Pippi was picked up off the streets by Animal Services and brought to the Town Lake Animal Center in May. She arrived terrified and confused. Volunteers quickly noticed her, and started spending extra time to help her learn that people are good. She made progress - eventually walking on her own on a leash and allowing others to pet her. But that only lasted so long. Shelter life was particularly hard on her, and Pippi started to shut down. She was lethargic, no longer interested in food, and just plain depressed.
One particular volunteer took a special interest in her, and started to take her home in the evenings so that she could have a break. As luck would have it, someone else noticed Pippi too and adopted her that weekend. Unfortunately, there was an altercation with the family cat, and Pippi was promptly returned. Upon hearing that Pippi was now on the “at-risk” list, the same volunteer decided to officially foster Pippi until the right home came along.
During her foster time, Pippi befriended her foster cat siblings, went on many adventures, and slowly started to build her confidence back. She ate more, put on weight, and really came out of her shell. It was wonderful. In a home, Pippi was calm, house trained and loved to cuddle more than anything else. Other than a little separation anxiety, she really is the perfect pet!
Over the course of a few weeks, several potential adopters expressed interest in Pippi, and even took her home for the weekend. Things just didn’t work out though. But the foster mom wasn’t willing to give up. She made a video of Pippi, and asked for help from everyone she knew to spread the word about this great dog.
Thanks to the help of the most awesome foster coordinator around, Pippi was also given that chance to make her TV debut on KVUE.
That Saturday morning, as Pippi was the picture of perfect behavior, a rather special couple just happened to be watching. They had previously owned a boxer mix, and had recently thought about getting a new one. They saw her sweet face on TV, and fell in love. They were already waiting at the shelter to meet her when Pippi arrived. When all 3 first met, it was instant love at first sight!
Pippi is often shy when first meeting people, and usually holds her head down. That was not the case with this sweet couple. There were exuberant tail wags and lots of face kissing. It’s as if Pippi just knew that these were the people for her. After talking more with them and filling the couple in on her long history, the foster mom decided it was a perfect match!
Pippi rode off with her new family, riding front and center between them, with a big smile on her face. Her new parents have already sent several updates and Pippi is just thriving. Her parents work from home, so she gets lots of time and attention. She gets to ride on errands with them, has met the neighbors, and even survived her first couple of hours alone with nary an accident in the house. She spends her evenings cuddled on her dad’s lap, watching TV. A little bit of patience went a long way, and Pippi found her happy ending!
PIPPI WITH HER NEW FAMILY!
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