Clear the Shelters 2025: A Different Kind of Forever

Every August, shelters and rescues across the country join forces for Clear the Shelters, a nationwide campaign dedicated to finding loving homes for animals in need. The effort highlights a powerful truth: when we come together, lives are transformed.

At Living Grace Canine Ranch (LGCR), we proudly participate in this initiative — but in a way that reflects our unique mission. While most Clear the Shelters efforts focus on same-day adoptions, LGCR's role is to clear the shelters of the most overlooked population: senior dogs.

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Why Seniors?

In Texas, more than half of senior dogs entering shelters will not make it out alive. Their age, medical needs, or slower pace often overshadow the deep companionship and unconditional love they still have to give.

That's where Living Grace Canine Ranch steps in. Every senior's journey begins at The Ranch sanctuary — a place of renewal. Here they receive veterinary expertise, restorative care, and specialized nutrition designed to restore balance and health inside and out. It's where frailty gives way to strength, and hope begins to blossom again.

Once restored, nine out of ten of our residents could flourish in a traditional home environment — if given the opportunity through our Forever Foster Program.

Forever Fostering is a lifelong commitment: families provide the love, while we remain by their side with medical care, food, and support until the very last breath. This promise of healing ensures that senior dogs not only thrive, but also never face the shelter system again.

"When others see them as 'spent,' we see potential, purpose, and a promise to care for them all their days." Rhonda Minardi, Living Grace Canine Ranch Founder

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Delilah's Second Chance

Three years ago, Delilah's life almost ended in a Dallas vet's office.

Her owner had requested euthanasia after discovering she had kidney stones. 💔

But the veterinarian saw something more — a gentle spirit that still deserved a future. Instead of carrying out the request, they reached out to Living Grace Canine Ranch.

Today, Delilah is living her best life with her Forever Foster Senior Mom. She spends her days surrounded by love, comfort, and all the medical care she needs.

(And by the way… no more stones! )

Delilah's story is the heart of our Forever Foster & Senior2Senior Companionship Programs:

💛 You provide love throughout their lifetime.

🐾 We provide 24-hour support, food, and medical care.

It's a partnership that ensures senior dogs thrive, and their humans enjoy all the joy—without the worry.

"When a dog chooses your heart as their home, you discover the truest meaning of forever."

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A Clearer Tomorrow

For us, "clearing the shelters" isn't just about emptying kennels. It's about ensuring senior dogs are safe for their entire lives. Every resident who joins our Ranch family is promised health, dignity, and belonging — until their final chapter is lovingly written in our Home Stretch program.

"Every dog who enters our care steps onto a path — paved with hope, guided by healing hands, and lit by the joy of being loved."

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What Clear the Shelters Means to Us

For us, clearing the shelters is not about numbers on a single weekend. It is about rewriting the final chapters of lives that others deemed finished. Here, age is not an ending but a beginning — where healing unfolds, dignity is restored, and love carries each senior into forever.

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Support Old Souls and New Life Chapters

Discover how you can share forever love with a senior dog:

• Learn about our Forever Foster Program — where families provide the love, and we provide a lifetime of care.

• Or support a Sanctuary Sweetheart — a resident whose journey continues because of compassionate friends like you.

Every click is more than a visit — it’s a step toward rewriting endings and creating forever beginnings.