Three's a charm

When Gwennie, Sweet Pea, and Harley were surrendered to the Nantucket MSPCA Adoption Center because their owner had died, we knew it was going to be a challenging adoption. Three Aussie Shepherd crosses, Harley was a 7 year old boy, Gwennie was 5, and Sweet Pea was 15! And because Sweet Pea and Gwennie were so bonded, we wanted to keep the girls together.

Even though they were the most gracious, well-behaved dogs, the fact that Sweet Pea was 15 made many a potential adopter hesitate, understandably. Some people were afraid of getting attached to a dog who didn't have too many years left. Others were afraid of incurring the costs that go along with having an older pet.

After about five months, a couple spotted the girls on Petfinder. They had no trouble with Sweet Pea's age, but wanted to make sure they both got along with Rudy, their beloved 8 year old Mastiff. Soon after, they made the ferry trip to Nantucket to meet the girls.

Sweet Pea, almost totally deaf, was such a character that the couple fell for her first, and Rudy didn't seem to mind the girls either. We knew then that it was going to happen, the girls were finally going to find a home together.

What we didn't expect was what happened next. The woman mentioned that her dad was looking for a dog, so I showed her Harley. She couldn't believe it when she met him.  She said he was JUST what her dad was looking for. And when Harley met Rudy, they wore each other out playing!

You guessed it - all three dogs got on the ferry that afternoon and headed for their new homes. . . and this has gone down as one of our most successful adoption stories ever!

Stephanie Henke
Nantucket, MA