In our development with Markus, we’re constantly pushing for the next thing. We’re always trying new things to train and work with him - so much so that when something doesn’t go the way we expect it to, we can become discouraged or even frustrated.

Taking the time to reflect where things began helps us to appreciate where we are today and it gives us the boost for another day. Putting in perspective that Markus was a rescued dog who had difficulty being adopted because he was labeled as aggressive helps us to appreciate how far he’s come in his time with us.

The Paws & Reflect series is our way of pausing to appreciate all the progress Markus has made from his days as an aggressive dog at the rescue shelter. We revisit his past to help us put into focus all the great things he’s already accomplished with us.

This is Part 2 of our Adoption Story. If you haven’t read the first part yet, you can find it here. Our story goes beyond our local shelters all the way to places like Thailand, Korea and Japan in search of our dog. Our story is specifically based in the Pacific Northwest area and our hope is that it can be a roadmap for others looking to do something similar.

When we left off the story last time, Pammy and I had just inquired about a 3-year-old Korean Jindo named Solar from Empathy For Life rescue organization. They had responded and let us know that Solar was a “hard to adopt” dog and had been in the rescue shelter for nearly a year and a half. Although he was said to be good with people, Solar was not good with other dogs and was even considered to be aggressive.

The application process

We felt compassion towards Solar and his situation, so with the knowledge that he's aggressive with other dogs, we filled out an application to adopt him. We were committed to working with Solar to give him another chance.

The application is standard procedure for these organizations. Basically, it is the rescue organization's way of vetting who we are as individuals so it'll ask us questions about our experience raising pets, if there are other pets in the house, if there are children both now and in the future, and some may even ask for photos of the home. As mentioned earlier, these organizations need to do their due diligence to make sure that these rescued dogs don't end up in another shelter somewhere down the line.

The organization also connected us with someone from Vancouver who had recently adopted from them. Being able to reach out to someone locally and ask them about the process was invaluable. They vouched for EFL telling us that they were knowledgeable with everything required to get the dogs from Korea to Vancouver including the vaccinations and paperwork. The other thing they mentioned was that in total, the adoption, which included the dog, the flight over, the vaccinations and the crate, the cost was $500USD - much less than what we were estimating it to be.

In EFL's Facebook feed, we also came across an active poster named Yvette who lived in the United States. We reached out to get her perspective on EFL. It turned out that she's a foster who brings dogs over from EFL and helps them find homes in North America. She regularly flew dogs from Korea to Seattle and was able to answer most of our questions. 

But in the end, our application got rejected.

Their biggest concern for us was that we had said that we would eventually have children in the household, which raised flags on their end because they believed that Solar will not be a good fit for that. One of the main workers at EFL painted a picture of their personal struggles raising an aggressive dog and a newborn at the same time. She was concerned that adopting Solar would put us in that position. Dejected, we went back to square one and started the search all over again. This time, we looked in North America and we came across a 5-year-old black Shiba Inu in North Dakota named King, who recently arrived at a local rescue shelter.

The North Dakota thing

To make a long story short, my wife and I got far into the adoption process for King very quickly, but we still weren't first in line. Another complication was that this particular rescue organization required us to meet King in person, to make sure that we were a good fit. We were ready to move quickly so within a day or two into it, we were looking up flights to North Dakota, where to stay and what there is to do to kill some time there. The only thing that we were waiting for before booking the flight out was the approval of the application.

While we were waiting for this application to be approved (which ended up taking a long time), we got to thinking. The fact that there were applicants ahead of us in that short amount of time suggested that there's going to be demand for King. To us, this meant that whether it was going to be us or another family, he was going to be adopted eventually. Did it make sense for us to compete with others for a dog when there are unwanted dogs in need?

Our thoughts went back to Solar who's been stuck in the rescue shelter for almost a year and a half. If we pulled out of the application for King, he would still be adopted, but for Solar, his chances of getting adopted could be numbered. The organization eventually approved our application, but we had already decided to keep pursuing Solar, so we asked them to rescind the application.

A second chance

During this time, we reached out to Yvette and asked if she had any experience bringing aggressive dogs over from Korea. She told us a story about a dog named Gui. 

Gui was also a Korean Jindo and was considered aggressive at EFL. The organization didn't think that he could ever be adopted and were starting to give up hope that the day would ever come. Almost as a last resort, Yvette brought Gui over to North America for a change of scenery and to remove him from the rescue environment. As it turned out, that leap of faith was exactly what Gui needed. Even though he started out scared, he ended up adapting to his new home and was playing in the yard with the other dogs. He was no longer showing aggressive tendencies. It's almost as though Gui recognized that he had been given a second chance.

This was the story that we needed to hear. The fact that Solar was supposed to be good with people was enough of a glimmer for us to work with. I was once told that you can learn a lot about a dog through their eyes and this seems pretty foolish, but looking at this picture of Solar above, I just felt that there was something there. My wife felt this as well. It was hard for us to believe he was aggressive. Even though we were aware of the circumstances and the risks involved, we wanted to give Solar a chance and work with him to regain his life.

Having heeded their warnings, with our commitment to working with him and with the hope of Yvette's story, we requested EFL to reconsider the application. They were still hesitant, but Yvette graciously interceded for us by sponsoring Solar's adoption. This meant if things didn't work out, she would take responsibility for him if we had to give him up for any reason. With that, EFL felt more confident on the adoption and the paperwork was underway.

Fast forward to about two weeks later, Solar landed in Seattle from Korea, where we were waiting at SEATAC to pick him up. It was such an eventful day, but a story that we'll have to save for another time. Thank you for hearing our adoption story. We hope that it's been helpful and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us!

Lastly, we are so grateful for Yvette for sticking her neck out for us and sponsoring Solar's transition to Vancouver. If you're able to, it would mean a lot to us if you could donate to her cause and foster organization at Y-Not Save a Sam.

We’re so grateful for your support of The Markus Project. We mostly choose our locations through searching and word of mouth. If you know of a park, trail or location you think we should check out, please share it with us. We’d love to know!