do not need to fill out an order form.
You can simply send your order via Zelle, PayPal, or Venmo (or you can mail a check). Please follow the instructions on the pic of the form. PLEASE remember to include your name and phone number with your order. We cannot deliver; orders can be picked up in Schererville (not far from what used to be Von Tobel's).

Orders must be received by January 31st. Thank you, everyone!

01/09/2026

Ryder has been with us for 4 years. Four years ago we pulled this guy, not knowing what, if anything, we'd be able to do for his legs. We were able to get weight on him and clear up his skin issues (that hasn't been easy). We consulted with several vets, his foster mom even driving him to a specialty hospital out of state. The consensus was that surgery would be risky, painful, and likely not change much. And so, our "jelly legs" has spent the last 4 years NOT using the custom cart we bought for him 🤣 (he absolutely hates it) but he is living his best life.
He does best as an only dog, and between that and his deformed legs, we knew he'd be tough to adopt out, but in 4 years this boy has had only one inquiry. ONE.
At this point, Ryder is 7-8 years old. He adores his foster family, and they him. We do whatever we can to keep him healthy and happy, which includes traditional medicine and alternative therapies (he gets acupuncture).
And so Ryder is one of a small handful of "forever fosters." Your support helps us to pay for his treatments, to keep him healthy, mobile and pain free for as long as possible.
Don't feel sorry for Ryder. His foster parents are the sh*t! Any dog should be as lucky as he is. He is loved infinitely.
Here's an easy way to help! Please vote for our boy!

https://americasfavpet.com/2026/ryder-d7b0?fbclid=IwY2xjawPNa_JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFBdU95MElTS2ZRd3JubWtWc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHj_Mot92rnMCPEnhQiqUBBcwVOaJbtuW_xgFAAsjCZENOwSpWRPH8WwlVotC_aem_8r1Y-7ZrovPgoWhFGqgVCw

He went through the ringer with humans. Found covered in sores, emaciated, broken legs and covered in feces...but his tail was still wagging

01/08/2026

Every time these adoptable faces poo, they’ll be thankful to our friends at Feline Community Network & Cat-Themed Gift Shop 🤣🤣

All kidding aside, we are sincerely grateful that our friends at FCN shared a pallet of kitty litter with us. Not counting medical expenses, kitty litter is one of our bigger monthly costs! This will help us so much (and thank you to the volunteers that hauled it for us)!

If you haven’t been to FCN to check out their gift shop in Hobart, get over there! They have such a cute shop with awesome products. Support local organizations that impact your community!

01/07/2026

Tongue Out Tuesday!

Miss Mack is the cats' pajamas! She's about 10 months old, very playful kitten, super social with people, loves other kitties. If you are looking for the perfect girl, Mack is the one!

01/06/2026

This is Tilly. She’s almost 13. We pulled her from animal control in 2017. She needs to come back to us and we urgently need a foster home for her.

Tilly has separation anxiety (she always has), and it worked for her family. But things change and now the only one left at home is mom, who is gone 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. That’s way too much alone time for Tilly.

She is such a sweet little Angel. All she needs is someone home most of the time. She’s a perfect companion for an older person, or someone who just likes to be at home. She’s used to being an only, but has lived with dogs in the past.

Please share and help us find her a home!

01/06/2026

We’ve been working to assist people who are trying to TNR and care for colony cats . Our final two cat intakes of 2025 were two big, beautiful boys. Turned out both were friendly, not feral. Luckily for these two, they found a foster home with their caretakers.

Both boys are FIV+ (not surprising, not alarming).
The gorgeous house panther is Bubba.
The playful guy is Marcus Walker (I’m not old enough to have seen the television show, but I am old enough to be aware of it so every time I think of Marcus in my head, I call him Marcus Welby MD).

Both gorgeous gentleman are available for adoption and hopefully we can find them each a forever home soon!

**REMEMBER: IF YOU FEED THEM, FIX THEM . Please help end the cycle of suffering!**

01/05/2026

"Picasso is eight years old, dog friendly, curious with cats, arrived as a stray. He has a laceration on one eye and has been getting antibiotic eye drops. I took him to the vet and they said he has partial facial paralysis on one side and that’s why he squints with that eye. Probably due to a middle ear infection that was never treated. His teeth look good. Not neutered, of course!...He's very depressed and rarely gets off his bed." He's probably around 8 years old.

That's from our friend/contact at a shelter we work with.
Picasso needs rescue. If we can find an appropriate foster home for him, we will pull him in a heartbeat.

Fostering with us means committing to providing a safe and loving home until your foster dog/cat gets adopted. We expect you to love and care for them as if they were your own. We expect you to provide updates and pictures and proactively help us get your foster pet adopted. We expect you to understand that a new animal needs time to decompress and adjust.

Here's what you can expect from us: food, supplies, all medical/vetting, and support.

There is a degree of unknown that goes with fostering, and that's just the truth. Before you start asking things like: is he good with children? Does he enjoy long walks on the beach?

HE WAS A STRAY. HE'S NOW LIVING IN A CROWDED SHELTER, ALMOST THE ENTIRETY OF HIS DAY IS SPENT IN A CAGE. Personalities can be assessed in a shelter but only to a certain degree. If you were falsely imprisoned with no explanation, no family, no friends, in a foreign land where you couldn't communicate, exactly how do you think you would feel and act?

It may take a very long time for him to get adopted (though sometimes we get pleasantly surprised). His breed, his age, his appearance...sadly that won't put him at the top of most peoples' list of highly adoptable pets. But I think he's been appropriately named, because I think he's a work of art. If you can help us rescue him (and you intend to fill out the application and follow through), please send us a message. Posting "I'll take him!" is worthless - and I'm assuming a cry for attention - if that post is all the effort you are going to make.

12/30/2025

These faces have all been waiting for a very long time, some of them for years. Maybe 2026 will be the year they find their forever. Until then, we'll love them with all we've got, because they deserve nothing less.

12/28/2025

In the aftermath of the Christmas hustle, a lot of people reflect and make plans for the upcoming year. Resolutions are made, goals are created, changes are discussed.
Maybe this is the year you'll give fostering a try. Dip your toes into the rescue world (or dive in head first).

We've talked about Athena lately and her diagnosis, but what's been extra hard is that TWO of her babies that were adopted out as puppies need to be returned. Hera and Artemis are now 15 months old, and both girls need to come back to us for varying reasons. There are also so very many wonderful dogs in shelters that are dying (some literally) to get out of the shelter and into a foster or forever home.

It seems like it's been so difficult for us to get foster volunteers lately, and perhaps that's because we are so completely honest about the commitment you are making when you step up to foster.
There are no guarantees. Dogs, like kids, are often a product of their environment and issues we see in one home sometimes don't exist in another. Sometimes issues we did not anticipate arise. And sometimes it goes very smoothly. There's no way to predict, so you have to go into it knowing you've agreed to care for that dog until their forever home comes along. If you decide it's too hard a few days in, there's nowhere to move a dog to. We do not have a shelter, no physical building. We are strictly foster-based. Putting a dog in boarding is never our goal or even a good option.
What we can promise is to be a support system while you are fostering. We provide the food, the medical care, supplies, and training assistance as best we can. And that's the honest truth.

If you are thinking about fostering or want more information, please let us know. Always easy? No, not always. Always worth it? In our experience, yes.