Snorkel Joins a Long Line of Beloved Pets, by Jacqueline Steenhuis

We had two cats while my kids were growing up and I missed having a cat when they moved away. One day, quite impulsively, my oldest son and I decided to go to the local animal shelter to see who might be there. We spotted Haiku right away, and as soon as we met her, she started bumping into my legs and looking up at me with the sweetest little face. I knew right away she was the one ─ affectionate, talkative, and seemingly up for whatever adventures life was about to throw her way.

She settled into her new home with grace and even quickly made friends with my sister’s dog Georgia, who I was watching at the time. In fact, Haiku and Georgia became best friends, even sleeping in the same bed together.

Then when our dog sitting duties were over, things got a little too quiet. Should we adopt a dog of our own?

Snorkel Comes Into Our Lives

I decided to do some research but not commit at that point ─ this was a big decision and I wasn’t quite sure where it would lead. Right away I stumbled upon Snorkel, who had had a difficult time adjusting to the shelter environment and was placed with a local foster family by Pets in Need to get the one-on-one attention he needed. 

He was so cute and the post said he did well with cats, so I decided to reach out and learn more about him.

Next came a Zoom call with his foster mom. He sounded like such a lovely dog but unfortunately there was another family ahead of us. When they decided not to adopt, we went for “a meet and greet” and my partner and I were immediately smitten. Trying not to be impulsive, we decided to go home and think about it. After a few hours, we each wrote on a piece of paper what we wanted to do, and when we showed each other our papers, they both said Adopt!

Homeward Bound

The very next day, I headed over to Pets in Need’s Redwood City shelter to bring Snorkel home. The first few days were a little chaotic, but eventually things settled down. Snorkel is more rambunctious than Haiku would like, but in typical cat fashion, she has taken matters into her own paws by training Snorkel in “cat etiquette.”

One Sunday afternoon when I put my feet up on the bed, they both decided to join me. When I got up, they curled up together for the first time and it has been that way ever since.

Who Could Resist That Face

About 5 years old, Snorkel is already such a great companion ─ just what we were looking for. He is cuddly, affectionate, and full of life ─ all bundled up in a cute little dog package. He loves walks and romps in the backyard but also likes to follow me around the house and sleep contentedly in my office while I’m working. And he loves to meet new people. We haven’t met a single dog or person that Snorkel hasn’t won over with his charms.

His crate is his safe space when we’re gone and he’s alone in the house. If I put one of my shirts in there with him, he’s very happy to stay there until we return. He also sleeps in his crate at night. For the first week, I was clearly his person, and he would follow me everywhere. Now that he’s a little more secure, he’s found a sunny spot on our living room rug, and that’s become his favorite spot. And as an office companion, he’s marvelous, just lying on the floor totally contented while I’m busy with work.

All’s Well That Ends Well

We’ve had a couple of sessions with a dog trainer who knows all kinds of nifty ways to fine tune a dog’s behavior. Because Snorkel learns quickly and wants to please us, his transformation has been amazing.

I’ve told my kids that you can’t leave me unsupervised because I “impulse adopt” animals. But they’ve pointed out that these adoptions have always had happy endings, and they seem to be right about that. We now have such a sweet, quirky, playful, curious, and smart little dog who brings joy into our lives every single day.

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To learn more about Pets In Need and see their mission in action, visit PetsInNeed.org or follow them on social media: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petsinneed1965/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petsinneed1965/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/petsinneed1965/

You’re also welcome to visit their shelters in person at 871 5th Avenue in Redwood City or 3281 E. Bayshore Road in Palo Alto. Come meet their adoptable pets and give a loving animal a place to call home.