10/07/2026
2+ years waiting for this moment.
Hazel came to us after traveling cross country with her owner. They were sleeping on the streets of downtown while her owner was trying to figure out a better life for them both. Hazels owner was referred to us, but at the time we were beyond full and unable to take Hazel in for a week or so waiting for another dog to leave. Hazel and her owner then camped in the grassy area across the street from our building or next-door in the vacant lot and checked our availability daily.
We had a dog reunite with their owner and so we agreed to “babysit” Hazel each day so mom could go and fill out work/housing apps with the agreement she’d pick Hazel back up every night. We did that for a few weeks before mom got a job, but the job was early mornings (like 4/5a) so we agreed to hold Hazel.
Winter came and mom got into shelter, working on nursing programs, continued to hold a job, taking the bus to visit Hazel regularly, and together we began to come up with plans for their future. Then the communication stopped, our numbers blocked, blocked from social media, and only heard rumors of the “why” mom moved on from other human service providers. So here we are with a wild child of a dog that we didn’t want nor had the space for, but now we’ve had her for close to a year and love her too much to surrender to the shelter.
Our team began putting in work with Hazel to try and make her the best dog she could be. One day while Jodi was temp testing for Paws & Think, David asked her to just take some time with Hazel as a potential Dog for the program. Hazel was over stimulated, mouthy, knocking us down, it was like trying to tame a wild horse. After returning Hazel to her kennel, David returned to Jodi sitting in the lobby with tears in her eyes saying “she’s such a good girl, she wants to be a good girl, and we’re going to get her there.”
Weeks of work with Jodi and she was finally to a point we felt she could work with the kids in the detention center. I sat there nauseously waiting for a call that I needed to come pick Hazel up because she was being kicked out of the program. To my surprise, she was the star pupil that week and craved going back to the program that she obsessively stared at the van anytime she was outside in hopes that maybe she’d get in it and leave.
Several programs, adoption posts, and trying anything we could to get her into a home, but we still had nothing. An absolutely stunning dog, much better manners, loves kids, loves adventure, adored her walking buddy Don, and here she sat patiently inside of her toy baskets being a dish dishwashing ambassador for our volunteers while she waited.
When we were asked to send a dog to The Pagan Pride Festival this past weekend I was all over the place trying to figure out who to send. Hazel popped in my mind because she looks like some sort of beautiful mythical dog you’d Imagine complementing someone wearing a full body cloak or posted up in a Viking camp. Sure enough, about halfway through the day we received a text message that Hazel has someone putting in an application that very moment and it feels like everything has aligned. We process the app, and it is literally everything we’ve dreamed of for Hazel.
Although this is bittersweet, we are incredibly happy for Hazel. Elizabeth already adores her and if anyone can take being tackled while getting covered in slobbery kisses and say “isn’t she perfect?” while trying to put herself back together is Hazel‘s type of people.
We love you, sweet girl. Please go live the best life you should have always had.
