#AdoptDontShop

I’m so excited to introduce you guys to my new baby: Button Colette! I just adopted her from the animal shelter and I had the most amazing experience! On Sunday I saw her listed on the animal shelter’s website in the ‘Stray Dog’ section, and that’s when I fell in love. It mentioned that if she wasn’t claimed by Thursday, September 7 she would be available for adoption or rescue.

On Wednesday, September 6 I decided to visit the shelter and see her in person. When I found her kennel, (that she shared with two other dogs), she immediately hid underneath a bed. That’s when I noticed she was shaking and extremely scared! She would definitely start shaking more when the other dog in her kennel would begin barking, which he was constantly doing (so I’d probably be scared too…) Visitors aren’t allowed to take the pets out of the kennels until they are ready for adoption, so I looked through the cage at her and just literally fell in love…

I left to use the restroom, and when I returned for one last look at her, she was sitting upright on the bed looking so adorable! I just knew I had to have her, and planned to come the next day and try to adopt her. The shelter is first come first serve, so anybody could get there before me and adopt her first!

Since I wasn’t able to officially meet or hold her on Wednesday, I definitely wanted to feel her out on adoption day. To ensure I would be able to adopt her first [cute small dogs always get adopted or rescued immediately], I arrived at the shelter 20 minutes before they opened on Thursday. An employee at the shelter had previously informed me that the first 30 minutes were available for the public to adopt, and after that the rescues could come in and pull dogs out. There was an old man first in line and he asked me if I was adopting a dog. I said yes and he confirmed he was also adopting a dog. That’s when my heart dropped! He totally looked like he would be a man to adopt my precious Button! A second later he told me he was adopting one of the Yorkies they had there, and that’s when I let out a huge sigh of relief. I was second in line and officially first for my Button!

A longer line eventually piled up behind me and finally at 9:00 am they opened their doors. The lady asked me if I was adopting a dog and led me to the receptionist. He then put me in a room and said they would bring Button in shortly. I waited there for a few minutes, nervous and anxious. Would she like me? Would she try and bite? Would she bark?

The lady finally brought Button in the room. She was shaking uncontrollably, and the lady put her in my arms. I stood there holding her for a few minutes, letting her feel me out. The lady said that a scared dog is more likely to bite than an aggressive dog, so I needed to do things slowly at first. I asked her if Button had tried biting anyone before and she said no, but just told me that as a caution. She then left me alone with Button and I spent some time with her.

She laid in my lap for a majority of the time and slowly stopped shaking as I pet her. I then placed her on the chair next to me to face her and she began licking my hand! It was a great sign!

 

I let her on the ground to see if she would run around. She walked around slowly and was beginning to get comfortable! She even posed for this adorable photo:

 

I spent about an hour with Button in the room before I decided to officially adopt her. I loved her calm attitude, her loving demeanor, and loved that she’s such a lapdog! The lovely volunteers at the shelter came and got her and offered to take her a bath before she was spayed. Since she wasn’t fixed, it’s a requirement for the shelter to spay her before she’s released to the adoptive family.

I went to the front reception area and officially adopted her! It was $90 for the adoption fee, which included the spay, all the vaccinations, microchip, free first vet exam, and one month of flea control. They told me they would call me when her surgery was done and ready to be picked up. I felt like a horrible mom leaving her at the shelter for longer, but they wouldn’t allow the dogs to leave without the surgery.

That night I purchased several cute items online like her collar, harness, leash, and bed! I also found this super cute food and water bowl at Ross for her:

I expected them to call me Monday or Tuesday to pick her up, but they ended up calling me today (the day after I adopted her). I was extremely excited! I arrived to pick her up and the lady at the front desk asked me what I named her. I told her I came up with the name Button. She ended up putting ‘Button’ on all the paperwork and medical records, which was super cute! I decided to name her Button because she’s cute as a button, and since I love the French name ‘Colette’ I added that as well. [Also, the guys liked the name Button better, so that became her first name, haha]. Afterwards, they had me pay $12 for a license and she explained all the paperwork to me. They also gave me a free bag of food and a pink leash!

A couple minutes later they brought Button out! The nurse handed her to me and gave me her medication to help with pain after her surgery. I thanked everyone and finally left with my new Button baby!

On the drive home I had Button lay in the passenger seat, until she decided to walk onto my lap and lay there. It was the cutest thing!

I got home and let her feel out the place. I took her out into the backyard where she took her first pee! (I’m not sure if she’s house trained or not, but she did go potty outside!)

Excuse the grass (cutting it tomorrow) but she looked too adorable in her first backyard pic:

She really loved being outside and wanted to go back out there a couple times. Afterwards, I let her inside and she wandered around…she was so confused wondering where she was 😂

She was up for about an hour, calmly walking and scouting around, until she fell asleep next to me on the couch. And she’s still sleeping while I write this post, actually. Poor baby is tired and getting some rest from her surgery today!

I’m honestly so happy and excited for our future with her! She seems like a good dog so far, and I can’t wait to see her let out more of her personality [I mean, I haven’t even heard her bark not once.] We have her first vet exam scheduled for tomorrow, and will be going to pet stores to buy her better food and accessories.

I’m also really satisfied with the adoption process at the shelter. It was definitely not what I expected! The whole process was easy and smooth, and everyone was so nice. I like how they give you a lot of freebies to start you off with your new family member too!

I’m so obsessed with Button already, and I’ll keep you guys updated with more photos once I get everything settled with her! ❤️