Is there such a thing as the perfect adopter?
In which Jill’s dreams come true—and then some.
We rescues know there’s no such thing as a perfect adopter. Maybe the dog gets the zoomies, yet the yard’s on the small side. Maybe the dad won’t have a crate in the living room. Perhaps they prefer a harness to a slip lead. In otherwise wonderful situations, there’s often something you’d tweak that’s not an outright deal breaker.
Except for…
I can’t think of one thing wrong with Rocco’s new home.
We rescued Rocco—a barrel-chested senior bully boy with a perpetual smile—from a high-kill shelter on his “deadline day,” and spent months intrepidly looking for that unicorn adopter who would “get” him.
Finally, someone did.
Rocco’s new mom, Sandi, and her husband, Steve, now take Rocco on daily long-line walks, which would be fine on its own, except they also let him roam around their 3-acre property. They recently took Rocco to visit a farm with goats and ducks.
Sandi continues to send us pictures and videos. Rocco’s smile is bigger than ever.
We’re scrappy.
Outta the Cage is in the “scrappy” category. We lean heavily on fosters—the more we have, the more dogs we can help. We try not to overcommit. But last Saturday, we received 233 pleas for help, most from fellow networkers desperate to save nice, adoptable dogs. It’s an act of discipline (or denial) to continue scrolling.
So when an adopter emails us an inquiry, we celebrate it as a small success for both our rescue and the dog. Someone besides us sees the light in him! It’s interesting during meet-&-greets to watch a dog turn on the charm. It’s as if they know.
Our dogs aren’t scrappy. They’re superstars.
Some of our adopters set up Instagram accounts for their new family member.
We rescued Gilbert from Baldwin Park shelter after he was euth-listed for his second round of kennel cough. We had videoed and networked this goofball American Bulldog, sure that someone would show up and adopt him.
When that didn’t happen, we came and got him, wiping the snot from his nose and loading him into the backseat of our station wagon. Gilbert stuck his head out the window, inhaling the fresh air. We went home and gave him a medicated bath, Gilbert’s shiny white coat reappearing from beneath the shelter grime, a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Now Gilbert has his own Instagram , and we can keep tabs on his adventures. And—BONUS!—Gilbert’s best friend is Moose, whom we rescued from Downey shelter. Moose’s mom, Karen, checks in regularly with texts and photos and even lets us visit!
Every dog we’ve found a home for has a story.
Ziggy’s mom, Amber, includes Ziggy in her fitness routine.
Argo’s mom and dad have photos of him strolling at the beach, overlooking a remote mountain lake, playing in the snow, and visiting various L.A. landmarks. Check him out at @argo_tacosuave.
Cash, who’d been red-listed for a facial wound and a perineal hernia at Camarillo shelter, now accompanies his mom Christine on meadow hikes and visits to friends. Both have become luminary breed ambassadors!
And Homer, wasting away in his Baldwin Park kennel from his third round of kennel cough, is now one majestic 105-pound specimen of canine who enjoys trips to the Oregon coast with his family. (Yes, that’s Homer in the photo above.)
Visiting animal shelters is hard, especially when the dogs are stressed (which is most of them). But if you look closely enough, you can see their spirit, the light in their eyes that says, “I want to participate!”
Our adopters understand that these dogs ultimately give more than they get. They make room for the dog to recover, to move, and experience joy again. And with every adoption, if we’re lucky, that joy is shared with us, and it becomes ours, too.
