This was not specifically an adoption drive; it was a Christmas pet bazaar. Stray Tales Society, a group that makes feeder boxes for strays, allowed me and a couple others to bring dogs for adoption to their fundraising booth.
I bought Ria her own wagon; the one she was in at her first adoption drive was MDDB’s. Since she liked it so much, I thought she should have one, and she was happy to sit in it and enjoy treats. She was more relaxed about letting other people pet her this time.
There were booths selling pet clothing, all kinds of treats, homecooked pet food, and pet portrait packages. The photographer was kind enough to take a few photos of the rescue dogs for free! Ria didn’t want me to go too far away, but when I stood right behind the camera she gave me her gorgeous smile.
It was also nice to learn that one of the pet food vendors has a tripawd she adopted, also a victim of abuse like Ria. No one was interested in adopting that day, though. Most of the visitors came with their pampered little purebreds – Pomeranians, poodles, Shih-Tzus, Shiba Inus. People like that tend to look down on rescue dogs.
Of the five dogs I have with me now, four are brown “Malaysian mixes” or pariah dogs. Dogs like that can be found as strays everywhere, and many people see them as street dogs, not worth being pets, possibly useful as guard dogs. They come in all colors, but the most common are brown with pointy ears. If they have floppy ears, they have a better chance at getting adopted. I think pointy ears are just as cute! These are wonderful dogs – gentle, loyal, affectionate, easily-trained, few health issues since they’re bred through natural selection. I just wish more people would see them that way.
When posting for adoption, it’s helpful to be able to say they’re mixed with some known breed if they look a bit like something. For instance, I said one black and tan dog was a Doberman mix and she got adopted by someone who always wanted a Doberman but wanted to adopt not buy. I use a dog identifier app to get ideas, but it just says Ria is a Carolina dog, which is the same thing it says about my other dogs (except for Nymeria, the Norwegian buhund). Carolina dogs are descended from primitive Asian dogs and look similar, so it doesn’t sound like an exciting breed.
On the other hand, people who are looking for certain breeds might not be the right ones anyway. Ria deserves someone who will love her for what she is, beautiful, brave, cheerful, and loving.
Oh I so agree! The people who only think dogs are lawn ornaments or clothing accessories do not deserve an incredible dog like Ria!
How neat you met another Tripawd family! If it would help you get her adopted, send me your mailing address and we’ll get her a complimentary Ambassador Kit! She will look like a QUEEN in a pink Tripawds bandanna!