Taco Adopted!

This was a tough one for me.  Taco is such an awesome dog.  And I worked very hard asking Dave if we could keep him.  While I understand it would be unrealistic given Dave's job prospects I still didn't like it.  I also worked on my in-laws because they loved Taco and going to their house was literally like going to Grandma's with all the treats and related spoiling he got there.  Taco even came with us to Pittsburgh when my grandfather passed away and I'm pretty sure if my brother's girlfriend had come, Taco would be living in Chicago right now.

But alas, he was adopted in the traditional sense.

Taco probably got over two dozen applications and inquiries.  Some of them were great.  I had great phone calls with them, but there was some issue that made the situation just not right whether timing (one applicant was planning to be out of the country for a month this summer) or not everyone in the family on board (another applicant had just put down their family dog after battling cancer for 4 years and the husband wasn't ready to get a new dog yet).  Plus there were a lot of applications that just weren't right, such as the woman who balked at his adoption fee (even though it was less than the max that we state on the application) and the college girl who wanted a purse dog (which Taco doesn't like anyway--I tried).  We even had a meet and greet with one family which went really well except Dave and I could tell the father was not interested in Taco.  I wasn't surprised when I got an email the next day stating they were going to pursue a "slightly larger" dog.

But finally we got an application for a family with a little Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix and a cat that seemed just perfect.  And they lived in our town.

I'd called Jen and had a great conversation with her, reviewing her application and going through the process with her.  On Memorial Day, she brought her boyfriend Jose, her daughter Alyssa and Alyssa's boyfriend, Giovannie, to meet Taco.  Alyssa just graduated high school and her boyfriend works nights and serves as their dog walker and sitter during the day.  They all immediately fell in love. Jose, who is Mexican, was very excited to meet Taco.  Right away he called him Taquito, which is my nickname for Taco, and said, "Taco, you're so cool. You're Mexican and little, like me!"  (Jose is a pretty short guy--barely taller than my 5'5". )  It was a wonderful visit and made me feel really good that we could adopt Taco to a great family. 

Sparky doesn't like papparazzi

We set up a time to meet their dog Sparky and their cat, Fifi.  Sparky was very excited to meet Taco.  Maybe a little too much--he tried to hump Taco a few times.  But he learned to take Taco's hints and Taco wasn't mean about telling him to stop.  Sparky is a cutie and super soft. He's very timid though and pretty much let Taco be top dog.  They played and Taco was super excited about the huge basket of toys.  He remembered meeting everyone and pretty much only barked when Sparky got him roweled up.  He left the cat alone, which is what she prefers. Apparently she doesn't really interact with anyone.  Sparky is always trying to play with her and Fifi won't have that.  Hopefully Taco can help redirect Sparky's energy away from Fifi. 

Alyssa works at the local animal hospital and will be going to school in the fall to start a degree in veterinary science.  So when I called to do the reference check at the vet, they only had wonderful things to say about the family. This put my mind at ease, since I love Taco so much and really want to make sure he's with the best family possible. 

So last night, Dave picked me up from the train and we took Taco to his forever home.  He remembered having been there and walked in like he owned the place, going straight for the toys.  He was very happy and playful.  He and Sparky got along great (less humping attempts) and played well together.  They had a cute romping session, that I missed with the video, but I did capture the following:

I am so glad that we had the chance to have Taco in our lives and experience a small dog.  He has such a personality and made everyone he met happy.  Just thinking about him makes me smile.  We were very lucky and searched very hard for the perfect home and he definitely has that now.

Taco and his buddy Giovannie