How To Find The Perfect Rescue Puppy

I have waited SO long for a puppy. I have been trying to convince Kevin for 3 years – we even drove an hour to a rescue, I fell in love with a puppy and we left empty handed because it wasn’t the right time. Then we moved to NJ and both agreed it wouldn’t be any fun to have a new puppy that needs to go potty 835489x in the winter. Then, once we got engaged and word that we were moving back to Miami, I knew that I needed one ASAP.

How To Find a Rescue Puppy

I researched the rescues in the area, there are some great resources like Petfinder but I kept a closer eye on the actual rescue websites. Here are some of the ones I was looking at:

• Miami Humane Society
• Broward County Humane Society
• Jamie’s Rescue
• Good Karma Pet Rescue
• 100+ Abandoned Dogs of The Everglades
• Big Dog Ranch Rescue

Best practices:

1. Check the websites multiple times a day, most of them update throughout the day.
2. Fill out applications. Some have general apps and some you have to express interest in a certain dog(s). They take up to 72 hours to get approved so if you can do it beforehand you won’t miss out on getting the pup you want!
3. Act on the puppies you’re even mildly interested in and FAST. Especially if you want a puppy – they go fast.

Back to Cashew – I had been looking at all of those websites 485739x a day, I’m not even kidding you. We kind of had an idea of what we were looking for, definitely a puppy, and some sort of lab mix. We put in a few applications that didn’t workout, but took it as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be. I had been scrolling through the Miami Humane Society website and I saw THESE two photos…

My first thought was ‘eh’ and I kept scrolling. I didn’t want to believe that these were the only two puppies they had, so I scrolled back up. At first glance, they look like Dachshunds, which (no offense to Dachshund owners) we didn’t want. However, the breed said “mixed, large” so I knew they couldn’t be dachshunds, ya know? I sent a quick screen shot to my animal pro cousin (if you’ve been following for a while, the one with the pig!) and asked her what she thought they were. Her first response was “some sort of lab mix” and I was interested. She urged us to go see them in person because they could be way different! 
Their names were ‘Texas’ and ‘Arkansas’, on my application I had put down that I wanted to see ‘Texas’, purely based on his angle being better in that picture.

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We made an appointment for that day! When I called to confirm the address, the woman said “ok you want to see Arkansas right?” I politely said no I would like to see Texas. She assured me I would be able to tell the adoption person once we got there.

Since this was during the pandemic, we had to stay in our car and text a number and wait for a phone call. Once we got our phone call, that woman also said “ok you want to see Arkansas right?” and I responded with the same answer. She told us to meet her outside. She asked me again if I would like to see Arkansas and I said “I wanted to see Texas but we wouldn’t mind seeing both! Her response: “ok I’ll bring out Arkansas” ooooookay lady. The universe obviously had different plans for us because the second I laid eyes on Cashew (Arkansas) I knew he would be ours.

He’s the cutest, sweetest little thing. He loves to play and snuggle and sleeps through the night like a good little pup. We love him so much and we’re so happy he’s ours. #AdoptDon’tShop