Join us here as Regional Vice President Kathy Kreyling shares stories from the Adoption Center. Check out our Available Dogs to see who’s still waiting for their forever home.
Clover
We always talk about how the dogs choose their new families — some of them are very subtle and some of them are unbelievably obvious! From just about the second this guy walked into the adoption center, he knew those people were his and he was not shy about letting them know. He came out proudly, and walked right over and sat, then kissed them and for his last move, he climbed up on the man’s lap and buried his head in the man’s coat and chest! This poor couple never had a chance — Clover, the last of the three puppies we got from Mexico, was in the driver’s seat and he got exactly what he wanted — a new mom & dad.
Peter
This road to this adoption began many months ago on the Brightwater walk. This lady was a “regular” on the walks, and one day she picked a big, handsome fawn guy to walk and she continued to walk him every time she came to the kennel. She has wanted to adopt him for a long time, but she was working long days and her schedule didn’t leave enough time for her to care for a dog. In the meantime, we kept showing this boy and he made it oh so clear that he had no interest in any of the people we introduced him to — he would come into the adoption center, look at the people and turn around to go back in the kennel!!! Thankfully, the lady recently retired and all the obstacles to adopting a dog were going away. I don’t know who was more excited when they left the kennel — the lady or Peter!!
Candy
Lately, we have had a couple of dogs that we put into foster homes because they were so terribly shy that they were having a very difficult time in the kennel and we were hoping that getting socialized a little would make it easier to show them. Whenever we put a dog into a foster home, we secretly wish that the foster parents will fail fostering and we got our wish!!
The first failed foster is one of our employees. She fell in love with a sweet little fawn girl at work and convinced her husband that their family would really be able to help this girl. This family has patiently worked with this girl and they have done an excellent job of allowing her the time and space to bloom. They also have Naomi, the mother of the puppies we had this summer, and she has been helping (a lot) — her outgoing, happy personality has been a great example for this dog. When she came in for her adoption, we noticed a wonderful difference in Candy – she seemed much more comfortable and happy — it was so much fun to see her like that!!
Smirk
The last failed foster is a board member. One day, not too long ago, he said he had been thinking about fostering one of the dogs. We took him up on his offer so quickly — he was headed home with a dog almost before he knew it. This particular dog is also extremely shy and he really needed someplace where he could feel safe so he could start to bloom. It’s been slow going, but he is gradually becoming more comfortable in his home and we are starting to get glimpses of the dog he is going to be. This adoption happened almost the same way that the foster did. The man said he was probably going to adopt the dog, we said “do you want to do it now” then filled out the papers for him to sign, collected money and sent Smirk home to his official family pretty much before the man realized what had happened!
