One Year Anniversary: Where Our Adoptable Running Dogs Are Now

Guys, I have some very exciting news: Today marks our one year anniversary of teaming up with the Monster Milers to post our weekly, awww-inducing, adoptable running dogs. I do a lot of cool things at my job, but I have to say, getting to Photoshop cute dogs’ faces every Friday morning is definitely one of my favorites — and seeing how you guys jump in to help find these guys homes puts a giant smile on my face.

So for this week’s post, we’re throwing it back to some of the crowd favorites from the past year including our veryyyy first adoptable running dog, Pumpkin. Remember Pumpkin?! Below, photos of where some of Be Well Philly’s adoptable running dogs are now and what they’re up to. Warning: You might want to grab a tissue before you start scrolling. Tears of joy are kind of inevitable.

Elfish Presley, with her adorable ears, was always sweet but her leash manners when she first arrived at the shelter were nonexistent. Walking her down the street was a spectacle until dedicated Monster Miler volunteers started taking her on frequent runs. During her lengthy stay at the shelter, she slowly became easier to run with and, eventually, running with her became easy and enjoyable. Her new leash manners and frequent runs led to nicer kennel manners and eventually an adoption, which was well worth the wait. She is now living with a family who absolutely adores her and treats her like a princess. (Notice the candlelit bath!)

From Chico’s mom: “Chico is everything you want in a dog. He’s very affectionate, great with other dogs, friendly with strangers, children, actually everyone he meets. I had been fostering for awhile when I took him home as a foster, but he was so wonderful I adopted him. One reason I did is that he is so good with other dogs and I continued to foster after adopting him. In fact he has been a true buddy to the other foster dogs I’ve had. He enriches my life on a daily basis.”

Pumpkin, our first ‘Adoptable Running Dog’ feature, was adopted after a very long wait for her forever home. She is a viszla mix who would literally bounce off the walls because she had so much energy. She was a joy to run with and was always ready to run any distance, at any speed, even the the summer. Lucky for her she was adopted by a very active family, who was committed to bringing her along on their adventures. (We don’t have new photos of Pumpkin, so this one from a year ago will have to do.)

Shelby’s adoption was one that so many people were excited about. This love bug’s shelter experience started at Women’s Humane Society back in January. They loved her and advocated for her as much as they could, but they were having a hard time finding her a home. So, when Street Tails Animal Rescue stopped in to pick up another dog, they decided to take Shelby as well to see if she would have more success in the city. The Monster Milers instantly fell in love with her and decided to take her to the ODDyssey Half Marathon Expo to hang out at their table. She made friends with everyone who stopped by and won the hearts of a little girl and her dad. They were so smitten that the mother drove up from Delaware to Lincoln Financial Field to drop off an adoption application.  She went home with her family the next week and everyone lived happily ever after.

From Peanut Butter Roll’s mom: “She is very friendly to all of us and loves to be petted constantly. In fact, she often insists on being petted. It’spretty funny. We take her on two- to three-mile walks a few times a week, and she has our backyard to run around in. She sleeps on our bed at night and has really fit in with us; she’s considered part of the family. She’s a good dog and we are glad to have her.”

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We work with The Monster Milers each and every week to profile local running dogs waiting to be adopted. The Monster Milers are a group of runners who help shelter dogs burn off  energy and get much-needed exercise by taking them on runs around the city, and they also just launched their first-of-it’s-kind Adopt a Running Buddy foster program. If you’re not in the market for a pup right now, but would still love to help out homeless dogs, you can always become a Monster Miler volunteer or foster parent. Find out more about how to get started with those processes here. 

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