Jackson goes home!

Holy cow!

What a crazy holiday break!! Christmas was wonderful and uneventful and New Year's Eve I got hit by a car. SO, that's that.

This past weekend we kicked 2015 off with a bang! Two adoption events in one weekend! Saturday was the Gambrills event, which I sadly missed. I was recovering from my NYE injuries with Vicodin and take out. I got an awesome surprise though that my neighbor Wes, went to the event and brought home Jax, one of our dogs! It was truly a perfect fit, Jax loves small kids and having Kaiden around is perfect for him. 

Then Sunday, we had a Rockville event. Always one of our biggest. Kate and Jenn, the couple who run it are seriously the best. So helpful and nice and learning from them was great. I spent the first hour of the event as designed puppy holder, tough work I do, huh??

Poppy is Brittney mix and a little squirm worm! But while I was trying to prevent her from climbing on my head, I had had to fight off people wanting to pet her; because Pops was only a few weeks old and didn't have all her shots.

There is a doggie advice for the week: NEVER ASSUME you can just pet a puppy. Always ask the owner or handler first. Puppies, like babies, are prone to lots of diseases and can get sick quickly. Always sanitize your hands (WELL!) and ask before petting a puppy. 

The second half of the event was the most exhilarating for me. Jackson had finally gained enough weight to make it to his first event. Before being put on puppy duty, I spent a lot of time with Jackson's volunteer handler, asking how he was (temperament wise) and playing with him. She raved about him and I could see why. Jackson was so friendly with the other dogs and was even more friendly and loving to his human friends. I loved sitting with him and looking into those big happy eyes. I started writing up his brand-new bio in my head, because the one that we had for him definitely didn't do him justice. He was an amazing dog.

A woman came up to me and said she and her family may be interested in Jackson. I was overjoyed, but a little nervous that I was about to have to explain to her that Jackson was heartworm positive. I gave her the whole spiel about how heartworm is contracted, how it's treated, and what the recovery process looks like. She definitely looked a little overwhelmed. How can a dog who seems so happy be so sick on the inside? Then we both happened to glance down at the same time. Both of her sons, who are probably around 12 and 10 (one wearing a Red Sox shirt!), were on the ground laughing and rubbing Jackson's belly. He was on his back with his legs in the air and his head thrown back in complete happiness. We both smiled. She told me that she wanted to speak to her husband see what he said. "By all means!" I told her. "I'll be around if you have more questions!" 

She approached me about 20 minutes later, this time with her husband. I was happy that I was with Kate at the time. While I am informed on heartworm disease, I am still new to the rescue rodeo workings. She filled in any blanks that I left out and I noticed his face softening as we gave him more information. They decided to take him!! I really could have burst into tears right then and there, but I swallowed them back and offered a professional "Oh! Great news!" 

As they went of the contracts at the adoption table, I made the boys promise me they'd get him a Red Sox shirt as soon as possible! They laughed and promised! They were truly the ideal family I had for them. Active and loving. Just watching Jackson with them looked like he'd been a part of that family for years. 

The rest of the day was a breeze and we decided to foster a little lady name Princess. What an adventure so far! More on her next time!

Conflicts of the Job...

Today we had an adoption event in Annapolis with "The R" puppies. They are boxer/lab mixes and were enough to bring you to your knees. Text book floppy ear, boxer muzzle cuteness. There was a little bit of confusion in the beginning, because their AC was not at the event. Some people thought they were approved for one puppy but in reality the puppy was already approved for someone else. It all got sorted out very fast, a testament to the amazing adoption coordinators that I work with. In the end, Rascal, Romeo, Ruben and Rico all went home to very loving and excited families. I couldn't help but beam with pride and excitement for them. I remember the day I picked Emma up from the airport and The early morning we drove two hours to get Rob. The nervousness, but more importantly, the overwhelming amount of love you have. I was so happy that I got to be a part of such a special for these three families. There were a few families that had to be turned away for a dog. Which was tough, especially when you have people who are so set in their (wrong) ways about dog raising. 

"No, your eight week old puppy can't be left alone for ten hours a day."

"Yes, if you currently have dogs you need to have a vet we can contact. ...Your dogs see a vet, right?"

It can be exhausting and nerve racking standing your ground, but I did it never the less. Giving unsolicited dog advice was always something I did anyways, now it is just my job!

Sweet Jackson was not at the event today. I was aware that he had heart worms and was educated on how they were transmitted. But since Jackson is going through treatment, I needed to be schooled on what the process is for treating a heart worm positive pup. Needless to say, there were tears. It is such an excruciating process for a disease that is so preventable. Researching and educating yourself on something that one of your pups is going through is just awful. Kate is going to put me in touch with Jax's boarder and hopefully she can update me on his condition, temperament and personality. I cannot wait to meet him. And I cannot wait until he goes home with his forever family. 

It was quite a roller coaster of events and emotions today and luckily it was capped off with Panera and a scrumptious glass of red wine. I need to break out Rob's old adoption contract and review all the sections. Watching Kate and Yvonne explain the whole contract so effortlessly was amazing. I need to get on their level! Emma is currently perched on top of Terry's head and Rob is at my feet sleeping (Cruiz is holding a fake cell phone to his ear trying to get him to talk, haha.) I hope a can make other dogs as happy and lazy as these two goofs. 

Sweet Ruby with her foster momma! She was such a little sass-a-frass! I saw so much of Emma in her!