At the beginning of the year, we began a journey we called Riverview’s VIP (Very Important Pup). From the conception of the project, we dreamt of investing in a dog from a local shelter, preparing it for its next home, and celebrating when that moment of adoption came. There were many more rewards and challenges along the way than we first anticipated.

Eight months after we first brought Drake to Riverview Kennels, we can now officially celebrate his move into his forever home with the Mullanix Familly!

The first blog post that tells his story is here.

You can find the second blog post, here.

You can find the third post, here.

And you can find the fourth post, here.

This final article will guide you through the process we employed with his new family and give us a chance to share more pictures from the whole process.

First Contact

The Mullanix Family brought their dog, Maya to stay with us while they were on vacation. Maya had a great time with us and is as sweet as can be. While she was here, we found that she fit into Drake’s friend pack. They both have a lot of energy and played really well together. When it came time to pick up Maya, we gave her family a report on how the visit went and included the details about how Maia hit it off so well with Drake.

We said goodbye not knowing how that little seed of information would germinate.

The Phone Call

Weeks after Maya’s visit, we received a phone call from her mom, Claire. She told us that she and her family had been talking about Drake quite a bit and wanted to understand more about our adoption process. We explained the following five steps:

1. Step One: Apply for Adoption

2. Step Two: Meet Drake

3. Step Three: Schedule a Home Visit

4. Step Four: Schedule Adoption Day

5. Step Five: Post-Adoption Daycare & Training

After a little more clarification on both ends, we hung up the phone and within days received the completed application. Bingo!

First & Second Meeting

Meeting One: On-Site at Riverview

We wanted the First Meeting to be a success and we didn’t want to overwhelm Drake with the whole family all at once. We scheduled an appointment with Claire and took her and Drake on one of our leashed forest walks. Claire was able to see Drake’s inhibition at meeting strangers but also got a glimpse of him with people he is comfortable with- like Brittany.

At the top of the loop, in our meadow, we demonstrated the off-leash work we have been doing with Drake and his excellent recall ability. Claire was able to see Drake at his best; running and galloping through the grass and coming when called.

It was amazing to see Drake overcome his fear of unknown people and make such a quick connection with Claire. Within minutes, Drake was approaching her unafraid. Amazing!

Meeting Two: Beach Play Date

With such a successful first visit, we wanted to next overcome two other hurdles: introducing Drake to other humans in the family and building some time with Maya. We decided to meet at the beach, let the dogs interact together again, and get some walking miles in.

Maya and Drake hit it off well from the get-go. They picked up right where they left off.

Drake also reconnected well with Claire but looked over his shoulder (like usual) at Claire’s daughter.

After quite a distance Kimberly and Hannah handed the leash over to Claire and her daughter. This gave Drake the chance to ease into being with the family and to begin to remove us as a safety net.

This process went over well and we felt confident that the bond Drake needed to form had the right ingredients in the Mullanix Family.

Home Visit One & Two

First Visit: Property Preview

We knew from the application form that the Mullanix family had a large amount of property for leashed walks and that they had a fenced area for the dogs. Drake isn’t a fence jumper, but we knew that he needed a safe, confined space to form a bond with his new family.

Michael and Kimberly walked the property with Claire, discussed Drake’s tendencies, and worked through matters like feeding, sleeping arrangements, and potty training. Our goal was to set the Mullanix Family up for success and to confirm a safe environment for Drake.

Second Visit: Fitting the Whole Family Together

Now that we had seen the space with our own eyes, we knew we had one final hurdle to help the Mullanix Family with. Max was the only canine family member that Drake hadn’t met. He has a very different temperament than Maya, so we wanted to employ the safe introduction methods we use at the kennel for developing friend packs. And we needed to do this introduction on Max’s home turf.

Hannah & Emily handled this visit using long-line leashes. They allowed the two dogs to meet, read the body language, and worked to the point of not needing the leashes any longer. The two dogs worked well together.

Drake also spent time in the house. He sniffed around at the couches, chairs, and other human items. He was startled by the television and approached it cautiously.

At the end of this visit, calendars were aligned to schedule Adoption Day.

Adoption Day

As the date arrived there was such a mixture of emotions. There were many tears shed and many goodbyes from our team members who had invested so many hours in Drake’s care and training. There was also such joy and excitement that Drake was going to get to experience life in a home with a family for the first time.

We gathered Drake's belongings- his chicken toy, mat, bed, leash, and harness. Brittany gave him his going-home bath and made sure he was looking dapper with his new bandana on. She also prepared two other coordinating bandanas for his new sister and brother- Maia & Max.

On the last drive, we reminisced about the 8-month process. We talked about Drake’s first car ride, shared about the highs and the lows of the process, and encouraged one another through the tears that this was the goal from the beginning.

As Drake stepped out of the car and into the house we shed a tear of joy that Drake was finally home.