Willow Wednesday Plus Info on the Group We Adopted Her From

D and me on the day they brought me home.

This week, in addition to the usual photo of our sweet Willow, I thought I would take this opportunity to share a little bit about the group that we adopted her from, Refurbished Pets of Southern Michigan, or RPSM for short.

Before I begin I have to say that we could not have ended up with a better dog for us. Willow is a total sweetie and after less than 2 years of her being a part of our little family, I can't imagine life without her.  Sure, we would probably be farther along in our home renovations and furniture projects but we consider the hours spent with her at the dog park, snuggling on the couch and wrestling on the floor time VERY well spent.  And there is nothing better than coming home after a not-so-great day at work to a wiggling dog who is so happy to see you!

We know much of her amazing personality comes from her sweet and loving nature (unless you are a rodent in her backyard, then all bets are off) but she was also helped by this great group, RPSM, and the training she received while in their care.  Of this I am absolutely convinced.

RPSM takes dogs from shelters and tests them for temperament, trainability, and adoptability. They then put the dogs into a 12-week training program to get them ready for adoption.  Here is the best part, and what makes this group so special, they have partnered with the local prison and it's the inmates who train the dogs getting them ready for their canine good citizen certificate (CGC).  This is why we think this is such a great program.  The inmates help the dogs and the dogs help the inmates.  I think they call that a win/win!

Once we were approved to adopt Willow, we received a series of weekly reports filled out by the trainers so we could get an idea on how her training was going, what she was learning and a bit about her personality.  The reports also included info on how much food she was getting, what kind of food she was being fed, when she was getting her flea and tick treatments, when she got her heartworm pill and if there were any health or behaviour issues that week, etc. This helped us immensely when we brought her home!

When Willow came to us she was house broken, crate trained, knew basic commands and knew a bunch of tricks.  We knew that she was VERY food motivated and eager to please.  Getting these type of reports is unusual from what I can tell but this is just one more way that RPSM shows what an outstanding group they are.

The adoption rates are very reaonable for RPSM dogs, especially considering that they are fully vaccinated, spayed or neutered prior to enrollment in the training program.  They also microchip the all the dogs, which helps with piece of mind in case a fur-kid gets lost.  At our initial visit with our hometown vet clinic, the vet was impressed with Willow's care and condition as well as how she was so well behaved. 

So if you, or someone you know, are looking to adopt a dog and live close to southern Michigan, please refer them to RPSM and their dogs. 

Additionally, the inmates love to knit and crochet.  These items are sold on ebay to raise funds for RPSM and the dogs.  So if you live far away but still would like to support this great organization, this is an opportunity to do so.

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**This is not a sponsored post, we are just very passionate about the work the RPSM does both with the dogs and the inmates.  We are just so thankful that Willow was one of the dogs they were able to save.**