It’s Friday after a “ruff” week. It’s happy hour. What could be better? Oh, yes — an adoption story! Lovely l’il Jake has gone home.

Jake arrived at rescue in the spring as a “surprise.” We were making a run to the shelter to pick up Wrangler and saw Jake’s picture on the page, too. There was something about this Terrier/Corgi mix that we just couldn’t resist, so we brought him home, too.

Everyone instantly fell in love with him. How could we not? He was so laid-back, loving, easygoing and, well, it goes without saying — a-freaking-dorable! One of our volunteers really wanted to adopt him, but things didn’t work out. Then we realized that the slow kill wasn’t working on his heartworms, so we had to go the fast-kill route and give him time to rest and recoup.

Meanwhile, not back at the ranch …

Callie reached out to us in May after losing her special JRT baby, Kadie, a few months prior. She expressed interest in Sophie because she was looking for a JRT puppy to join her family, since she had had Kadie from puppyhood. Callie’s application was awesome, and her vet check passed with flying colors, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t adopt Sophie into a home with children. Callie was disappointed, but completely understood and respected the rescue’s mission of putting our dogs into the right homes based on their needs and for everyone’s safety.

Callie stayed in touch with our adoption coordinator over the next few months because her adorable 9-year-old daughter, Anne, raised money from her JRT-themed birthday party and wanted to be able to deliver her donations to the rescue in person. So, in August, Callie, her husband Chuck, and son Kit, came out with Anne so Anne she could present Mama Donna with her donation. Suffice it to say, we were touched beyond words.

They had such a great time at the rescue and spending time with our dogs, but were all drawn to one particular dog — Jake! Callie recently added a JRT puppy to their family (and they already had two other sweet female dogs) and didn’t think they would ever have four dogs, but something about Jake was pulling on their heartstrings. (He’s good at that.) They went home, thought about it, and decided that they wanted to make Jake a part of their family! They waited patiently for a few weeks until Jake had fully recovered and rested after his heartworm treatment and —woof! The rest if history.

It has been just under a week, but this boy is officially a part of the family. He is doing great and has transitioned very well into his new home, thanks to his dog-savvy parents. He learned how to use the dog door right away and quickly settled into their routine.

We could not have asked for a better outcome for this sweet boy and we cannot thank his family enough for not only giving him a great home but also keeping us in their thoughts and actions. That means the world for a small rescue like us.