Iris is a very lucky puppy! The little catahoula mix was a Rescue Ranch foster along with her mom, Persephone, and her 10 divine siblings. Now she’s living her dream life with a wonderful Adoptive family. What rescue puppy expects adopters to fly their own small plane down just to meet her? How often does that happen?
Well, it happened on Monday this week! Monica and Tyler Sturdevant flew down from Oregon to finally meet the four-month-old puppy they were hoping to adopt. They had been following Iris’s progress for some time, communicating with Mary Luton, puppy foster and Rescue Ranch’s Puppy Adoption Program Manager. It seemed like a good pairing, but nothing would be decided until they actually met.
Tyler, a pilot, has spent the last 14 years fighting wildfires with Precision, LLC, a subcontractor for the Forest Service. Monica works from home. Before leaving Oregon, they removed the back seats from their small plane to make room for Iris: they were banking on success.
Iris, the rescue puppy, finally meets her new people!
Mary and I drove out to the local airfield with puppy in tow. We arrived just in time to watch the plane land and taxi toward us. Iris was relaxed as the plane approached: the noise from the motor didn’t seem to faze her at all.
Monica was the first to emerge from the aircraft, waving and calling out “Hello Iris !” In response, the puppy moved forward, pulling on the leash and wagging her tail. Tyler quickly caught up with his wife. Soon everyone was greeting everyone, and Iris couldn’t have been happier.
We drove back to Rescue Ranch to finalize the adoption. Upon arrival, the prospective adopters met some of Iris’ siblings and her mother. Tyler told me that they already had a Saturday hike planned for Iris and her new big sister, Bailey.
Clearly, it was a match. Iris was calm, confident, and happy: she was really enjoying her new people. And they couldn’t wait to get her home. In no time, Iris was sporting the personalized purple collar her new parents had brought for her. Bailey has a pink one.
Mary went through the terms of the adoption agreement with Monica and Tyler. She then produced a bag of goodies for Iris. It contained food, chews, toys, and towels for the plane (just in case).
Back at the airport, Tyler and Monica posed with Iris for a family photo. Then, they loaded the pup into the plane without a fuss and took to the skies.
It was an emotional goodbye, especially for Mary. She explained her tears of joy on our drive back: “it’s always such a privilege to give rescue dogs a chance at life and to find great matches for our fosters.”
Now, that’s what I call a fairytale ending to Iris’s excellent adoption adventure! But it’s only the beginning. A bright new future awaits our very good girl!
