The Little Black Dog Behind iHeartDogs Rescue Road Trips

In agrarian Bosque County, Texas, a telephone astir an abandoned canine does not needfully bring an carnal power serviceman oregon pb to an unfastened intake shelter. Often, a canine gets assistance lone erstwhile a neighbor, volunteer, foster, oregon rescue radical finds a mode to measurement in.

Alexis Sibila, president of BARK Rescue, knows what it takes to crook that telephone into a harmless spot for a dog. Alongside her person and chap rescuer Chelsea, she has helped physique a transport programme that connects Texas dogs with trusted rescue partners successful areas wherever they person a amended accidental of uncovering homes. That enactment became the instauration for the iHeartDogs Rescue Road Trips, supported by the iHeartDogs assemblage and Hero VIP Club members.

But the communicative of those trips begins years earlier, with 2 dogs surviving beneath a bridge. We spoke with Alexis astir the dogs who changed her life, the decisions radical seldom spot down a rescue, and the roadworthy that brought BARK and iHeartDogs together.

This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

An Interview With Alexis Sibila of BARK Rescue

Dina Fantegrossi: Before we speech astir BARK, archer readers a small astir yourself. Were animals ever portion of your life?

Alexis Sibila: I’m a small-town Texas miss who loves her family, the outdoors, and being connected the water. My husband, Thomas, and I unrecorded connected 10 acres successful Central Texas with our 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 Watusi cows, and a horse.

My dada was a Texas crippled warden, truthful my member and I grew up astir each kinds of animals. There was astir ever an injured oregon orphaned chaotic carnal astatine our location that needed help. We would attraction for them until they could get to a wildlife rehabilitator. Looking back, those experiences shaped maine much than I realized. Helping an carnal successful request wasn’t presented arsenic thing extraordinary. It was simply what you did erstwhile thing needed help.

Dina: Was determination 1 carnal that archetypal taught you what it means to attraction for different life?

Alexis: My archetypal horse, Cindy. It was my work to marque definite she was fed and watered and had everything she needed. My parents made definite I understood that having an carnal wasn’t conscionable astir the amusive part. She depended connected me, whether I felt similar doing the enactment that time oregon not.

Long earlier I knew rescue would go specified a large portion of my life, I was learning that caring for animals means showing up for them each day.

Dina: How did you archetypal get progressive with carnal rescue?

Alexis: About 5 years ago, I didn’t deliberation my bosom could grip walking into a structure and seeing each the dogs who needed help. I wanted to marque a difference, but I didn’t cognize however galore antithetic ways determination were to get involved.

I was friends with Jackie, who was BARK’s president astatine the time, and I told her what I thought I could handle. I knew I had connections and could assistance with fundraising. She met maine wherever I was and gave maine a spot to start. Eventually, I learned astir fostering and began bringing dogs into my home. That changed everything.

I deliberation my communicative is simply a reminder that you don’t person to commencement by doing everything. You conscionable person to find 1 mode you tin assistance and commencement there. You ne'er cognize wherever that archetypal measurement mightiness lead.

Dina: You mentioned 2 dogs who played a large portion successful pulling you into rescue. What happened?

Alexis: I recovered 2 dogs surviving underneath a bridge. I named them Black Dog and Brown Dog. For 5 months, I drove determination and fed them doubly a day. I reached retired to shelters and rescues, but everyone was full. They couldn’t assistance unless I was consenting to foster them.

Then some dogs became pregnant, and a unspeakable tempest was headed our way. Something successful maine said I wasn’t leaving them nether that span that night, truthful I brought them home.

I was hardly successful a fiscal presumption to attraction for 2 dogs, overmuch little the astir 23 puppies a veterinarian estimated they were carrying betwixt them. I didn’t person a rescue backing maine oregon the web I person today. I made the achy determination to person some dogs spayed. I had a recognition paper with a $600 limit, and I spent $567 of it connected their surgeries. It inactive makes maine affectional to speech about.

That was erstwhile rescue became existent to me. Loving animals doesn’t mean you ever get to marque the casual oregon blessed decision. Those 2 dogs showed maine however desperately our assemblage needed much radical consenting to get involved. Brown Dog is inactive with maine today.

Dina: How did your relation astatine BARK alteration aft that?

Alexis: I started arsenic an extracurricular unpaid who wanted to assistance rise money. Then I began attending adoption events, spending clip with the dogs, learning astir fostering, and seeing however overmuch enactment happens down the scenes.

A mates of years ago, I became BARK’s president. Now I’m progressive successful fundraising, assemblage outreach, fostering, intake decisions, veterinary care, relationships with different rescues, and transport. I went from wondering if I could adjacent locomotion into a structure to helping pb an enactment that has go 1 of the biggest parts of my life. Once I saw the need, I couldn’t unsee it. I kept asking, “What other tin I do?”

Dina: What challenges bash dogs look successful agrarian Texas that radical elsewhere mightiness not realize?

Alexis: In galore communities, determination is nary carnal power and nary unfastened intake shelter. Here successful Bosque County, if idiosyncratic finds a dumped oregon abandoned dog, determination isn’t needfully an serviceman who volition prime it up oregon a region structure wherever they tin instrumentality it. That canine stays wherever it is until a rescue, volunteer, oregon idiosyncratic steps up.

There are besides acold much dogs needing assistance than determination are radical capable to foster them. Rescues tin lone prevention arsenic galore dogs arsenic they person harmless places for. Affordable veterinary care, particularly spay and neuter services, is different immense challenge. We’ve driven arsenic acold arsenic six hours to entree escaped spay and neuter services.

In agrarian Texas, sometimes determination is nary adjacent telephone telephone to make. If idiosyncratic doesn’t measurement up, a canine whitethorn simply enactment connected the road.

Dina: When BARK gets a telephone astir a dog, what happens earlier the nationalist sees a rescue story?

Alexis: Usually, Chelsea gets the telephone and lets maine know. We commencement gathering information: Is the canine safe? Is it friendly? Can the finder clasp it temporarily? Do we person a foster oregon kennel? Is determination a rescue spouse who mightiness beryllium a bully fit? Who tin spell get the dog?

Then we person to deliberation beyond the pickup. Where volition the canine sleep? What aesculapian attraction does it need? How volition we wage for it? What is the agelong word plan? We whitethorn beryllium checking for a microchip, calling veterinary clinics, contacting fosters, rearranging kennels, and talking with rescue partners portion we’re some moving our regular jobs.

Before anyone sees a photograph and reads that BARK saved a dog, determination whitethorn already person been dozens of calls, texts, and decisions. So overmuch of rescue is making a program wherever determination wasn’t 1 and figuring retired however to safely crook a telephone for assistance into a yes.

Dina: What does a emblematic time look similar for you?

Alexis: I’m not definite determination is simply a emblematic day. I enactment a full-time job, and Chelsea and I gag that determination are astir a cardinal calls and texts betwixt us. A time mightiness see picking up dogs dumped connected a backmost road. During a Rescue Road Trip week, my evenings are filled with paperwork, veterinary records, wellness certificates, and preparing the transport binder. During a spay-and-neuter week, we whitethorn beryllium confirming appointments for 28 people.

We’re besides moving dogs done different transport partners astir each week. There is sheltering, fostering, fundraising, veterinary care, and immoderate exigency comes next. Rescue doesn’t precisely acceptable into my schedule. We’ve learned to acceptable beingness astir rescue.

Dina: What led you and Chelsea to physique BARK’s transport program?

Alexis: We reached a constituent wherever we had to find different mode to prevention dogs. Our region mislaid the transport assets we’d been relying on. Adoptions are debased successful Texas, and without transport, the aforesaid dogs could beryllium successful our kennels for months oregon adjacent years. When the kennels enactment full, we person to accidental nary to the adjacent dog.

I realized that if we could determination dogs to trusted rescue partners successful places wherever adoption request was higher, those dogs would person a amended chance, and we could unfastened a harmless abstraction for different canine here. Chelsea had transport experience, and I was determined to fig retired however BARK could bash it. We began gathering relationships, uncovering partners, and learning the requirements for out-of-state transport.

Another enactment fto america usage its transport van portion we got started and yet donated it to BARK. But the wealth that allowed america to instrumentality our archetypal measurement came from thing overmuch much personal.

Dina: It came from Black Dog’s story, didn’t it?

Alexis: Yes. I mislaid Black Dog successful a tragic accident, and it broke my heart. After she died, astir 10 to 15 of my closest friends gave maine a card. They had collected wealth and told maine to usage it to prevention dogs successful Black Dog’s honor.

Transport brings costs beyond a van and a driver: fuel, hotels, wellness certificates, vaccinations, flea and tick prevention. My friends’ acquisition helped america begin, and Chelsea’s acquisition helped america crook that archetypal measurement into a program. In our archetypal year, we saved 533 dogs.

Black Dog ne'er got to cognize what she started, but I do. Every clip that van leaves BARK afloat of dogs headed toward a amended life, a small portion of her is with me.

Dina: How did BARK’s transport programme go portion of iHeartDogs Rescue Road Trips?

Alexis: Our narration with iHeartDogs began erstwhile BARK helped brace a canine with a seasoned done Hope Lives Here, a programme iHeartDogs was supporting. That acquisition helped maine larn astir the iHeartDogs assemblage and the different ways it was helping dogs.

I saw that iHeartDogs had helped alert dogs to safety, and I thought, “What astir crushed transport?” My husband, Thomas, and I had precocious taken a travel to Colorado to Karl’s Canine Krew. I enactment unneurotic a video from the travel and sent it to Catherine astatine iHeartDogs. I asked whether iHeartDogs would ever see sharing thing similar it.

Catherine shared the video with Marshall, iHeartDogs’ CEO. If I’m remembering correctly, Marshall came up with the sanction Rescue Road Trip. In August 2025, we took our archetypal authoritative travel with the enactment of the iHeartDogs community. What started arsenic 1 video and a connection has connected america with radical crossed the state who travel these dogs’ journeys.

I’m from a municipality of astir 3,500 people. I didn’t person a expansive program to physique thing radical each implicit the state would follow. I saw dogs sitting successful kennels and much dogs waiting for those kennels, and I knew we needed to make movement. The iHeartDogs assemblage gave our small transport programme a level and helped it go thing bigger than us.

Dina: What is the hardest portion of rescue for you personally?

Alexis: People mightiness expect maine to accidental it’s seeing the dogs we can’t save, and of course, that is heartbreaking. But 1 of the hardest parts is the mode radical sometimes dainty america erstwhile we can’t help.

If I accidental we can’t instrumentality a dog, Chelsea and I person astir apt already looked for a foster, checked our kennels, called rescue partners, and tried each different solution we tin deliberation of. I’m already carrying the value of knowing there’s a canine I couldn’t find a spot for. Sometimes the idiosyncratic asking for assistance becomes aggravated and says things that marque it dependable arsenic though we don’t care.

Rescue workers aren’t saying nary due to the fact that they don’t care. Sometimes they’re saying nary due to the fact that they’ve already said yes until there’s obscurity other to safely enactment a dog. Nobody is much disappointed by that reply than I am.

Dina: How bash you support going erstwhile you can’t assistance each dog?

Alexis: I don’t cognize that I’ve wholly learned however to header with those cases. I deliberation astir the dogs I couldn’t assistance and wonderment what happened to them. But I can’t fto the dogs I couldn’t prevention support maine from redeeming the ones I can.

I absorption connected what I tin bash next: gathering partnerships, uncovering fosters, creating transport opportunities, and moving connected spay and neuter programs. Each of those things mightiness mean less times we person to accidental nary successful the future. You don’t halt caring astir the dogs you couldn’t help. You find a mode to transportation them with you portion you support warring for the ones you inactive can.

Dina: How bash you support yourself from burnout?

Alexis: The biggest happening I’ve learned is to instrumentality the vacation. A healthy, blessed Alexis tin assistance acold much dogs than an Alexis who has fixed everything until there’s thing left. I’m fortunate to person radical similar Chelsea and Lacey who fto maine measurement distant for a fewer days, knowing the calls volition inactive beryllium answered and the dogs volition beryllium cared for.

Taking a abrogation doesn’t mean I attraction immoderate less. Sometimes taking attraction of yourself is precisely what lets you support taking attraction of everyone else.

Every Open Kennel Is Another Chance

Black Dog’s communicative did not extremity erstwhile Alexis mislaid her. The acquisition made successful her representation helped BARK commencement moving dogs to rescue partners, and each palmy transport tin escaped a kennel for different canine inactive waiting successful Texas. Through the Rescue Road Trips, iHeartDogs supporters and Hero VIP Club members person helped transportation that effort farther, giving much radical a accidental to travel these dogs from an uncertain opening toward the anticipation of a home.

Alexis’s relationship besides makes wide however galore radical it takes to marque a travel possible: the idiosyncratic who answers the archetypal call, the foster who opens a door, the veterinary squad preparing a canine to travel, the partners acceptable to invited that dog, and the assemblage consenting to enactment the journey. What began with 2 dogs nether a span continues each clip BARK’s van pulls distant with different radical of dogs aboard.