We're happy to announce that after 3 meet and greets, and a very carefully managed sleepover, Molly (aka Mochi) is adopted!

𝗔 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁
Molly is a sweet puppy, but she’s anxious and very excitable around other dogs. We think she wasn’t socialized as a puppy, or something bad happened to her before we got her. We don’t know her backstory. We do know she gets out of control when other dogs are around.

Not all adoptions go smoothly from the start. Part of our process is a meet and greet, where we introduce the new dog to other members of the family, including other resident pets. Molly was a very anxious puppy who got nervous and quickly overwhelmed in new situations, and her first meet and greet was a disaster.

When she met Jeannie, Jim and their dog Rowdy, Molly barked and barked. We took them for a walk, went through our introduction process, and she eventually calmed down for a few minutes. Then she started barking all over again. Rowdy was excited and wanted to play, so he barked back, and we started all over again.

We quickly realized Molly wasn’t ready to start a sleepover, so we regrouped and planned a follow up session. The next introduction went better, but both dogs were still way too excited. We spent more time inside and in the backyard, with the dogs off leash but separated. Rowdy settled down, but Molly was still too out of control, and we didn’t want them to get off to a bad start.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲'𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺
On the third introduction, Molly was less anxious. We think the repeated introduction helped ease her anxiety, and we decided to start a carefully managed sleepover.

Thankfully, her foster Liz was amazing, and she was willing to make repeated trips down for meet and greets. Equally important, Jeannie and Jim listened to everything we asked them to do. They kept the dogs separated by a tall baby gate, screwed into the door jam so neither dog could push it over. They crated Molly and Rowdy side by side when no one was home, and they took them for walks together. They even kept them both on leash in the living room watching tv.

As Molly realized this was a good thing, and both dogs got acclimated to one another, they quickly became best friends. Now Molly and Rowdy are inseparable. They don't want to just be near each other... they have to be touching each other.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
When one or both dogs is reactive, over-excited or scared, the slow introduction gives them a chance to get comfortable with each other. It’s hard to recover from a bad introduction, and the slow and steady approach has always worked for us. It’s extra work and requires more patience, but giving the dogs time to get comfortable and acclimated is huge.

We’ve been in shelters when someone returns a dog they just adopted because “their dog doesn’t like them.” We know they didn’t give them a chance. That’s not uncommon. A slow introduction gives everyone a chance to adjust to the new normal. After a very rocky start, Molly and Rowdy are now best friends, and Molly is happily adopted!