By Jessica Stuebner
Now that we have had our pup for about a year an a half, I wanted to write about our incredible experience adopting a dog.
All in all, I found that with the right agency, adoption can absolutely be the right thing for you and your family! Yankee (previously known as Kylo) is a ~2 year old Golden mix with a happy golden heart.
He has #allthewrinkles in all the right places and he feels like he was made for our family. Yankee is from Puerto Rico and was displaced from his home during Hurricane Maria. We had not planned on adopting necessarily, but over the Christmas holiday at our family’s home last year, with some discussion and contemplation, we thought it might be just the way to go.
Let’s be honest; 3 young boys (at the time; we didn’t know it was later to be 4!) with many needs plus a new puppy that we have to house train and obedience train… sounds a bit more of a nightmare. When I saw our pup through the computer screen, I couldn’t stop thinking of him; I knew he was ours.
Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue is where I found this gem. I was BEYOND impressed with their facilities and the sheer amount of information they are able to provide about each dog.
We were so impressed by DVGRR; their staff went above and beyond throughout the adoption process and the care the dogs receive is top-notch. They were able to provide us with an extremely helpful behavioral obedience assessment which made it so easy to figure out whether Yankee would work for our family. The adoption team is dedicated to making a perfect match so to facilitate the success of the adoption. The head adoption manager even brought his two-year-old son in to see how Yankee would react with him so to prove safety with our tweens and infant.
Are you on the fence about a pet for your tween?
Here’s some advice on making your tween a responsible pet owner.
I also love this article from The Analytical Mommy about how getting a dog will teach responsibility.
And, according to Parents.com:
Most tweens, depending on their temperament, can feed, exercise, clean, groom, and care for pets with minimal supervision. But the challenge with tweens isn’t figuring out which chores they can take on—it’s making sure that they follow through with their agreed-upon responsibilities. Ideally, you want to suit the chore to the child, but don’t use pet-related chores to teach lessons that your kids aren’t prepared to learn. Asking a forgetful child to walk the dog might not be a good idea; she might have the best intentions in the world, but may fail to remember. Check in to make sure that assigned chores are being done; kids will learn to understand what’s involved in caring for another living being and pets will be happy and healthy.
And remember, please be respectful of people with pet allergies! Do not bring your dog to shops, restaurants, and other indoor places unless he is a licensed service dog. If you are inviting guests to your home, let them know in advance that you have a pet, especially if it is a shedder! Guests with allergies may need to decline the invitation, spend time in an outdoor area, or respectfully ask that you clean up fur and put the dog in another room during the visit.
