Waggin' Wednesdays: De Soto's weekly tradition for pets who need homes
Waggin' Wednesday starts with a simple act of care: making room. Each week, an adoptable guest from the City of De Soto Kennel spends the day at Pettus Ford De Soto, where people help that animal be seen, known, and, when the match is right, welcomed home.
Wednesday after Wednesday
Waggin' Wednesday is not a one-day event. It is a simple commitment repeated every week: coordinate an adoptable guest from the City of De Soto Kennel, give neighbors time to meet that animal in a new setting at Pettus Ford De Soto, and keep sharing until the right home has a chance to find them.
By May 2026, the program had already been running for more than a year. The posts kept coming through the summer, usually inviting neighbors to visit from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., because another Wednesday means another animal gets a fresh chance to be seen.
Tracy's idea, carried by a community
Tracy Gersbacher's love of dogs sparked Waggin' Wednesday. Joe Pettus's own love of animals helped give the idea a welcoming home at the dealership. Dana McCreary, who manages the City of De Soto Kennel, helps coordinate the kennel side and guide interested families toward the next steps. Tracy welcomes the week's guest and shares the introduction; Dana and kennel staff carry the daily care and adoption work.
The partnership works because everyone handles a practical part. The kennel cares for the animals and guides placement. Pettus makes room for the visit and helps with the fee. Tracy and Dana keep the connection moving. Neighbors visit, share, apply, and send updates. No one piece works by itself.
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Introductions that become connections
The program grows through patient introductions: neighbors, dealership teammates, kennel partners, and adoptable guests sharing the same room.
What happens each Wednesday
The format is simple enough to repeat and personal enough to matter. The kennel and dealership coordinate the visiting pet, and the showroom offers a public, welcoming place where employees, customers, and potential adopters can spend time with that guest. Repeat that rhythm long enough, and the guestbook starts to look like a town album.
- Meet the featured pet at Pettus Ford De Soto, usually Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- See photos of other adoptable animals displayed near the dealership entrance.
- Share the current post if you cannot visit in person.
- Complete applications, approval, and final placement through the City of De Soto Kennel; a meet-and-greet is not an automatic adoption.
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A Wednesday in motion
A normal Wednesday is unhurried: time to settle in, meet the room, and let a little personality come through.
A growing album of familiar faces
The growing album includes Tucker, Tanya, Phoebe, Turbo, Cookie, Mac, Walter, Bo, Liam, Scout, Sophie, Chase, and Nite, a mostly black cat who shows that Waggin' Wednesday is not only for dogs. Some guests arrived as tiny puppies. Others were grown animals who benefited from a new setting, an unhurried visit, and another chance to let their personalities show.
Chase appeared in repeated summer updates, smiling in the showroom and returning for another round of introductions. Those repeat posts matter. They keep an animal visible after the first burst of attention fades and remind the community that finding the right home can take patience.
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A new face, week after week
A new face almost every week, and sometimes a familiar guest returning for another chance to be seen.
Sometimes Wednesday gets even bigger
The normal rhythm centers on one featured guest, but some weeks turn into Puppy Palooza. One documented Wednesday brought nine Lab-mix puppies named Sunny, Simon, Sophie, Stormy, Scout, Snoop, Steffi, Stella, and Sammi to meet the community. Multiple applications came in while the puppies were still preparing to become available through the kennel.
By May 2026, Pettus had covered City adoption fees for more than 55 animals, mostly dogs but cats too. Pettus has also sometimes helped a long-stay animal receive spay or neuter care. Two larger adoption days accounted for at least 19 placements, but no single number captures every quieter step: the share that reaches a new household, the repeat visit that keeps a guest visible, or the patient conversation that helps a family decide responsibly.
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When the weekly welcome fills the showroom
Puppy crews, donations, and a fuller showroom show how the weekly welcome can rally a community.
A whole town helps the posts travel
Pettus Ford De Soto, Tracy, Dana, and the City of De Soto Kennel do much of the steady posting, but the reach comes from the community. Team members reshare the week's guest. Neighbors tag friends. Families send updates. Supporters also rally around related supply drives with food, treats, toys, and other necessities for animals in the kennel's care.
No one person or page creates that reach alone. Waggin' Wednesday has grown because people keep making room for the next guest at the kennel, in the showroom, in their social feeds, and, when the match is right, in their homes.
The pictures everyone waits for
Then, sometimes days or weeks later, a photo comes back that shows where all that sharing led. A kennel portrait can begin the introduction, but the moments everyone hopes to see come later: former guests asleep on a couch, tucked into a family photo, wearing a new collar, or looking completely at home.
Those updates matter because adoption is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of a life a family and an animal will build together. They also show the community what its shares, visits, donations, and careful applications can become.
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The updates everyone hopes to see
The pictures that come back later show where all the introductions, shares, and patient decisions can lead.
Meet this week's Waggin' Wednesday guest
Every happy-home picture began with an introduction. The next one may begin this Wednesday.
- Check the latest Facebook post before visiting; the featured guest and Wednesday hours can change.
- Visit Pettus Ford De Soto at 12836 Highway 21, usually Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., to meet the featured pet.
- Call the City of De Soto Kennel at 636-243-2300 for current adoption requirements, appointments, applications, and final placement details.
- Adoption needs to be right for both the animal and the household. If this is not your week to adopt, sharing the featured guest can still help the right family find them.
This Wednesday's guest
