How Gouri Uses Sniffspot to Build Connection With Her Rescue

Gouri grew up in a small village in rural India in a family of farmers. Surrounded by lush green vegetation, open spaces, and few vehicles. There were generally dozens of dogs coming and going, living their best outdoor lives in close proximity to humans who fed them. When she and her husband moved to Seattle for their careers in cancer research, living in the city took some getting used to. Gouri knew she wanted a dog in her life, so she started to volunteer with her local shelter. She wanted to learn what to look for in a dog, and how to prepare for bringing a shelter dog into her home. 

Important Connections

Moving to a new country and completely different environment is isolating, and making connections with animals was very helpful for Gouri as she became acclimated to life in Seattle. She learned a lot from the shelter staff and volunteers as she watched them handle the more sensitive dogs whose behavior required extra care and experience. Soon she began walking and sitting with Rover to get her weekly puppy fix. 

Gouri and her husband found Daisy on Petfinder after she had been pulled from a remote shelter in Texas and was living with a foster. She remembers the first picture she saw with Daisy staring straight into the camera, and she was immediately in love. Gouri and her husband knew what they were looking for in a dog (small, not reactive to other dogs, and energetic), so she knew what questions to ask when it came time for paperwork. 

Daisy was eight months old and had very little socialization in that time. Cars were quite frightening, she'd never seen an elevator, and was not entirely sure to do with her toys. Gouri and her husband got to work making positive associations with all of the new things in her life. “Every day is a new memory…there’s always something new that we encounter with a personality like hers…she’s a small dog with a big personality.” Daisy’s first few car rides were to Sniffspots. 

Choosing the Right Spots

In her search for options to exercise and train her new pup, Gouri found Sniffspot. This factored into the initial interviews for adopting Daisy, as she knew outdoor spaces would be important for an energetic dog while living in an apartment. When Daisy first came home, she needed time to decompress as they all got used to each other. Gouri wanted to find safe outdoor spaces to cultivate this new relationship. With the available filters, she and her husband got to work looking for Sniffspots. “We felt confident because we could choose exactly the type of yard we needed--no dogs to be seen or heard from this space,  fully fenced, small dogs shouldn't be able to escape.” During their first few months together, Gouri and Daisy visited Sniffspots several times a week.

How Gouri and Daisy maximized their Sniffdays:

• Safe, off-leash zoomie time. Apartment zoomies with laminate floors and limited space aren’t as safe or fun as a lovely grassy field. 
• Making positive associations with car rides. Turns out when the car transports you to magical spaces, car rides aren’t so bad afterall! Daisy is now a road trip queen.
• Training recall and fetch in an outdoor yet controlled environment. This helps the human and the dog side of the relationship. 
• Special bonding moments. Daisy and her people enjoy stress-free play, unlike dog parks or public places where humans and dogs add a lot of unknown variables to the experience. 

Of the many Sniffspots available in the Seattle area, Daisy’s favorite spots are fully fenced and have open spaces for playing fetch. She also enjoys smaller spots with lots of toys left to explore. 

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Becoming Daisy

Daisy’s foster home had a number of dogs, and there were often children in the home. This exposure was important to Gouri and her husband, and something they wanted to continue to ensure she could be a well-rounded, friendly dog who was able to get out and about with them. Once she was home, they watched her personality and confidence emerge during group training classes. They worked new experiences into their schedule whenever possible, and it’s really paid off. “Combined with our Sniffdays, doggy daycare, and continued training, we now have a beautiful pup who is a fetch pro, a frisbee champ and an absolute crowd-pleaser! We love her so dearly and cannot imagine life without her.”

Helping Daisy make positive connections with the brand new world around her was possible, in part, by access to Sniffspots. Gouri is looking forward to all of the memories she, her husband, and Daisy will make in Seattle.