4 December 2013

Too Scared for Adoptions, Pippi’s Future Looked Bleak

On November 27, I shared Pippi, an adorable little Dachshund, “too scared for adoptions” at the Arlington, Texas animal shelter, and he was on the kill list for 2pm that day. As much as I DISLIKE posting pets with only a few hours left to live, I believe it is the moral and compassionate thing to do because animals deserve every possible chance to be saved. Even if it makes us sad, mad, or uncomfortable; they deserve a chance! We are truly their only hope – and voice to the outside world. Sharing their photos gives them the exposure they need to be adopted or rescued.

As luck would have it, I posted Pippi on a ‘scheduled post’ because of my own deadlines, and did not immediately realize that his photo failed to publish (UGH!). I caught the error and added it in Comments at 7:29am, but several people missed my photo post and kept asking for photos (sigh, one of the challenges we face in social media). For these pets, every minute counts and my post created confusion for some. Others, shared, prayed, and hoped for the best. Fortunately …

 Pippi Has a Spark of Hope …

Pippi’s post received 301 shares, 186 likes, 55 comments, and 27, 552 post views! And, on November 27 at 11:56am Shannon posted “I just emailed the shelter. I am waiting to hear back.”

And the breath-taking wait really began. People posted asking if he was saved and for an update … especially after the 2:00pm deadline had passed. WAS HE SAVED?!

And at 5:56pm, Shannon posted a photo of him and wrote “He was! Here is his pic. He is doing so much better. He adores my daughter and gets along with my dogs! He quit shaking on the way home from the shelter. He is still very shy. But, I see potential. My husband likes him and my 8 year old little girl is babying him.”

Shannon tells their pet adoption story …

“Last Wednesday morning 11/27 I saw the post about Pippi. He was going to be euthanized if he wasn’t tagged by 2:00 pm because he was “too fearful.” My daughter and I went to see him. I felt so bad for him. He was trembling and whimpering. He wouldn’t even take treats. I knew I had to save him. On the way home I let him sit “shotgun” and we kept talking to him. He quit trembling. Once we got home, he was very curious. He checked the house and backyard out. He got along with our 2 dogs and 2 cats right away. He has even figured out the doggie door. He is a little on the thin side so we are gonna have to fatten him up some. He has been sleeping with my daughter and curls up to her on the couch. He loves us all. But, she is definitely his favorite.”

And just like that, another homeless pet is saved, because …

1. a shelter works with volunteers allowing them to take photos, post on social media, and publish a kill list (thank you Arlington, Texas!),
2. someone shared on the Pawsitively Texas page, and when I shared, you shared too – you didn’t look away because there wasn’t much time left! And some prayed for an adopter to save him.

Pippi, now named Max, was in the Arlington shelter; his new family lives in Benbrook which is about 30 minutes away, SW of Fort Worth. They never would have known about Max without the gift we have in social media and the compassionate people willing to share, even when there are only a few hours left! I truly believe there is a home for all shelter pets; we just need the time and resources to tell their story for exposure!

Happy new life Max! May you and your new family be blessed with many wonderful years of joy and blessings!

THANK YOU to everyone who joins me in making beautiful pet adoption stories possible on the Pawsitively Texas Facebook page! And thank you to Shannon for sharing your pet adoption story with us!

If you have a story of animal rescue or adoption to share, please click here to message me via the story submission form

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