Meet the Real Underdogs of Philly

For Underdogs of Philly co-presidents Cara Brand and Caroline Lipinski, the first requirement for volunteering for their organization is leaving your judgements at home, or maybe getting rid of them altogether. Underdogs is, in their words, a “small but mighty” nonprofit that helps dogs that live outdoors in Philly, a situation many animal lovers tend to scorn. And scorn harshly.

Cara Brand with Aria, an Underdogs of Philly client.

It wasn’t always that way. Until the mid-century in the U.S., most pets lived out of doors. It was how things were done. These days, however, most U.S. pet owners endeavor to keep their dogs, cats and other non-farm animals indoors. For pets, as for humans, indoor life is safer, healthier, more humane.

Left to right: Caroline Lipinski, siblings Cardi B and Mr. President (atop an old washing machine), and Brand.

In Philadelphia, however, it’s legal to keep your dog outdoors, provided the enclosed setting includes an elevated, insulated shelter, access to food and water, and limited hours on a regulation-length tether. Many residents’ cultures, family practices, or living constraints lead them to keep pets outside. For these folks, it’s how things still are.

Brand, a genetics professor who runs a research lab at Rutgers University, and Lipinski, a fundraising consultant, have been involved with animal welfare, volunteering for organizations like ACCT, the city’s largest animal shelter, for about five years each. They know how crowded places like ACCT are — and know what often happens to animals when a shelter reaches capacity. To them, helping dog owners keep their dogs safe, healthy and comfortable at home — even if that home is in the elements — is much better than the alternative.

Lipinski (left) and volunteer Adele Becht lift a doghouse into a yard.

The small but mighty work of Underdogs of Philly

Mr. President, Cardi B’s brother, waiting for medication.

Lipinski and Brand officially established Underdogs of Philly as a nonprofit in September 2025. They have about 30 volunteers who consistently care for about the same number of dogs, visiting them, at minimum monthly, mostly on weekends in Strawberry Mansion, West Philly and Kensington. Like many small grassroots organizations that care for animals, they’re funded almost entirely through donations from people who follow their work on social media. (They’d like to expand outside these neighborhoods, but need more helpers and funding before they can do that.)

Volunteers Kristi Saeger (left), Sam, and Roshini Stephen (standing.)

This August, Drexel photography student Hailey Rauso followed Brand, Lipinski and other Underdogs of Philly volunteers to the homes of a few dogs they care for. Each pet, each pet’s family, required and requires different forms of help.

Some needed their areas cleared of debris. One needed a fence repaired. There was a dog house to install, sun shades and fly traps to hang, flea, tick and heartworm prevention medications to distribute, tug-o-war to be played, and walks to be taken. Other days, Underdogs volunteers take dogs to doggie daycare for enrichment and socialization, deliver dog food and medications, and, when the situation calls for it, groceries for the pets’ humans. Three times a year, they provide rides to the vet at PAWS for wellness checks, spaying and neutering, and vaccinations — all free of charge.