Maximo stole our hearts during Week 6 and we just knew it was only a matter of time before some lucky soul realized how amazing he is and scooped him up.

After we heard Lizette went home, we took the opportunity to use Sunday to blast a couple of adorable pictures of Maximo across our social media platforms. People seem to LOVE posts on Maximo, he is just such a good looking pup, and it looks like he’s always smiling.  There were comments and shares for him immediately and it felt like the momentum from Lizette’s success story had transferred right on over to Maximo.

Then, late Sunday afternoon, something wonderful happened. I received a text from one of the volunteers letting me know she had just heard that Maximo was adopted. On Sunday, it was his turn.

So here we are, about to start Week 9 of Project Pal…feeling so grateful for the growing support and for the people who share our Pals each week. Maximo & Lizette being adopted this past weekend are true testaments to the power of networking shelter dogs to our community.

On Friday, our Project Pal group was texting back and forth regarding Lizette.  It seemed like we had so much momentum going on her, and since we dedicated a second week to promoting her, we really wanted to translate that momentum into her finding her a forever home.

Multiple organizations were posting about Lizette, people were commenting on her posts, some followers were even sending messages to offer to buy her things, or even to give financial support to keep her promotion going another week. We were so excited when we received a message from one of the MCACC volunteers who took Lizette under her wing the past 8 months….Lizette had been chosen as Pet of the Week and was going to be on 12 news on Saturday morning! (Check out the photos of her hamming it up. She really worked the camera).  So, we posted like crazy all of the exciting stuff that was going on and prayed that her forever family was out there and seeing our posts.

On Saturday afternoon, I got a call from the special volunteer (mentioned above).  Lizette had found her family.  They had seen her on Facebook and drove all the way up from FLORENCE to get her.  The volunteer fell in love with the family and knew they were the perfect fit for Lizette. There were tears of joy shed (a lot of them, by a lot of people) as the sweet long-timer headed out of the shelter forever. It was a match made in heaven. And after 8 months of shelter life, Lizette finally went home.

Today, the four of us have decided that it is Lizette’s turn to go home. And here’s why…

Lizette is not about to let you feel bad for her because of her lengthy stay at MCACC’s East Valley Shelter. Nope. Not happening. Even though she has been there since August, (ugh. someone go adopt her….NOW) Lizette chooses to celebrate the small victories she gets….like day foster outings.  I think we should all take a page out of Lizette’s playbook when it comes to appreciating the simple things in life.

Sweet Lizette has been on many day foster outings and just recently it was confirmed (again) that you can’t bring her down.  She has maintained a sweet and playful demeanor despite all of the humans who have passed her up. Lizette has a much better attitude than me, I get rejected once and I’m probably going to be in bed binge watching RHOBH for a few days to recover. Here’s the deal you guys, Lizette is super smart and is responsive and eager to learn from her caretakers.  She is treat-motivated ditto when it comes to training and keeping her focused. Lizette already knows “sit” and “lay down” that’s literally the full extent of my dog’s trick repertoire and he went to three levels of obedience training. 

While she was cruising around Tempe Town Lake we were told this adorable girl was eager to give a friendly greeting to fellow walkers, both human & K9. She didn’t bark or jump. I know a few dogs who could take a few leash-manner lessons from Lizette cough Tristan’s dog, Reagan cough cough. Since Lizette has been in the shelter for so long, she has a lot of pent up energy. It’s her turn to go home and have some room to roam around to burn that energy off. Her favorite day foster told us that once she is away from the kennel she is very calm.

This perfect pup even puts up with the inconvenience of bath time for the mere fact that she enjoys the attention of being toweled off. If that doesn’t warm your heart, you’re an ice queen/king I don’t know what will.

Bottom line: Lizette just wants to be loved. She’s not asking for the biggest/fanciest home ever although I’m sure she wouldn’t complain if that’s what she got 😉 . She merely wants a home and family to love. Lizette is going to need some time to decompress and get acclimated to life outside of the shelter, so we are hoping she can be an only fur-child for a bit.

SO, let’s all put forth the slightest effort and share Lizette to our friends and family. It only takes ONE person to change Lizette’s life forever.

 

 

 

 

It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to our Week 6 Project Pal, Maximo.  When we stumbled upon Maximo, it was truly love at first sight.

For all of my busy, routine-loving friends out there, Maximo is for you. This guy doesn’t ask for much, he’s not complicated, and he appreciates all that is given to him. Those qualities right there = enough to send me to the shelter to pick him up. But, alas, my fiance and his rule about needing a bigger house & bed before I bring more dogs home is really getting in the way starting my cash envelope now for more dogs…any fellow Dave Ramsey followers out there?. Because Maximo loves other dogs, he would thrive in an environment where he has an older, confident dog to show him wussup and a daily routine that he can follow.

As if I needed another reason to head to MCACC to scoop Maximo up, there are a TON more. This guy is so easy-going, he’s just along for the ride.  On a recent “Day Foster Outing” it was noted that the foster took him to Papago Park  for a hike. Apparently, Maximo was excited at first, and then once he got into the hike he was kind of over it can’t say we blame you, bud, I’m always over exercising before I begin. However, any time a social opportunity presented itself, Maximo pulled it together greeting passing hikers happily, letting kids pet him, and giving his fellow K9 hikers a cheerful moment as they whisked by him. Maximo definitely passed his Miss Manners class with flying colors.

Here’s the deal, Maximo is down for a daily a walk or two, but he’s not chomping at the bit to go for a 3-mile run when you walk in the door from work. He prefers a car ride over a hike who wouldn’t? and he literally gives hugs.  This affectionate boy is looking for someone to boost his confidence by bringing him home and providing him with some structure.  Most importantly, a note from Maximo’s day foster….he thoroughly enjoys sharing chicken nuggets.  I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for an excuse to get a 10-piece…..

Maximo is in kennel #69 (which can always change). ID# is A3427367 at the East Valley Animal Care Center in Mesa located at 2630 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Mesa, AZ 85201 (Loop 101/Rio Salado Pkwy)

I’m going to let you in on a secret to surviving the work day–you just need to spend 15-20 minutes per day browsing “adoptable dogs” on various rescue sites. Suddenly, you will find yourself with a renewed sense of motivation to work hard and become a millionaire billionaire. That way, you can adopt every homeless dog and literally employ thousands of people to love each dog, pay people to let the dogs snuggle in bed with them, and give them the best life ever. I know, it’s crazy that we all share the same dream of what we would do if we became billionaires.

The above scenario (browsing “adoptable dogs” during work) is how I stumbled across Marnie’s sweet face a few months ago. It was love at first site.  I actually thought I might be able to convince my fiance that we should add her to our family but he said we need a bigger house and bed because we are currently at capacity. ANYWAYS, when my turn came around to pick our week 5 Project Pal, I remembered Marnie’s face and was SO sad to see that she is still listed as available and searching for her forever family.

The silver lining is she is with a wonderful lady, Denise with AZ Small Dog Rescue, who is taking care of Marnie while she waits for her turn to stake claim to a person/family for life. Denise tells us that Marnie is a GREAT dog.  She loves her person with every fiber of her being (monogamist). She is a complete love bug and a superb snuggler which as you will recall from a previous post is my dream come true holding your 50 lb dog down to snuggle him just isn’t the same as voluntary snuggling. Marnie literally prefers to sleep under the covers, as close to you as possible…..COME ON you guys, does it get any better? NO. If I’m lucky my dog will maybe put his paw on my leg….maybe.

Marnie is always up for a car ride, can you say co-pilot? Everyone needs a Pal to country cruise with and Marnie won’t even complain about your song choice, which is a highly underrated quality. This precious pup also loves walks and does great at dog parks. If you are single then just as an FYI I literally have friends who have met their soulmates (human) at dog parks. And, Marnie won’t mind being your winggirl.

Here’s the bottom line, Marnie’s ideal match is just someone who will love her and embrace her desire to be near them all the time. THIS DOG IS AFTER MY <3. Marnie likes other dogs, but her foster mom says she’ll need a meet & greet.  Marnie doesn’t like to share her food with her fur brothers/sisters it’s ok Marnie, I don’t like to share my food either.

Denise, Marnie’s foster mom, loves her so much and is so excited to hand pick Marnie’s forever home.  If you are interested in Marnie (which I fully expect all of our friends to be) please contact Denise directly 623-451-8071.  As always, Project Pal made a donation to AZ Small Dog Rescue on Marnie’s behalf so she comes with good karma on her side!