Meet Our Cowboy, Dallas
Last September, M and I had an unexpected addition to our family. We both grew up with dogs in our lives and I knew that someday we would be dog parents. and while this was always a topic of conversation, we had never really put together a plan to bring a puppy into our lives. We are incredibly blessed to be busy people who (use to) travel for work - Fashion Week, Trade Shows, Business trips. There were some months that I only saw M a few days out of the full month since our schedules didn’t over lap in the same cities. Bringing a dog into our lives was not a rational decision, however, one fateful day outside of a Petsmart in Midtown, we saw our boy Dallas.
Muddy Paws
Dallas was one of the rescue puppies that were up for adoption through the rescue agency Muddy Paws. Muddy Paws is a nonprofit agency that looks to save the lives of thousands of dogs each year. Like Dallas, a majority of their new puppies are rescued from middle states that have an overpopulation of abandoned dogs. The puppies are evaluated to see if they will be able to thrive in a city environment and then brought in for adoption where they have a higher chance of being adopted than in rural areas. It breaks my heart to think there are some puppies who never make it to adoption centers where they can find a home.
Adoption Process
The adoption process for us was very simple. We serendipitously walked by the adoption bus in the morning and agreed to fill out an application to be adoption parents. The forms mainly look to confirm that you have the time and financial security in order to properly care for a puppy or dog. Questions also shed light into your lifestyle (active, not so active), bigger yards, etc to help match you with a puppy that will bring you join and not add to your burden. Its a very realistic assessment to make sure you will be a good fit for your pup. (Even if you are approved to be adoption parents, there is no pressure to adopt the same day. Some people come to multiple adoption fairs before they find their right pet.)
After we submitted the forms, we were asked to return a few hours later to walk through the adoption bus and take a look at the dogs who were up for adoption that weekend. You had to be an approved adopter before you were able to meet any of the dogs. This helped weed out any commotion for the puppies and ensured the rescues who were looking for permanent homes were maximizing their time meeting with actual parents who wanted to adopt. 2 hours later, we returned to the adoption bus for our assigned appointment. We walked through the bus and saw that a handful of puppies had already been adopted! Thankfully, our little guy who was named “Bugsy", was still sleeping silently despite all of the commotion that was taking place on the bus. We signed up for a “meet and greet” with Bugsy and another puppy, and were asked to wait inside of the Petsmart. Before we were able to meet with our requested 2 puppies, we had a final in person consultation with an Adoption Specialist who went through our application and gave us honest information on the difficulties of having a puppy in the city. She was very honest about the time commitment, the lifestyle change, and the huge impact a new puppy would have on our family. I really appreciated her honesty as she had revealed that some puppies who end up at Muddy Paws were puppies that were rashly purchased from breeders and then abandoned after their parents realized they weren’t fit to raise the animals.
After the final interview, we were finally approved to be adopters and “Bugsy” was brought to us. He was so small! I couldn’t believe how precious he was as he held onto my hands lovingly. In the few minutes we spent together, I could see he was a very playful and loving dog. We agreed to officially adopt him and bring him home with us! Although Muddy Paws had named him “Bugsy”, we decided to rename him Dallas after my hometown and a football team that means a lot to both of us.
Aftermath
There is no shortage of difficult moments that we have had to endure with having a new puppy, however it has been completely worth it! I love having this precious boy in our lives, watching him grow, and sharing amazing adventures with him. His training and our experiences are for another post, but I want to emphasize how amazing, healthy, and obedient he is. Rescues get a bad reputation for being sick, aggressive, and disobedient, but this could not be farther from the truth. There are so many beautiful puppies that need rescuing every day, so I urge you to take a look at a few organizations if you are open to changing your life for the better!
