When a potential adopter visits The Little Pink Shelter, they’re greeted by dogs’ smiling eyes and wagging tails. A visitor might be charmed by an adorable puppy, an energetic lab, or even a lazy hound.
But although they may be bombarded by dogs, not one visitor ever gets to pet them, have them jump up or get bathed in kisses. This is the new world of internet dog adoptions, a “virtual” shelter experience and the method by which Holly Chasin, founder of The Little Pink Shelter, has successfully placed nearly 700 dogs and puppies from the south into loving homes in the Northeast.
The experience is new for most: adopting a dog they’ve never met before. Yet every week Chasin pours through dozens of applications from loving adopters offering homes to dogs they’ve only seen in photographs.
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Chasin recently polled adopters on “The Little Pink Shelter” Facebook fan page about their “virtual” experience.
“We saw a picture and fell in love with our dog before meeting him. He was even more precious when we finally met him in person,” wrote Cheryl Smiley of Westport. “We loved our dog so much, we got a second one!!!”
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Heather Patch of Stratford wrote: “Not meeting a dog before adopting it is a valid concern, but it is a risk that you take to save a life. It is so hard to tell what a dog will be like, whether they are a rescue from the south that you don't get to meet, or a young puppy whose true personality doesn't really come out until they get a little older. The most important thing is how you train your dog from day one of bringing them into your family. You have to have patience, tolerance and lots of love. Like children, they all have different personalities and "idiosyncrasies" and we love them just the same!”
Andrea Barnes of Brooklyn summed up her experience: “I loved him before I met him, and he knew that from the moment I took him from the transport.”
To see more testimonials, visit The Little Pink Shelter and Pink Shelter on Facebook or visit www.pinkshelter.com
