Another Meet & Greet

Mia's meet and greet was on Saturday and she was awesome.  While she was a bit jumpy in the beginning, she really just wanted to give the family (mom, dad, son and two daughters) kisses and get pet on.  The family was great and listened intently to Dave and I as we gave them suggestions to interact with her and keep her from getting too rambunctious. 

The family is looking to adopt their first dog and while they've watched friends' dogs in the past, they really don't know a lot about owning and training a dog.  They stayed for about an hour, asked really great questions (many of which came from the kids) and took Mia on a walk outside.  The oldest daughter, 14, was a little afraid of Mia's jumping, but still liked her a lot and even took the lead to walk Mia for part of our time outside.  The youngest daughter, 8, was quite precocious asking a ton of silly questions among very good questions and had no fear to let Mia eat a treat from her hand.  The son, 12, was very interested in getting Mia to run through her commands and was equally attentive when Dave and I explained the techniques we use.  He was eventually able to follow them and get Mia to listen to him once or twice.

It was a lot of excitement for Mia and she was distracted by the shear number of people and the level of activity and attention she was getting, but she had a very good showing and I think represented well the kind of pet she would make--loving and energetic but overall just wanting to please her people.

The family wanted to talk it over and discuss if Mia would be a good match for them.  They were concerned about making sure they and Mia got proper training to keep her a good girl instead of going wild.  We heard from them later that evening, and unfortunately they decided she wasn't the right dog for them.  Based on their questions and the way they listened to Dave and I, we thought they'd be a good match for Mia but they were concerned that as first time dog owners, they wouldn't have the skills she needs.  It's a good concern and I'm far happier knowing a family was cautious and decided against her than one that rushed to adopt and it have it not work out (again).

So Mia is still with us and hopefully another application will come in soon and prove an even better home for her.  While Dave and I are at work, Mia's new friend Paul comes over to walk her and play with her (and give her a peanut butter kong, which is probably her favorite part), so we still have a happy pup when we come home.  And we're super proud of her because she's had free reign of the kitchen, dining room and office (instead of being confined to her crate) and we haven't had any issues.  The right family is out there for her; we just have to find them.