He wasn’t even on the list

This is actually the Saturday Notes from the Poodle Farm, with apologies for being late.

After a wonderful day of adoptions on Saturday and a very intense day drafting a whole new protocol for Addison’s Abbey, our small dog center, I came home last night and simply closed my eyes and didn’t open them again till Sunday morning.

I am so sorry, because I have a wonderful story to tell you. It’s about the accidental adoption of Jax.

I tell adopters to come with an open heart and an open mind.

For those of you in my age range, I’m sure you can remember going to the animal shelter and walking the halls, looking at each dog that was up for adoption. Or maybe you remember looking in the newspaper, seeing a little notice that said “Free Puppies,” and going to meet the dogs.

There were no internet listings because there was no internet.

You might see a one-by-one-inch grainy photograph in black and white in the paper that would take a microscope and laser vision to truly make anything out of. You might get the sex of the dog and possibly even a color, but that wasn’t guaranteed.

You simply knew there was a dog.

And you wanted one.

You would sort the rest out when you got there. Your questions would not be answered until you walked in and met the dog. You see, there was no other way to do it.

Go. Look. Meet. Decide.

There was no marketing. There were no fancy photographs—and I don’t know if you’ve seen dog profile photographs recently, but we are pretty darn good photographers. These things come close to professional.

There were no videos so you could see the animal in action. There were no disclaimers. No “good with kids, good with cats, sheds, doesn’t shed, knows their name,” etc. on that little bit of newspaper ad.

You figured out the age of that dog by looking at their teeth and their eyes and noting their behavior when you got there.

They were definitely simpler times.

Technology has changed all that. And while I appreciate the technology, and we certainly use the technology, the technology takes a lot of work.

Now, the other side of that matching coin is that today we expect you to tell us at least one dog you would like to meet before we set up an appointment. You can’t just say, “Show me all the Poodles.” You have to be more specific.

And sometimes I think we’ve lost something in having to be that specific.

It is what it is, and we’re not going back to those days. But I still smile when an adopter walks in with an open mind and an open heart.

Because that’s when magic often happens.

And it happened Saturday for Brook and Tom from Woodruff, South Carolina.

Brooke and Tom got me as their matchmaker, and by a happy mistake, the dog they most wanted to meet, Mocha, was still in the bathtub.

So we had a chance to chat.

I learned a little more about them than you can ever find out on paper, and I asked if they would be willing to help me with something while we waited for Mocha.

They said of course.

We had just moved one of the little boys from one of our most recent hoarding cases into my office. We felt like he needed a little more socialization with people.

Boy, were we wrong.

I often tell people when they’re in my office that no experience is wasted. When adopters are willing to meet multiple dogs, we get to see how those dogs interact with different people. We get to see how they do with strangers, and I can often shape and mold who we show that dog to based on what I see happening right there in the room.

I asked Brook and Tom if they would mind meeting a little Poodle, even though I knew a Poodle was nowhere on their list.

They said sure. They’d be glad to.

Lia was sitting right next to Jax’s crate. She leaned down and opened the door.

And Jax came strutting out.

He pranced to the middle of the room, looked around, saw Brook and Tom, and announced:

“You’re the ones.”

Meanwhile, I watch Brooke and Tom looking at each other and smiling. The little confident Poodle mix was definitely not what they expected and yet everything they were hoping for. but there was still that concern because they had not even known any existed. Brook thought she remembered seeing him on the available list but wasn’t 100% sure

I had a staff meeting to get to, so I didn’t stay while they met the dog who actually was on their list, or the other dog we suggested once we had gotten to know them better. I know there was a lot of discussion. I know there was a lot of questions. I know Jax stayed with them the whole time.

At the end of the meet and greet, the file that was prepared was for Jax.

You see, the dogs do have a say in this.

The dogs have opinions.

And they can’t read internet listings. They can’t swipe left or swipe right on your profile.

They have to wait until they walk into the room.

They sniff.

They assess.

They make their decisions.

And the dogs are always right.

I am wishing nothing but the very best for our new family.

Happy tails, Brook, Tom and Jax. (note I don’t have a photograph because they did request no social media and we always honor that request).

It was also a day spent brainstorming with the team here at the Farm.

Our small dog center has absolutely exploded. It now takes two people to run it, simply because of the sheer number of animals coming in and the amount of time it takes to do all the things we need to do to get a dog ready for adoption.

There’s the medical evaluation.

There’s the temperament evaluation.

And then there’s the all-important marketing.

It all takes time.

Time that you need us to take so that you can make the right decision.

But our growth has also created some challenges and increased our dogs’ time in residence. We have the capacity, but we needed a better way to very quickly determine which dogs belong in which playgroups, which dogs belong in which yards, and—most importantly—why.

So Monday we’re kicking off a new color-code system to help us better identify what kind of living each dog in our small dog center needs, and where that dog can best get that kind of life while they’re with us.

Anytime you implement a new procedure, there are bugs.

Wish us luck as we work them out.

And tomorrow night, I’ll let you know how Day One went.

We had a total of nine adoptions this week. Nine great new families. I can’t wait to see how they do.

Good night from the Poodle Farm. 🌙🐩❤️