Panda Adopted!

We are pleased to announce that our loving little (big) furball has gone to her forever home!  We couldn't be happier with her new family and are thrilled that we were able to save this sweet pup from ending up in the shelter systems where she probably wouldn't have thrived long enough to find a great home.

After lots of interest and several disappointing applications, we received an application from Kim and were excited to see that both Kim and her husband are police officers who work opposite shifts, so Panda wouldn't be left alone.  Better still, Kim used to be part of the canine unit, so she has lots of experience with training and understanding dogs.  She's had two dog-partners while she's been with the force.  The first was injured on the job and was retired after he went blind from being kicked by a suspect.  And she recently had to put her second partner down after 9 years when he could no longer battle his cancer.  When Dave first spoke with her, she said she was too old to be jumping over fences and just wanted a dog to be her pet for once.

Kim came to visit Panda with her 25 year old daughter, Whitney, and they fell in love.  Panda was a little barky when they first came in the house, but she settled down and allowed the to love on her and play together.  Kim was so excited, that she wanted to come back the very next day with her husband, Tim, and 9 year old son, Tommy, so they could meet Panda.  When they arrived, Panda was a little more barky and slightly concerned about Tommy.  She wasn't aggressive toward him, but she barked when he made any sort of sudden movements and then she would shy away, back toward Dave.  Kim, Dave and I tried to coach Tommy on how to act around her, but like a typical kid, he grew impatient.  When the family left, we were unsure that they would want to pursue adopting Panda since there would be a lot of work for Kim training both Panda and Tommy.

Imagine our surprise when Kim called Dave and announced they were definitely interested in adopting Panda!  They were concerned that given the behavior during the meet and greet, we would think they weren't the right family.  On the contrary, we thought they'd be amazing given the high level of experience training dogs.  As Akitas are known to be dogs with a high alert level and incredibly loyal and protective of their people, a novice dog owner probably wouldn't be prepared to deal with her issues. 

The night before she left, we spent some quality time with Panda, taking pictures and generally playing.  I have to say, she's been so much fun because she loves to play with her toys and we haven't had a dog like that.  We made sure she had a chance to play more inside fetch before bed.

Yesterday Dave drove Panda to her new home in western Massachusetts where she'll be able to run free on 3 acres of land that abutts a conservation area. 

Kim told us that they've already determined that Tommy will be responsible for feeding Panda to help strengthen their bond.  They were well prepared with squeak toys for Panda, which she found right away.  And Panda will have a cousin to play with since Whitney has an Akita of her own, Axel, who comes over often.

With three pups saved and in great homes, we again have the warm fuzzies knowing that we helped them find the right home.