She’s an animal lover, to say the least. In her pictures from childhood, Caroline Gunther is always the one surrounded by dogs, cats, hamsters or snakes. All grown up, she’s still surrounded by them, running a pet boutique, Wag, in Downtown Hendersonville. Walk in and you’re likely to see her latest rescues—dogs and cats from places like Blue Ridge Humane Society. She’s particularly interested in Catahoula leopard dogs, medium-sized spotted hounds from Louisiana. She started fostering Catahoulas and other breeds seven years ago, and she takes in cats too. 

A group of teenagers shoplifted collars and jackets from her shop in March 2009, but she later cornered them in a Main Street store. Now, she leads groups of juvenile delinquents—including one of the thieves from her shop—on field trips to Hendersonville animal shelters.