Our Dog Adoption Story

Exciting news: We have a new member of our family!

Andrew and I recently adopted an adorable doodle we named Buster. He has now been in our household for a couple weeks and I wanted to share our experience of bringing him into our fold.

For a little while now, Andrew and I have discussed getting a dog. Due to Andrew’s allergies, we knew we’d be limited to hypoallergenic dogs and doodles have always been a breed we like. Add in last year’s wedding planning and being in Washington for the holidays, we decided to hold off even looking for a pet until after the new year. Logically, financially, and emotionally, that made the most sense.

Shortly after we got back home to San Diego, we saw a news story about a recent dog rescue operation. A San Diego-based dog rescue, The Animal Pad (TAP), had been informed about a dire situation in Baja. A woman was breeding doodles in horrible and abusive conditions. It was very clear that she viewed these dogs as a paycheck, and didn’t care about the well-being of the dogs. When TAP reached out to her, she initially said she’d work with them if she could give them her “weird” or “ugly” dogs, and if they didn’t refer to her as a puppy mill (which she most definitely was). After getting those dogs out, the rescue was told the woman was arrested and to come back quickly to save the rest of the dogs.

While over 100 dogs were rescued, unfortunately, many of the dogs had illnesses and viruses directly related to their living conditions. A large majority were incredibly scared and skittish, and some dogs did not end up making it.

Understandably so, Andrew and I were very moved by that story. Not only did we want to help, but it felt like a sign since it was a large doodle rescue. Maybe this was our chance to get the kind of dog we wanted, while also making a difference.

The day after we heard the news story, we went to a farmer’s market TAP had a booth at. We wanted to get more information on how to get involved and the next steps we could take. Chatting with the Adoption Director, we were told that a big mission for TAP was fostering to adopt, so those who would be approved to foster would hopefully then adopt the dogs. This would decrease the amount of transitions the dogs would have to go through and hopefully make them more comfortable.

Less than a week later, Andrew and I were approved to foster and the same day, attended a doggy open house at a nearby kennel. We showed up with open minds, excitement, and some nerves. The dogs we saw were very timid around people and kept a safe distance. We understood that they had been through a lot and needed to go at their own pace. As we sat there, a dog named Robert slowly approached me. He accepted head scratches before going over to Andrew, accepting the same.

We decided to take Robert home that night and commit to fostering him. We were given a week to try it out and see if this would be a forever thing. The rescue suspected he was around three-years-old and he was incredibly matted. While he was definitely nervous, he quickly became my shadow. It was clear he just wanted love and affection, having spent years without both.

The first few days were really hard. This was a completely new experience for us and in some ways, maybe we weren’t as prepared as we thought we were. Every day was an emotional roller coaster as Robert became more acclimated to his new space, and we became acclimated to having a dog to take care of.

We were so back and forth during a majority of the week. Towards the end, we started thinking that we could make Robert, now named Buster, a permanent part of our lives. We spent a lot of time thinking and talking about the responsibilities and if this was really what we wanted. This was not a decision we wanted to make impulsively or take it lightly.

In the end, we did decide to make Buster a member of our family and I’m very excited for what our future looks like. We have found out that he likes tennis balls and rotisserie chicken, and is slowly coming out of his shell. Whenever we go on walks, he wants to sniff everything and has recently been napping in his new dog bed. Once he fully recovers from his neutering procedure and gets his last vaccines, we’re looking forward to taking Buster on trips and little getaways.

I also want to take a moment to highlight The Animal Pad and all the amazing work they do. Especially with the doodle rescue, TAP tackled that mission with compassion and empathy, saving the lives of so many dogs. If you are able to, please consider donating to the rescue so they can continue giving dogs the care and attention they deserve.