Ayize, Saalim, and Izumi (me!) had a great time at the Niles PetSmart adoption event Saturday from 12 – 3!

Lots of curious, compassionate shoppers and reps from other shelters stopped by our table to ask questions, learn about our online petition, and inquire about our available doggies. Many vowed to sign the petition against the meat trade, which was exciting. A few expressed possible interest in fostering dogs for us, or working our PetSmart table in future – and two even took some flyers for Buddy, our Indian puppy who continues to look for his forever family, to help spread the word about him to people they know – yay! Many took our brochures with great interest, having never heard of a cause like ours. And yes, several wanted to discuss the finer points of why we choose to help internationally, so hopefully I was able to educate them a bit and encourage open minds

Saalim was a big hit, looking cute as a button, as he took a nap in the middle of our table! He would wake up briefly to accept some petting from his admirers before dozing off again on his jacket bed.

Ayize enjoyed wandering around the store with my camera, taking pictures of odd things he would come across – including Halloween stuffed toys that scared him, the ceiling lighting (no, I have no idea why my camera ended up with seven shots of various light fixtures), a few tolerant, smiling employees, and this blurry shot of me and Saalim, ha ha ha!

He also decided that he wants to rescue a guinea pig and a budgie in need next (now I’m in trouble), so there was that… Oh, also – at one point, he affixed this zombie creeper upon Saalim’s back in such a way that it appeared that it was riding Saalim as if he was a horse. This attracted many table browsers of the 12-and-under set – mainly boys who were Minecraft fans.

I spent a long time talking to a very kind rep from the Buddy Foundation and her pal, Webster, who danced around like a little boxer, clearly hoping to engage bored, sleeping Saalim. She was fascinated by our work and I also learned a lot about their organization, whom I’ve heard about over the years.
I also had a great conversation with a woman who works there as a Hill’s Science Diet rep. She was Bulgarian, and so enthusiastic about our work. She told me at length about the Bulgarian and Romanian street dog crises and she was overjoyed to learn about what we do. She teared up telling me about street dogs that she fed in her home country and had to leave behind, having heard that her favorite was poisoned not long after she came to this country.

We weren’t able to bring any adoptable dogs, but many people looked at the photos of the Indian puppies and Shy. Several asked if we had a Facebook page, so perhaps some of you are here now, new to us – welcome!

All in all, a very fun day. And I can pretty much guarantee that if we return, many will remember Ayize (not sure if entirely in a good way though – LOL)

Hope to see some of you next month on the second Saturday in November. Hurrah!