Back in my days at county, I met a German Shepherd mix named Jackson. He was a senior at the shelter AND he was a longtimer and one of the nicest guys I met during my stay there.
I’ve heard my human say that seniors sometimes get overlooked at shelters because so many people that come to adopt want a puppy. I don’t understand that. I mean, puppies are fine and cute and all, but trust me… we can be A LOT to handle!
Jackson on the other hand was so mellow! He was 7 years old and had been brought into the shelter by his humans who had to move far away and unfortunately they couldn’t take Jackson with them. The poor guy was devastated.
Jackson had already been at the shelter for around 4 months when I got there. I asked him why he didn’t have a new family yet and he told me he didn’t know. It turned out, poor Jackson was so sad that all he did was lay in the back part of his kennel waiting for his family to pick him up. When people would come to see him, he didn’t notice because he was on guard for his family returning. What Jackson needed was to get away from the shelter and forget about his heartbreak.
That’s why Jackson was the first dog that I asked my human to help get out of the shelter. He took Jackson out as a day foster and brought him to an adoption event with the Who Saved Who Rescue at Steele Indian School Park. There was some sort of festival for dogs there and it was the perfect place for Jackson to shine! The nice ladies at Who Saved Who Rescue had brought a few dogs with them that were also looking for homes. There was even another dog from the shelter named Coconuts that was there with another day foster.
They had lots of stuff to do there, too! There were people selling clothes for dogs and food for dogs and beds for dogs. They had games, and an obstacle course, and even a dog kissing booth! My human took Jackson to explore all the different booths. Each one they went to, Jackson would gets pets and a treat! He had never had so many treats in one day in his life!
While my human was showing Jackson around, they met Cande and her Daughter and it was love at first sight! For Jackson I mean!!! Cande really wanted to take Jackson home with them right then and there, but…. they had another dog already and they didn’t know how he would react to Jackson going to live with him.
My human took Jackson over to Cande’s house for a meet & greet the next day with their 9 year old Lab named Charles. He turned out to be super happy that Jackson was there… and the rest is history. Every week, my human gets a text from Cande updating us on Jackson’s progress and how happy he is and how happy he’s made their family.
If you or anyone you know is interested in meeting one of the 300+ shelter dogs to see if they could be your new best friend, stop by the MCAC East Shelter in Mesa. It’s located at 2630 W Rio Salado Pkwy, Mesa, AZ 85201 just off the 101 or you can always send a message to my human and I’m sure he’ll be happy to recommend some of the pups he’s taken out and others that are in foster care.
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