East Ridge Animal Services

We would like to congratulate Patsy for finding her furever home today!! We are so beyond happy for Patsy! Thank you so much for adopting!

Tracker’s 139-Day Report Card 🖤

One thing we try very hard to do for our longest-stay dogs is make sure they know they haven’t been forgotten.

After 139 days in the shelter, Tracker got a much-needed picnic date with our awesome volunteer, Meaghan. These outings help us learn more about our dogs, give them a break from kennel life, and remind them that people still care while we keep working to find their families.

Meaghan reports that Tracker is the perfect passenger. He loads up, settles in, and is happy to ride wherever the day takes him. He enjoyed exploring, taking in the sights, and spending time outside the shelter.

There was one small surprise.

Tracker met a horse.

To be fair, Tracker was handling the situation just fine until the horse let out a loud neigh. At that point, Tracker’s opinion of the arrangement dropped significantly. 😂

Once everyone settled down, they were content to stand there and size each other up from opposite sides of the fence.

What this trip confirmed is what we’ve been saying all along: Tracker is an easy dog to spend time with. He’s well-mannered, enjoys adventures, rides beautifully in the car, and genuinely loves being with his people.

At the end of the day, though, he still had to return to the shelter.

That’s the part we’d like to change.

139 days is long enough.

If you’re looking for a loyal companion, a road-trip buddy, and a dog who is always up for an adventure, come meet Tracker.

We’ll keep taking him on outings and showing him the world until his family finds him. We just hope that’s sooner rather than later. ❤️

📍 East Ridge Animal Services
☎️ 423-468-1432
📧 [email protected]

Sarah got a field trip yesterday... and reminded us exactly who she is.

For 70 days, Sarah has waited patiently in a shelter kennel.

Yesterday, volunteer Meaghan took her out for a little adventure and came back smiling.

"She's turn-key."

That's the best way to describe Sarah. She's the kind of dog that just fits into your life.

Around 6 years old, Sarah was the perfect lady from start to finish. She loaded up in the car without a fuss, enjoyed the ride, stuck her head out the window for fresh air, and then spent her time rolling in the grass with a smile on her face. According to Meaghan, she also has some pretty impressive eyelashes.

When Sarah arrived at East Ridge Animal Services 70 days ago, she was dealing with a painful ear hematoma. That has been repaired, she's fully healed, and now she's ready to leave shelter life behind for good.

Sarah is great with other dogs, does well with children, and based on her easygoing personality would likely do fine with a dog-savvy, experienced cat introduction.

She's past the puppy stage. No wild antics. No chaos. Just a sweet, happy dog who wants to be part of a family.

Yesterday's field trip was wonderful.

But what Sarah really needs is a ride home that doesn't end back at the shelter.

📍 East Ridge Animal Services
📞 423-468-1432
📧 [email protected]

70 days is long enough. Let's get this beautiful girl home. ❤️🐾

Ember was a hit yesterday a the East Ridge Council of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce....she's about close to perfect. Housebroken, crate trained, wonderful with other dogs, and super trainable!!

One thing the public doesn’t often see is what happens when someone’s life falls apart unexpectedly.

When a person has a medical emergency, is hospitalized, involved in an accident, or gets arrested, there is often a frightened dog left behind with nowhere to go.

Those dogs come to us.

What many people don’t realize is that we aren’t looking for reasons to separate people from their pets. In fact, we do everything we can to keep families together.

Sometimes that dog is the only family a person has.

We’ve cared for pets while owners were in the hospital. We’ve held dogs while family members were located. We’ve worked with law enforcement and loved ones to reunite animals with their people whenever possible.

The public often sees Animal Control as enforcement. What they don’t see are the moments of compassion that happen behind the scenes every day.

A beloved pet doesn’t understand why their owner isn’t coming home that night. They only know they’re scared, confused, and waiting.

So we make sure they’re fed. We make sure they’re safe. We give them a clean place to sleep. And whenever possible, we work toward getting them back where they belong.

Because sometimes Animal Services isn’t just caring for an animal.

It’s caring for a family during one of the hardest days of their lives.

Yesterday Apawllo went home with is dad and it was a sweet reunion. Then this little chihuahua checked in when his dad had a medical emergency. Even though he’s a temporary guest- he got the royal spa treatment. ;)