New Guided Journal Supports Forever Homes for Rescue Dogs and Preserves Precious Memories
As more dogs enter U.S. shelters than leave them, a new guided journal by award-winning author supports adopter success
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As more dogs enter U.S. shelters than leave them, a new guided journal by award-winning author supports adopter success with tips and friendly encouragement
SARASOTA, FL, UNITED STATES, October 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Prima Vista Press announces the release of Welcome Home, Rescue Dog: An Interactive Guide & Keepsake Journal, an illustrated, write-in book for rescue dog adopters. Written by award-winning journalist and author Wendy Lyons Sunshine, the journal guides, engages, and encourages new owners during the sensitive first year together with a clear goal: helping more shelter pet adoptions succeed.
According to Shelter Animals Count, a program of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), more animals are currently entering U.S. shelters and rescues than leaving them. During 2026, approximately 3.8 million dogs are projected to enter shelters and rescues. Every adoption that lasts keeps one dog home and frees space for another.
When adopters bring home a rescue dog or puppy, the early months together can bring both delights and challenges. Welcome Home, Rescue Dog helps them get to know their individual rescue dog and make the adjustment period smoother and more joyful.
“During the early days home, a rescue dog might refuse dinner or avoid touch, and their new family could start to worry,” said Sunshine. “Welcome Home, Rescue Dog reassures adopters during those sensitive first weeks and months by offering practical strategies, realistic expectations, and a place to record and celebrate progress.”
A boost of encouragement
Welcome Home, Rescue Dog helps readers to decode their dog’s behaviors and to plan daily routines that make life together easier. Like an encouraging coach, the book helps families learn:
• How to build a trusting bond and help their dog gain confidence in their new home.
• The basics of dog body language, from a relaxed, loosely wagging tail to the side-turned head or lip-licking of a dog who feels pressured.
• The phases of adjustment and why there is no one-size-fits-all timeline.
• Troubleshooting worksheets that help pinpoint the need behind a challenging behavior.
• Space to record milestones, care contacts, and precious firsts that families never want to forget.
• Guidance on when to call a veterinarian or a qualified behavior professional.
The book features the HEARTS framework, a trauma-informed approach first introduced in Sunshine’s earlier book, Tender Paws. Each letter in HEARTS represents a pet parenting practice that helps dogs thrive: Heal the body, Enrich the brain, Align the environment, Relate with kindness, Teach compassionately, and Support the individual.
Welcome Home, Rescue Dog has been praised by Kirkus Reviews and received the IndieReader Approved designation. Its approach aligns with the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s Position Statement on Humane Dog Training.
Free downloadable resource: Adopters and shelters can download select pages from the book as free printables.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy Lyons Sunshine is an award-winning journalist and the author of Tender Paws (HCI Books), which won the Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Medallion for best rescue/shelter book and the American Society of Journalists and Authors Book Award. She co-authored bestseller The Connected Child (McGraw-Hill), which has sold more than 360,000 copies, and has written dozens of articles for Psychology Today. She holds the Family Dog Mediation (FDM) credential and lives in Sarasota, Florida.
AVAILABILITY
Welcome Home, Rescue Dog: An Interactive Guide & Keepsake Journal (ISBN 979-8-234-00667-7) is distributed by Ingram and available through booksellers and at welcomehomerescuedog.com. The publisher, Prima Vista Press, offers bulk discounts to rescue and shelter organizations.
MEDIA CONTACT
Review copies, interviews, and high-resolution images are available on request from Prima Vista Press at info@primavistapress.com.
Publisher
Prima Vista Press
info@primavistapress.com
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