Last week, our adoption staff finalized an adoption, placing a shelter
dog into her new, permanent home. Special to us — every adoption
is — but ordinary to most everyone else since we do this about
4,000 times every year. Here’s the twist: Cara, the dog, spent
more than two and a half years (yes, years — that’s no
typo!) in our care. Pretty safe to call this our adoption of the
decade. Cara’s journey began on Oct. 10, 2007. Our officers were
called to Atherton for a stray pit bull ... kinda scary-looking with
cropped ears. The ears, we figured, were most likely the result of a
home cut-job from someone who wanted to make her look like a fighting
dog or worse, had intentions of making her fight. They probably dumped
her on the streets after learning she had not one mean bone in her
body. From day one, it was apparent she would not have the easiest time
getting re-homed. We weren’t holding our breath for her owner to
claim her. And we figured she wouldn’t have many new suitors due
her breed and look. We were right.
Cara (renamed Kira) was adopted from the Peninsula Humane Society after more than two and a half years.
Most visitors didn’t give her two looks and none asked to take
her out of her kennel to spend time with her. Fortunately, we are
blessed with fantastic employees and volunteers who find the time and
have the emotional capacity to work extra hard for the special cases.
The more time Cara spent with us, the more popular she became with our
people.
A year went by with Cara in our kennels, yet we were able to
keep her happy and healthy. We often said with great confidence that
her time with us was probably the best time of her short life. She had
daily walks and play sessions. She went on television, she went out on
special mobile adoption days and was featured in this paper at least
twice.
We were banging the drum hard for Cara, wishing and hoping for
just one person to see her goodness. As she began her second year in
our care, we were starting to think she might just become a permanent
resident. In addition to her breed and look, we now had to face the
fact that visitors would notice her incoming date and figure there must
be something wrong with her.
One of our volunteers asked to take her
into his home and provide foster care. He did much more than that; for
14 months, he got her used to a home setting, while working on her
commands. He gave her love and even more attention than she had been
receiving as a shelter favorite.
We recruited another volunteer —
a professional photographer — to take new head shots, which were
quickly uploaded to Cara’s website profile. Bingo.
Last week, a
couple from Santa Clara saw her profile, made arrangements to meet Cara
and took her home. Home! A real home with adopters who will care for
her until she’s an old lady and be with her at the end which we
hope is many years from now.
Cara (renamed Kira) puts an exclamation
point on our shelter’s commitment — our promise — to
find a new home for every healthy, adoptable dog and cat and
illustrates the life-changing differences that determined, committed,
compassionate volunteers can make.
Scott Delucchi, senior vice president, community relations with
the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, oversees all the
society’s public programs including adoptions, education,
outreach, animal behavior and training, volunteering, media/pr, animal
rescue and cruelty investigations.
