This past Sunday, at the Hope Whispers walk at MCACC East Shelter, Nina, Justin, and I fell in love with an “unnamed” two-year-old guy.  So, naturally the three of us stood there with our dogs, one unnamed, and tossed around name after name to find one that fit this young fella. After much deliberation, we decided on….Petey.

After meeting Petey you would honestly be baffled that he is sitting in a kennel at 2630 W Rio Salado Pkwy in Mesa just hoping for a loving home.

Typically, when we walk the dogs, we can get three different dogs per person walked, bathed etc. Justin, however, clearly fell in love with this guy because he spent an hour and a half with just Petey. Can’t say we blame him, being around this pup makes your heart smile.  His tail literally never stops wagging….ever and we have video proof. He is perma-happy and we are hoping whatever makes him so jolly is contagious so we can get some of that going in our lives.

While we were having our name-brainstorming session, Petey stood patiently wagging his tail and wiggling his bum as he looked at the other dog we were walking. His body language was pretty much the same the entire time, relaxed with tail wagging.

Justin told us that Petey was so friendly to everyone and he would hop around with his ears flopping all over the place. And then, randomly he would plop down and lay in a frog position.

Nina and I could not stop talking about how cute this dog is. So last night, when I got a text from her about the dog she is picking to promote this week and it said “I think I have to go with Petey” I knew there was really no other option for Week 22. With his goofy disposition, adorable face, floppy ears, and constantly wagging tail….we feel like Petey is the perfect Week 22 choice!

If you’d like to meet Petey his ID is A3766254 and he is at the MCACC East Shelter. Help us spread the word this week and get this fun guy a LOVING family of his own.

Speaking from personal observations, when walking through the A wing at MCACC east shelter (because I’m a creature of habit and somehow always end up in that wing to get my dogs to walk) there are three kinds of dogs.

Type 1 is the scared, confused, defeated type just cowering in the kennel hoping no one notices them or makes them move because they are terrified of what happens next. That is, until they get out of the kennel and then typically they perk right up at the taste of sweet freedom!

Type 2 is the calm, quiet, patient dog who sits nicely waiting for his/her turn for a walk, meet & greet, or outing of any kind whatsoever.

Type 3 are the dogs that make a shelter a little overwhelming…and that is the “PICK ME” type.  These dogs are the ones literally jumping around barking and essentially doing flips in their kennels because they want you to notice them SO badly.  I’m not kidding, I have actually seen dogs pulling out every ounce of athleticism they have to get notice all while SHOUTING “Pick Me!”….which leads to that environment of overstimulating barking and humans trying not to make eye contact because you want to take them all. Because they are ALL begging you LOUDLY to pick them!

The above-descriptions lead me to our week 18 Project Pal, Colton.  Colton is Type 3, which might be why he is still at the shelter. When people walk by his kennel, Colton barks his A off…..kind of a turn off for potential adopters. BUT, let’s be honest…if I was a dog in a kennel I can guarantee I’d be the same. Survival of the fittest, get yourself noticed–seems logical, right? Wrong. We, as potential adopters, seem to be drawn to the second type and might even subconsciously avoid the other two types.

So, Nikki has selected to advocate on behalf of Colton this week. We are urging you to go to MCACC East Shelter, get Colton A3732111 out of his kennel and into the play yard or out for a walk to see who he REALLY is. This guy is very well-behaved. He is happy to have his leash put on, he walks well, and is attentive to his handler for guidance.

Colton is VERY friendly, and he actively tries to get attention from people.  Give him a chance to warm up to you when you first meet him.  He is such a happy, pleasant fella outside of his kennel.  So, let’s #freeColton this week and give those Type 3 dogs a little love <3.

This post was written before we found out Nelson was adopted:

During Lizette’s week, one of the volunteers at MCACC East Shelter was helping us with obtaining photos and details for Lizette’s promotion. Through that new friendship, it was suggested that we participate in the Hope Whispers walk at MCACC. I showed up that Sunday at 8:30am with Justin & my mom to walk the pups at the shelter.

When it came time to pull dogs from their kennels to go out for a walk, I headed down the aisle and the gentleman helping with the process lead me to Nelson’s kennel. Unlike the other dogs in his wing (who were jumping up and down barking for attention), Nelson was just laying on his bed quietly.

Nelson’s demeanor immediately changed once he was on his leash and we were headed for the door to freedom. I am pretty sure we were in an all out sprint towards that door probably more my doing than his but he didn’t object. You guys, he is SO dang cute. As soon as we were out of the shelter he was this happy-go-lucky, sweet, all-around perfect little buddy.  I honestly didn’t want to return him to his kennel, EVER, but felt like since I was there to walk dogS, I should really walk more than one sweet soul.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this particular dog.  While I ❤ all dogs, Nelson just won me over immediately. He also warmed Justin’s heart and my mom’s as well. Justin could not get over how good-looking Nelson is there were a few moments when I thought I saw a shred of hope that Justin might let me take Nelson home.

Nelson showed absolutely NO signs of any sort of fear, aggression etc. He seemed VERY happy and interested to see other dogs and people of course. Honestly, this guy just wants to play.  He’s only a year old and is adorable in every possible way. After our lengthy walk during which I accidentally trespassed into the Cubs Spring Training Stadium, we sat out in the grassy area on Rio Salado and just dog/people watched. He was so content just hanging out and every once in a while, he’d remember I was sitting with him and he’d come right up to me and kiss my face. (photo below for reference) I took him to the play yard after our walk so he could be off-leash for a bit and again, he was a delight. I ❤ Nelson so much.

Here’s the interesting bit…..when I finally went to return him to his kennel to get another dog, the volunteer helping put the dogs away asked if I was sure Nelson belonged in that wing. I was. Mostly because I am OCD and a rule follower and I knew exactly where they had instructed me to pick up & drop off. They didn’t remember sweet Nelson, but found my ID card hanging from an empty kennel (belonging to Nelson!). Back he went. I wrote a note on Nelson’s bio paper on his kennel so potential adopters might read it and give him a chance to get out of the kennel.  Later that day, MCACC featured Nelson on their Facebook page!  It was so interesting, TWO different people commented that they had just been to the MCACC shelter the day before and couldn’t believe they hadn’t seen Nelson there. Of course I made sure to respond being obnoxious with excessive unsolicted Nelson-promo.

This blog post was actually never published until today, because…well Nelson was adopted the day we sponsored him.  But, alas he is somehow back at the shelter two months later.  I’m telling you, this dog is a dream.  He is at MCACC East Shelter and his ID is A3721498.