A senior orange tabby, originally named Bubbs, was surrendered to Ellington Animal Control (AC) when his previous owners moved and were unable to take him with them. At 12 years old, even though he had only known one family, he was sweet, affectionate, and made himself right at home at the municipal shelter! The great officers at Ellington AC knew he was a special guy who deserved a loving, forever home where he could thrive. They had initially posted adoption advertisements themselves, but did not get much interest so we were contacted for help and to enter Bubbs into our Rehoming Program. We were happy to lend a helping hand!
Since Bubbs was so friendly and social, Ellington AC was able to give us a good write up on his likes, dislikes, and personality. We received great updates with pictures and videos of him behind the scenes hanging out with the officers! He didn’t seem to care too much about toys at the time but loved cat nip! He liked to follow the officers around, get lots of human affection, and liked to be brushed! Bubbs was entered into our Re-homing Program and promoted on all of our media platforms, just like all our adoptable animals. This include our website, pet adoption sites, social media platforms, and newspaper and radio ads! Between the great efforts of Ellington AC and Our Companions (OC), we were all determined in making sure Bubbs found his perfect match!
Around the time Bubbs entered our Re-homing Program we received an application from a previous OC adopter. Our adoption team went over her application and began the match-making process by talking with her about what she would like in a new companion, her home environment, past experience, and preferences. She was looking for a mature cat who would keep her company and cuddle! She had a couple cats in mind from our website, and after our conversations we felt Bubbs would be a great match. The potential adopter felt the same way and was eager to meet him and see how they interacted together. We coordinated with the Ellington AC officers and set up a ‘meet and greet’ at our Manchester Program Center. This adoption showing allowed the officers to meet the potential adopter with Bubbs since they ultimately were in charge of the decision to proceed with adoption or continue the search.
Luckily, for all parties involved, the showing went swimmingly! Bubbs seemed happy, confident, comfortable and affectionate during the showing. He even jumped up on the chair to get up close and personal to his potential new human companion!
After the initial showing, we always suggest that everyone to go home and ‘sleep on it’ before we move to the next step in our adoption process. Once we made sure everyone was on the same page, we were able to move forward with officially adopting Bubbs to his new human companion! Everyone involved was ready to take the next step and Bubbs was adopted in July 2022. Bubbs was renamed Leo after adoption. Leo has been safe and sound – and very at home – for six months now. Leo quickly acclimated to his forever home, following his new person around like a little shadow and loving every ounce of affection he can get! At the municipal shelter, Leo did not present a lot of play behavior but after a few weeks in his new home, his playful side really started to blossom even in his senior years! It just goes to show, in the right environment all types of personalities can THRIVE! We offer lifelong support to all of our adopters, and check in with them at different increments throughout the year. Leo’s personality has continued to flourish, he will stand up on his haunches when he wants attention, is much more playful, but really likes to be right by his person’s side most of all! “He’s definitely the kind of guy who likes to be with his person as much of the time as possible. He likes to either be interacting or napping nearby… [he’s] an all-around great companion.”
We are here to do what is best for the animals, and working together with communities, animal care entities, and individuals is a key component in saving animals and harboring an environment of compassion and teamwork! We are so happy we were all able to work together to find Leo his forever home and perfect match!
There are so many homeless pets out there and many inundated shelters which is why we value community connection and collaboration. We want to create an inclusive space, and knowing the cases we often take on may require additional medical care or behavioral considerations, it is helpful to have that open communication and innovation with municipal shelters. We receive weekly updates on available animals in municipal shelters throughout the state that we are able to send out to adoption seekers as well.
We love working together with our community to help homeless pets find their right environment and forever homes, and to help families and individuals find their perfect companions!
