Happy Tails: Must Love Dogs

By Jamie Emming, Satellite Adoption Manager

When you are in a relationship, inevitably someone will ask how you met. Luckily for me and countless others, “online” is now an acceptable answer. At HSSV, Internet love connections are made every day. That’s how Peanut fell in love with Leroy, one of our shelter guests.

We’d been searching for a match for Leroy for a couple of weeks when we received a dog survey in our inbox from an interested suitor. Leroy’s admirer only had eyes for him and wanted to make her feelings clear. She talked about her past relationships with other dogs, and how life would be for Leroy if he came to live with her and her human companion, Florence. Peanut, a 5-year-old SSF (single spayed female) Chihuahua mix wanted to meet F2F (face-to-face). The next morning, Florence drove Peanut the 90 minutes from Patterson to Milpitas so that she could meet Leroy.

It wasn’t exactly love at first sight. Leroy, excited to meet a new friend, was a little too forward for Peanut’s tastes. Luckily, our staff was there to help Leroy take things slow and calm Peanut’s first-date jitters. Less than 24 hours after her initial inquiry, Peanut and Leroy buckled into doggie car seats to make the long trip back home.

Florence wrote us a week later to let us know that “Leroy turned out to be the best dog for us.” Every day Peanut and Leroy grow closer and she is picking up the tricks he’s learned during his bachelor period. Our matchmaker’s success rate is also partly due to our compatibility counseling for the humans. Through her adoption experience at HSSV, Florence tells us, “I learned so much about dogs and even learned things about my dog Peanut.” The canine couple is sharing a set of twin beds and is working on plans for Peanut’s upcoming birthday bash with the neighborhood dogs.

Join us next week for Pig Palooza, the story of 21 guinea pigs brought to HSSV!