Removing the Roadblock: Sonya King on Saving Pets to Save Lives (Two by Two Rescue)Removing the Roadblock: Sonya King on Saving Pets to Save Lives (Two by Two Rescue)
APC Recovery Cafe
Sonya King talks with Nichole about how Two by Two Rescue uses foster homes to care for pets so their owners can enter substance use treatment. The conversation blends heartfelt rescue stories with practical calls to spay, neuter and foster as ways to support both animals and people in recovery.
58:25•1 Oct 2026
Saving Pets, Saving People: Sonya King’s Foster Rescue Mission
Episode Overview
- Pet care can be a major roadblock to entering treatment, and temporary fostering can remove that barrier.
- Two by Two Rescue relies entirely on foster homes and covers medical costs, food and supplies for the animals.
- Spaying and neutering is presented as a basic responsibility to reduce overbreeding and prevent healthy animals from being killed in shelters.
- Community support, including messages from people in long-term recovery, can encourage individuals who are about to enter treatment.
- Specialised fostering, from bottle-feeding litters to hospice care for elderly animals, gives each pet a chance at comfort and safety.
“We picked the dogs up literally Friday night, Saturday morning she was in recovery.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between host Nichole and Sonya King shows how that strength can start with a wagging tail and a willing foster. You’ll hear Sonya, Founder and Executive Director of Two by Two Rescue, share how a 100% foster-based animal rescue became a lifeline for both pets and people across around 40 states.
The chat kicks off with Muffin Man, a puppy once living under a bridge with his unhoused owner who’s in recovery, and quickly opens into how pets can make or break someone’s ability to seek treatment.
Sonya describes Two by Two as “a ministry of intervention”, telling stories that range from helping an elderly woman with a brain tumour whose final wish was to know her five animals were safe, to chasing stray dogs like Lucy and Dingo for years and placing hundreds of puppies so one unspayed mum wouldn’t keep suffering.
Her mantra for every rescued animal is simple: “No more bad days.” Nichole and Sonya unpack a huge but often ignored barrier to substance use treatment: what happens to cherished pets when someone enters rehab or sober living. In one recent case, a woman went into recovery the morning after Sonya’s team collected her three dogs, backed by a flood of online messages saying things like, “I’m 19 years sober.
You’ve got this.” The episode also tackles the tough reality of overbreeding, lack of spay/neuter, and the high kill rates in shelters, mixed with lighter moments about goats in the back seat of a Nissan and a pony called July who got life-changing hoof surgery thanks to local horse lovers and a very memorable vet.
If you care about recovery, animals, or both, this one might leave you asking: could opening your home to a pet also open a door for someone to get the help they need?
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