Rethinking Rescue by Carol Mithers
Schedule
Thu Oct 30 2025 at 06:30 pm to 07:30 pm
UTC-07:00Location
900 NW Mt. Washington Dr. Suite #110, Bend, OR, United States, Oregon 97703 | Bend, OR
Please join Carol Mithers and Companion Animal Medical Project Founder/Executive Director Johannah Johnson-Weinberg to discuss Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets. This event is sponsored by CAMP.Tickets for this event are $5 general admission or book purchase.
Rethinking Rescue boldly confronts two of the biggest challenges of our time—poverty and homelessness—in asking the question: Who deserves the love of a pet?
Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets unites the causes of animal welfare and social justice, moving between Weise’s story and that of the larger U.S. rescue movement. Through captivating storytelling and investigative reporting, Carol Mithers examines the consequences of bias within this overwhelmingly white movement, where an overemphasis on placing animals in affluent homes disregards pet owners in poverty. Weise’s innovative and ultimately triumphant efforts revealed a better way.
As cities across the country witness some of the worst housing crises in history, and as the population of unhoused people and pets continues to skyrocket, Rethinking Rescue offers a story of compassion and hope.
Carol Mithers is a journalist who has written about Los Angeles, women’s issues, and extraordinary women for over thirty years. Her work has appeared in The New York Times; Los Angeles Times; LA Weekly; O, the Oprah Magazine; Los Angeles Magazine; More; Town & Country; Architectural Digest; Ladies’ Home Journal; Parenting; The Bark; The Nation; California magazine; Buzz; Salon; The Daily Beast; and elsewhere. She is also the author of three books, including Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War, written with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee. Mighty was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and has been reprinted in fourteen languages. Mithers lives in Los Angeles, where she has raised three demanding rescue dogs.
Johannah Johnson-Weinberg’s dedication to the well-being of both people and animals began during her time at a local humane society in Central Oregon, where she became a passionate advocate for the animals and gained a deep understanding of the human-animal bond. This experience led her to a low-cost spay and neuter clinic, where she witnessed firsthand the significant challenges faced by pet owners experiencing financial hardship, particularly those navigating homelessness. Recognizing the profound importance of keeping these families together, and drawing upon years of experience in both animal welfare and housing advocacy within the Central Oregon nonprofit sector, Johannah founded CAMP. CAMP is centered on proactive, upstreaming approaches designed to support pet owners experiencing homelessness as they work towards securing stable housing, ensuring their beloved animals remain a constant source of support and companionship throughout the process. By addressing the interconnectedness of housing instability and pet ownership, Johannah aims to bridge the gap and prevent the heartbreaking separation of people and their pets within the Central Oregon community.
