Sometimes I get it right

It's a cold, wet, dreary day, which is always rather depressing for me, so it was nice to hear some good news today.  I've made plenty of mistakes in adopting dogs, but these are three instances where I got it right. 

Smokey's (Rita) new family wrote and said: 

She is doing fine. Still wants to jump up on us but very seldom. Loves her toys and her bed. Our bed too, however, we do not encourage it. She has gained weight. Her eye is the same but does not bother her. We play ball almost every night. The kids love her to death and play with her as well. She has started to sleep through the night which helps. She loves treats and ice. We have learned to sing together.

This is a girl whose only fault, like many of them, was loving too much.  She has trouble containing her excitement and affection.  But that's not such a bad thing, considering all the other problems she could have. 
 
These folks are previous adopters from me.  Their last shepherd, Beau, had died a couple months ago.  Rita was right for them, I think.  She was old enough to be past the puppy stage, but also still young enough and exuberant enough to really fill up the house with life.  They fell for her right away. 
 

I've written previously about a Golden Retriever named Abby.  I had adopted her out orginally to a couple up near Culpeper.  The husband died in a tragic accident and the wife returned Abby to me out of concern that she couldn't handle two dogs.  I put her back on the web and had an inquiry, application, and very enthusiastic email from a woman in Delaware.  She was out of state, making a home visit difficult, and the distance concerned me in the event of a return. 
 
But she sent a very detailed application, and a home visit report from another rescue, pictures of her home, current and previous dogs, etc.  She gave me everything I could ask for without even asking for it.  She was persistent without being pushy.  She wanted this dog.  She and her husband drove down from Delaware and met me at Gainesville, arriving before I did.  They were obviously nice people and I sent the dog home with them on the spot.  The woman got her certified as a therapy dog and has done a variety of therapy work with her. 
 
She wrote this morning to tell me that Abby had now received her Masters Certification from PAWS for People, passing the test with flying colors.  The dog will soon have more degrees that I do, and she is certainly better with people.  I can claim no credit for any of the great things they have done, except that I made the right decision in placing that dog.  And I'm pretty proud of that. 
 
And this, this says it all.  This is Flirt (left) and her new sister, Kota (right).  This inquiry came during a week that I had WAY too much going on already, and I didn't think at first that it was likely to amount to much.  I got Flirt to meet some small dogs for one potential home, and when that didn't pan out, I followed up on this application, which actually came from the sister of a man who would be the adopter.  I blew off most of a work day to make it happen (making it up on the weekend), but it was worth it.  Flirty needed this.