In June of this year, Jones had the biggest few weeks of his life.
This handsome lovable Pit Bull mix waited in Alabama for a forever home since puppyhood, living in the shelter for three months and then foster for another five. Despite his excellent care once in foster, and his photos and promotion from his temporary foster mom Milla of @realhappydogs, he still received no adoption interest. It was beyond belief that a wonderful family dog, who could do well in nearly any home, was stuck in foster care.
When Foster Dogs Inc learned of Jones’ story, we thought he’d be adopted in a second. But months later, we decided to act and offer him a life-changing opportunity to find a home up in the NY-area, where dogs have been getting adopted at light-speed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jones’ dedicated foster family in Alabama offered to drive him north. A fundraiser organized by Real Happy Dogs turned that offer into a ticket to ride and Jones received interest from adopters before he even arrived! He found a great forever family, but we’ll let his NY foster mom Alex tell the full story. From a feature on @adoptabledogsofnyc, by Alexandra Lloyd.
Jonesy has been adopted and I want to share his very cool story with you, starting with his life in Alabama, and ending in doggie paradise in New Jersey! This was truly a team effort between @wiregrassanimalgroup, @realhappydogs, @fosterdogs, @merilloyd and myself [@adoptabledogsofnyc], and I’m so proud to have been a part of it!
Jones was pulled by @wiregrassanimalgroup from a shelter in Alabama as a younger pup. After his stay at the shelter, he spent months in foster care in an *amazing* foster home down in Alabama. He was around adults and children, and *surrounded* by dogs, which is where he gets his total love for other canine friends from. But despite being sweet as can be and truly amazing with other dogs, he received no local adoption interest.
Enter my friend, Milla, aka @realhappydogs. Milla had been helping @wiregrassanimalgroup with photography as well as fostering her family's ultimate foster fail, Pattycake. Pattycake and Jones spent time together in their original foster home before Milla entered the picture, so after Pattycake had become an official part of the family, Jones headed over to Milla's house for a sleepover to gain some extra exposure. No surprise here - Jones' sweet personality spoke for itself through Milla's videos of Pattycake & Jones playing in the backyard and sweetly snuggling with Milla's young daughter. After a feature on @fosterdogs Friday Night Foster Club, Jones had received a flurry of interested messages. All were up north and the COVID-19 pandemic had only just begun...
A few weeks, maybe even 2ish months later, I woke up to a text from Milla, that began with "I have some very exciting news and am interested in your thoughts...". Long story short, Jonesy needed a New York foster so I immediately said yes without even asking my sister/roommate, sorry @merilloyd! Having large-dog experience and living in a somewhat quieter part of Manhattan (with access to lots of grass), I seemed to be a good match. I was currently fostering Snowball, but luckily the timing worked out perfectly. Just as Snowball left with her new parents, Jones' amazing, dedicated foster mama from Alabama started the drive up to NYC!
On June 4th, Keri and I drove over the river into New Jersey to pick up Jones! He said goodbye to his amazing foster family and surprisingly jumped in my car without hesitation. Jones spent most of the drive looking out the window, probably thinking "umm where the F am I going and who are these chicks?". Once we arrived, he was reluctant to get out of the car, and when he did, he was understandably nervous around all of the sounds and sights. We went upstairs to give him time to snooze after his big trip. As you may have seen through my Instagram stories, in no time he made the couch corner his cozy spot.
My typical routine with a new foster is a whole lot of nothing: couch snoozing, park sniffing and bench chillin’ to let NYC move around us. Jones was a unique foster for me due to the fact that we knew *so much* about him. Although he pretty quickly overcame his visible fear of NYC, he bonded with Keri and I quickly, and was nervous when new people were introduced into the equation. After a little incident with my mom where Jones showed us that the change really was a lot for him, @realhappydogs, @calmenergydog and @fosterdogs helped me to reframe how I thought about Jones' routine.
This experience was an eye opening reminder that my "regular" routine doesn't work for every dog, and that it's important to use the information we *do* know to our advantage. For example, we knew that Jones came from an area filled with grass and other dogs. I rarely introduce fosters to other dogs because a) they aren't with me for long b) I'm often unaware of their history with other dogs and c) I want to stay on the safe side while they decompress after coming out of the shelter. But Jones wasn't decompressing from time in a shelter. He was getting used to new people in a new environment; with a push in the right direction, we realized I could bring some of Alabama to him by safely introducing him to other dogs and getting him back into nature. I'm so grateful to have had this learning experience!
The first morning after we had a new plan for our boy, I took Jones on a long walk through Central Park. Once we got beyond the busier action of CPW, it was clear how much he enjoyed interacting with other dogs and being in nature during our wander through The Ramble. I'm sure it was a combination of getting used to NYC and our adventure, but this is the point in his stay where I felt like we turned a corner. He was becoming more playful, excitable and seemed to generally be able to relax more easily. He no longer needed to be next to us at all times and would happily snooze in his spot on the couch regardless of what room Keri and I were in (unless we were cooking, then he was curious).
After that trip to Central Park, I sent Milla (@realhappydogs) a full report along with videos and photos from our outing. Milla responded by gushing over how cute he looked in front of some of New York's most iconic views, and asked if she had updated me on his interested adopters yet. She hadn't, so she began to excitedly tell me a little bit about them to see how I thought Jones would do in that environment. I learned that they had big dog experience, a backyard and a resident dog which sounded great. But without actually meeting them I tried not to picture who I ultimately hoped he would go home with. I have had single people, couples, older and younger adopters, first time pet owners, experienced adopters, adopters inside the city and out of it, etc. adopt my fosters and I love all of them.
I'm a big believer in an open adoption process, meaning organizations remove barriers to adoption in order to create a welcoming and non-judgmental experience for the public (a post for another day). But to summarize, I actively try to avoid picturing where my fosters will end up and put my trust in the application processes of the organizations that I work with. So I nervously & excitedly waited until our meet & greet!
I woke up the morning of our "meet & greet" excited to meet Jones' prospective adopters, but also nervous. Jones had received a lot of interest from his presence on Instagram, and although he is absolutely amazing, no living being is perfect. When it comes to my fosters, I am always a little nervous that as humans we will forget this when forming our expectations of dogs we are looking to adopt (which is why I try so hard to show the challenges as well as the triumphs while fostering).
As we walked up, Jones and Bea were the first to interact. He was excited to see another doggie friend, but was a total gentleman while meeting Bea. After a few sniffs, off we went through the park. Within a few minutes of meeting Adam & Ivy I felt completely at ease and giddy that Jones would potentially be going home with them! They told me all about their lifestyle, where they live, and their 2 dogs who they had recently lost (both were pitties). They had the calmest energy about them while being incredibly warm and welcoming at the same time. They were exactly what Jones needed & were willing to work to set him up for success. BUT my opinion wasn't why we were there, this was Jones' day! I asked if they wanted to sit to interact a little more with Jones, and within seconds Jones was giving Adam his signature hug and was practically in his lap. He isn’t always so comfortable with new people, so it was clear that everyone had made up their minds and Jones would be an official part of the family. After taking their first family photo, we headed back and said goodbye for now. Bea & Jones even ended the best meet & greet with a lil play bow as if to say "see ya later"!
In preparation for Jones' big move, Adam and Ivy sent us home with a blanket that smelled like his new home, and a new owl toy (which Jones obviously loved). I added his new blankey to his crate and *shockingly* he put himself in there for a nap. He had never done this before, so this was the cherry on top of an already amazing day. Since Ivy & Adam were moving houses, Jones stayed with us until they were all settled in. A few Saturdays ago, on the eve of his big adoption day, we went out for our last sunset stroll.
On Sunday I woke up incredibly excited, thinking “today is the day”!!! Jones obviously had no idea anything new was happening. Although I absolutely love this handsome boy, I was ready for him to begin his life with Bea and his parents, and for him to get settled into his new routine. The handoff was easy and no tears were shed! Jones slightly reluctantly hopped into their car, but within minutes of pulling away Ivy had sent me a photo of Adam feeding him treats, so all was well. Over the next few days, Milla & I received videos of Jones and Bea romping and sniffing around their new backyard, and photos of them snoozing side by side in their respective dog beds. Ivy and Adam fell even more in love very quickly, and just like that our boy was home!
You can follow Jones’ adventures via his new account @thepinebarrenpups. He is doing great, and I can’t wait to see all of the adventures he goes on with his new family. Thank you for @wiregrassanimalgroup for giving Jones his new life, @realhappydogs & @fosterdogs for making this happen and for including me, and @thepinebarrenpups for giving Jones the happy ending he so deserves!
Happy Tails, Jonesy!
Photos and article by Alexandra Lloyd @adoptabledogsofnyc
Introduction by Sarah Brasky and Janet Elsbach of Foster Dogs Inc
