31 May Service Trip 2025 – Day 3: Carlisle and Pine Bluff
Day 3: Pine Bluff
By Rachel Litton
Pine Bluff is one of the largest shelters we’ll see during this year’s service trip. While the shelter is often at capacity and under-resourced, it’s filled with dedicated staff and
volunteers doing everything they can to care for the dogs in their charge. Our team of equal parts Northern and Southern volunteers started the day excited to get to work!
One of our first projects of the day was disinfecting crates in preparation for the free spay and neuter clinic planned for Day 4. There were also a number of general maintenance tasks that some of the ‘handy’ volunteers helped with.
The main tasks of the day were organized into an impressive assembly line of dogs and their handlers. They started out by getting heartworm tested. Then, they completed a behavioral evaluation where they were observed for how they reacted to people, other dogs, and different stimuli. The evaluation will ensure the dogs will hopefully get matched with the right adopter or foster in the future. Finally, the dogs had bathtime (with extra cuddles)! In between stations, the pups got plenty of love and time outside to enjoy 
the sunshine. Heartworm testing and behavior evaluations are two of the main steps to determine where a dog may go next. Throughout the entire day, volunteers were also giving all of the kennels a good scrubbing to make sure the freshly bathed pups had a clean kennel to go home to..
This was my third trip with Last Hope K9, and people often ask me why I keep going back—why I spend my vacation time getting dirty, sweaty, and emotionally drained. The answer is simple: because it matters. It matters to the dogs whose lives are literally hanging in the balance. It matters to the shelter staff who fight an uphill battle daily. And it matters to me, because I believe we all have a responsibility to lift up those who are struggling—human or animal.
Rescue work isn’t glamorous. It’s hard. It’s heartbreaking. But it’s also one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever been a part of. Every scrubbed kennel, every clean crate, every bathed dog—it all adds up. And when that transport van rolls out, full of wagging tails bound for a better life, I know it was all worth it.
Day 3: Carlisle
By Kate Kapusta
Service trip number 2 with Last Hope and so many more to come. It’s a feeling you can’t quite explain unless you’ve gone. Yes, it’s sad, yes we cry, but helping these voiceless dogs
is the most incredible feeling, and it always overpowers the heartache. Every dog has a story, and we can only hope every story will end in love. That is why we do what we do.
Last year, we set out to rebuild the Carlisle shelter, and that we did. But we knew there was still more to be done. The dogs truly needed this new shelter as the current one has
flooded multiple times, they are exposed to all of the elements, and are without air conditioning in that hot, humid Arkansas heat. But before the dogs can be officially moved into their new home, there are still multiple projects to be done. Aside from helping with basic tasks like refilling water bowls, exercising dogs, and cleaning the kennels, we painted, put in Dig Defence, and spread gravel and shale. It was so incredible to see this project over the past year from start to finish. I cannot wait for these amazing dogs to take their last walk from the old shelter to the new one…to be protected from the elements, to feel the new air conditioning system on those hot Arkansas Days. For the days they don’t have a home, they will at least feel a bit safer and a bit more comfortable. Carlisle is a special place.
Day 3: Pine Bluff
By Kai Phoneix
Today a team of volunteers spent the day at the Pine Bluff shelter. On my past trips, I have heard some emotional stories about this shelter, sad and upsetting stories. Today, though, I put other people’s reports aside and had my own experiences.
Sam, the ACO, cares deeply about all the dogs there. He knows all their names! He is dedicated to the shelter and the dogs he watches over. He has a huge heart for all these dogs.
Sam took us on a tour, along with Bri, of the buildings and where we will be able to move about. He and Bri showed us the hosing system, so we could clean the kennels correctly for all the dogs. Very interesting and a lot easier than at the other shelters where we would have to scrub everything with brushes.
I watched Sam and the shelter volunteers interact with each dog. It was beautiful to watch! So much love and caring. The shelter’s volunteers were all great. They all jumped in in some capacity. Some grabbed dogs to go to each check point to get things completed at each spot for the dogs. Others helped with general projects around the shelter. The shelter’s volunteers were amazing at helping us northerns out by being our guides through maze of buildings, areas, and rooms so we wouldn’t bump into other dogs. Pretty much an obstacle course!! Erin was the best at giving us our next dog to grab from the long list of dogs that needed to be heart worm and behavioral tests and bathed. She was very organized, methodical, and super nice about answering my questions, no matter how many times I asked. A freaking angel with so much patience!!
In addition to the Last Hope volunteers, Rescue Road volunteers were here too!!! Diana bathed dogs! I just love chatting with her. I learn so much about her and the dogs she fosters. She currently has 33 dogs in her home!
We tackled many projects. Most dog related duties were getting a majority of the dogs heart worm tested – many came back positive – a behavior test, and a bath!! Some loved that bath, others not so much. For the behavioral test there was a mix of dogs passing and while others are dogs that need to be the only dog in a home. The volunteers who did the testing were awesome and knowledgeable. Just by watching them, I learned so much and what to watch for. Other southern and LH volunteers cleaned vents, repairs to and installation of the window screen, the security bars put back on, and we scrubbed down and sanitized the kennels.
The major project for me was socializing and loving on the dogs!! They got lots and lots of love and pets from everyone. For me, I made the choice to be as present with each dog as much as possible. This was something I went into today knowing I wanted to do. This was a major team effort and everyone worked so hard for the common cause — all the dogs and their wellbeing! It was very humbling for me volunteering here. Humbling and challenging. Some of these dogs that are here today may not be here tomorrow or next week. It’s a very sad, and real, reality.
All volunteers, LHK9 and our southern “families”, worked our butts off today. It was totally worth the exhaustion, and smelliness. All these doggos deserve the absolute best from us – and we sure gave it!!!
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