What A Difference A Day Makes.

Could you watch this all day? We could.

You might be asking what this is. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the face of pure, adulterated joy. Damp joy. Soaking wet joy. Exhausted joy. But joy none-the-less.

What was the cause of this joy? A hose. Some squirrels. A hike. A car ride. Hours and hours of uninterrupted people time. For a few hours Layla got to have a normal life. A few hours of a break in being in transition. A few hours of just being a dog out and about in the world. She's not the only one. 

This is how I roll in the real world, peeps.

Frosty went on a seven mile hike, ate some french fries and got some much needed car love. 

What are you guys thinking for lunch - thai? burgers?

Skilo also enjoyed some hiking and a dinner out in Willow Glen.

And the best part? The people time.

They're ALL MINE. For the whole day!

The snuggles.

I took the hooman for a hike and got to keep her for HOURS!

And the normalcy...

Just takin' a car ride with an inflatable dinosaur behind me. Like good dogs do.  

Plus it doesn't hurt that these adoptable muffins were seen out and about rockin' their adopt me vests and meeting new folks outside the context of a shelter. 

#truefact Layla. You are a wish come true. 

Wait, you say, back up. What is going on here? If Layla, Frosty and Skilo* weren't adopted then how were they out in the universe going on more dates than Match.com?

What - you didn't know I had a beach look, too?

It all started with Frosty. Who is awesome and still looking for a home. As a big bubba, it's taking him longer to find someone than it does for a lot of our little muffins. The housing market is tight. A lot of rentals don't accept big dogs, particularly blockheads. So even though he's perfect he's been chilling out with us since July. During which time we've done a lot to market him..

I'm Frosty Freeze. Get it? Frosty Freeze. HA!

And our behavior team has been awesome about making sure he gets his ya-ya's out but still - since JULY. While we are an amazingly cool, very different type of shelter....

Case in point: Staff Vet Dr. B examining a shy dog outside to make him more comfy and getting a sinus rinse in the bargain.

It's still a long time to be hanging out in a shelter. It can get depressing. And the only people that see you are people who are coming into the shelter. So we had a great idea - what if we asked folks to give Frosty a day out? Asked them to take him out for a hike, give him a change of scenery, a car ride, something? So we put the ask out on Facebook thinking we'd get one or two folks and...

Finish the sentence. The suspense is killing me.

And people are amazing. People are awesome. People are wonderful.

We had dozens of folks step up and ask to take him out for the day. So many folks that Frosty booked up and some of our other big kids got to share the love, too. 

Lovelovelovelovelove.

Such began Doggy Day Out. A program where folks can help our big kids get a little bit of extra exercise, some extra lovin', a chance to chase the hose or a squirrel in the backyard and extra exposure to the folks they meet along the way. It also gives us more info about the dogs to tell potential adopters. For instance we now know that:

• Frosty wants to sit in your lap when you drive.
• Skilo is a perfect dinner partner - he just chills out under the table while you eat. Even if you're eating cheeseburgers and occasionally giving him a bit. 
• Layla's heaven is a backyard with a hose and a healthy squirrel population. 

These little things help make the dogs more real to folks who only see them in the context of the shelter.

So to all of our Doggy Day Out folks who have been taking these guys out for dates, YOU RULE.

To our Behavior Department who dealt with an unexpected flood of eager doggy daters - you are amazing. 

Yes, Suarez. We're looking at you. And your awesome Christmas sweater.

And to those of you who would like to be doggy daters, shoot an email to laura.birdsall@hssv.org.

And if you're interested in Frosty (and who wouldn't be).

I am an amazing kisser. 

He's digging his doggy dates but he'd put his full dance card aside in a heartbeat for a chance at a forever home. So spread the word. 

Meanwhile we leave you with the full video of Layla Vs. Hose as it's guaranteed to make your day. 

*Skilo actually got adopted while this blog was being written. See earlier note re: people are awesome.