ABRA, Inc.

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.

12/23/2025

Color us blessed! A million thanks to Innovated Manufacturing here in Crown Point. They went shopping on our wishlist and pretty much wiped it out! Our dogs and cats (and volunteers) are so appreciative ❤️ As per usual, it's local small businesses - not big corporations - that keep local non-profits going. We are so very grateful!

12/21/2025

What a morning!
We told you about our sweet Athena having aggressive lymphoma (and what a gut punch that was). After a lot of research, a lot of questions, and a lot of discussion with her foster parents, we were all on the same page. No chemo for Athena. Both myself and her foster dad both watched a parent be ravaged by chemo. We KNOW it's different in pets, but it's still so harsh. And in Athena's case, it would not cure her, it would just be trying to buy her some time. We are a big "quality over quantity" group and we decided to do anything in our power to make sure the time she has left is the best it can possibly be. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to deciding on treatments. We did what any family would do - we weighed our options and made the decision we thought was best for HER. For anyone who has ever faced this situation, you know how unfair it feels and how much heartbreak is involved.

Our volunteers have been going to visit her and bringing her homemade goodies, bacon by the pound, and she's getting spoiled ROTTEN!!!! Anything and everything in our power to make the rest of her time the BEST time, we are doing! Any medication that can make her more comfortable, we've got. For now, she's back to feeling like herself about 90% of the time. We know it's temporary, but we will relish every moment.

Princess Athena can be a little reactive to other dogs, so going to a pet store has never been something we could do with her. Well, her foster mama reached out to Pet Supplies Plus-Crown Point, Indiana and explained Athena's diagnosis, and this morning they let us bring her in an hour before the store opened to run amok! Several of our volunteers came to be part of the fun. Athena started her morning with breakfast sandwiches and hash browns, and then got to run around PSP picking out all the treats and toys her heart desired. She had soooo much fun, and after all that, about 10 minutes into her car ride home, she was knocked out :)
As I went to pay for her haul at the end of our hour, the incredible staff presented it to Athena as a gift. We were so blown away.

I'm a cryer (I know I'm not the only one). I managed to make it until I got in my car to let the tears flow. It was a beautiful, bittersweet morning. We are so grateful for the kindness of the folks at Pet Supplies Plus-Crown Point, Indiana. And I'm always amazed by our volunteer family and the way they show up for our fosters.

12/19/2025

I have never felt so validated! I spend a lot of time complaining about Petfinder. It's absolutely AWFUL. It's the "go to" for people looking for adoptable pets, but please consider using Adoptapet. It's not perfect, but it's so much better.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C2uc4mPD9/

A brief PSA to the pet-adopting public. Petfinder is the juggernaut in the dog adoption world. That site dwarfs all others and rescues rely on it to be able to get their animals before the animal-adopting public.

Petfinder has always been a problematic website and in my opinion, it designed itself into a box from which it could not escape.. It has always been buggy with tons of glitches., but it has been the go to for so long that rescues just don't have a lot of options. On December 2, Petfinder launched what they termed improvements to the website. In reality, this has been the 'New Coke' of website launches and it has been an abject disaster. The mobile site has not been functional, logging in for rescues has been intermittent to non-existent, and adding and removing pets from Petfinder remains a task of immensely frustrating proportions.

If you are out there looking for a new pet, and you reach out for one and you get crickets in response, be kind to the rescue and look for an alternate way to find the rescue and contact them that way. They aren't ignoring you.

If you happen to be a philanthropic tech person with mad skills, cash, and time at your disposal and you are reading this, do the animals a solid and create an alternate site with actual modern features that function. The rescue world will love you.

To my fellow rescuers, we feel your pain and we send you the very best wishes in finding homes for all of the animals in your care. It is wildly unfortunate they did this during the biggest adoption season of the year, but this too shall pass. I salute all of you and remind you that boxed wine exists for a reason. Until then, pull the blankets back over your head and come up with Plan 27 for all the animals in your care.

Jean from Big Fluffy Dog Rescue

12/18/2025

One final smooch for the road!!❤️❤️
Snickerdoodle is going from a rescue/foster family that adores him, to a fantastic forever family that’s going to spoil him rotten. Happy tails, Snicks!!

12/17/2025

Some people would love to have a pet but don't because their work schedule is too demanding, and they don't think it would be fair. We have total respect for that.

But if you want a companion, and you'd enjoy some company, even if you work double shifts and super long hours, one of these two gorgeous gray ladies would be a perfect match for you.

Meeko and Abbey are 7 years old (not related, not fostered together, just similar gals).
They are very low maintenance. All they need are snacks, snoozes, sunshine and occasional - on their terms - snuggles.
Both ladies agree days are made for languishing in spots of sunshine, sleeping, eating, sleeping some more, eating some more, then sleeping again. An occasional snuggle session, or in Abbey's case, getting lovey dovey when it's time for wet food, is also part of their days.

They don't need a lot of time or attention, they just need someone. Both are fine with other animals, though neither need them. As Abbey's foster mom, I think she'd love to be an only, but she is a pro at ignoring other animals in her presence. She loves the top of a cat tower, a window ledge, or oddly enough, a bar stool 😁

Most people want the lap cat that loves to be held all the time, we get that. As a cat person, I get as much from Abbey as I do from more affectionate cats. She makes me laugh, I love her independence, and I desperately want to see her find her forever home after all this time.

Somewhere out there are people who need one of these girls to brighten their days. Nothing beats coming home to a pet, and if you've been missing one, one of these ladies might be just for you.

12/11/2025

🚨 LAP CAT ALERT 🚨
Meet Pearl, a 2-year-old sweetheart who is the definition of affectionate! She loves pets, snuggles, and will happily purr her little motor when you give her attention. Pearl is irresistible, with a soft, silky coat, a squeaky meow to “talk” to you, and a heart full of love. She follows her humans around and never wants to miss out on the action.
Pearl enjoys being picked up, cuddled, and even chills while her foster mom walks on the treadmill! She’s playful too—wand toys are a favorite—and she’s laid-back, happy, and content to just be near her people. She’s great with kids and thrives on attention.
While Pearl is extremely loving with humans, she prefers to be the queen of the castle and does not enjoy the company of other cats. She is litter box trained, spayed, and up to date on vaccinations.
Pearl is looking for a calm, cat-free home where she can share her love and purr-filled magic as the center of attention.

12/10/2025

Before and after of Kennedy!
One of our fabulous dog adopters does a lot of TNR in her area (we need more people like Mimi).
There was a family of kitties basically living in/on a roof. She was able to successfully trap them for TNR, but she was concerned about this guy.
He was estimated to be 7 months old, but weighed only 3.8 pounds. He was lethargic and just didn’t look good. He also wasn’t truly feral, just shy.

She offered to foster him, and we were able to get him healthy under her loving care, and now Kennedy is ready for a forever home! He’s people shy and will take a patient adopter, but he loves other kitties! If you have a cat who needs a buddy, this handsome boy is the one for you!