Animal Services resources: Adoptable pets, Twitter, Facebook
Four years after they lost their enormous (160 lbs.) and enormously cuddly 14-year-old Shiloh Shepherd, Rowdy, Annie and Chuck began to think about finding a new family dog.
They were committed to finding the perfect pooch at a local shelter, but lots of searching and several promising leads just hadn’t panned out. But then a friend saw a Multnomah County Animal Services Tweet about a happy-looking mixed breed named Gavin. He posted the link to Annie’s Facebook page within minutes.
Annie’s reaction? “Oh my. Now that is a goofy, happy dog!” Annie couldn’t get to the shelter right away due to work responsibilities, so she dispatched Chuck to the shelter in Troutdale for a closer look.
After meeting Gavin and talking with shelter staff, they knew this was the pup for them. They praised staff and volunteers for making their visit and adoption process happen “like clockwork” and then brought him home two days later, after he’d recovered from being neutered. In the few short days he’s been at their home, things have been going swimmingly.
“We feel fortunate to be able to care for a dog,” Annie said. “They enhance our lives as much as we enhance theirs. We were ready and our home was open for one. He just fit.”
Annie and Chuck decided to rename Gavin, eventually settling on the moniker MacLeod, or Mac. “Well, MacLeod is a family name,” Annie said. “Plus, we knew we were on ‘The Love Boat’…and we couldn’t call him Merill Stubing.”
With two cats that are only slightly less eager than Mac to become instant friends, plus two and a half acres of sights, sounds and smells waiting to be explored, this new family is well on its way to smooth sailing from here on out.