Valentine Is Adopted!

We went to the shelter to pick up a dog who wasn’t doing well and needed our help.

What we didn’t expect… was Valentine.

A young, adorable, one-year-old GSP mix who had already been there longer than she should have.

She had been watching. Waiting. And somehow, still hopeful. In that moment, leaving her behind felt impossible. So Valentine came with us.

She leapt into the car as if she had always known this was her journey—tail wagging, eyes bright, completely ready to trust us and whatever road came next.

And that is Valentine. A remarkable little dog with a gentle spirit and a heart that seems to connect with everyone she meets.

As a GSP mix, Valentine had the beautiful qualities we love about the breed, but with softer edges. She was a bundle of joy! She wasn't nearly as intense or demanding as many one-year-old purebred GSP’s can be. Her energy was much more manageable, making her an easier companion for someone who wants an active young dog without quite the same level of intensity.

But make no mistake—she was still a young dog who would need an active life, and would thrive in a home with a friend or two. She was friendly and affectionate with people and absolutely loved being around other dogs. She enjoyed playing, making friends, and being part of the action. She had a wonderful social nature and seemed happiest when she was with her people or canine companions.

There was something incredibly special about watching Valentine experience life after spending so much time waiting for someone to notice her.

Then someone did.

Valentine Finds Her Forever Home

When Abigail and Brandon reached out to us, they were looking for something very specific.

They wanted a young female German Shorthaired Pointer to become a companion for their four-year-old Belgian Malinois, Bullet.

They had never owned a GSP before, but they were an active couple and understood what comes with bringing a young GSP into your family. They were prepared to provide the exercise, training, structure, and time a young dog needs to thrive.

There was one other very important requirement. She had to be cat friendly.

Abigail and Brandon had been searching for quite some time, checking local shelters and looking for the right dog. Unfortunately, they just weren't finding what they needed.

So they reached out to us. They were hoping for a young, purebred GSP who was already house trained and would be a good companion for Bullet and their cats.

The problem? We didn't have a dog who checked all those boxes. But we did have Valentine.

She wasn't the purebred GSP they had envisioned. And she wasn't necessarily the perfectly finished young dog they were hoping for. But Valentine had something that caught our attention. She had shown promise with our office cat.

And knowing how important that was to Abigail and Brandon, we wondered if this sweet GSP mix might be the unexpected answer to their search.

So we introduced them to Valentine.

There was some hesitation at first. They had their hearts set on a purebred GSP, and they had also hoped to find a dog who was already house trained.

But sometimes the dog you think you are looking for isn't necessarily the dog who steals your heart.

After our telephone conversation, Abigail and Brandon couldn't stop thinking about Valentine. They wanted to meet her. So they made the long drive to meet Valentine—and, of course, brought Bullet along for the most important introduction of all.

And somehow… everything just fell into place.

The meeting went better than we could have hoped. Bullet met Valentine. Valentine met her potential family.

And somewhere along the way, the search for the "perfect" dog became much less important than the connection right in front of them.

The young purebred GSP they had originally imagined wasn't the dog waiting for them. Valentine was.

And just like that, the girl who had once been sitting in a shelter waiting for someone to notice her was heading home.

Not just to a new house.

Not just to a new family.

But to her forever home.

Sometimes, the best endings happen when neither side finds exactly what they expected—but they find exactly who they were meant to find.

First Day

“Hello Teri! 

Things are going well. Bullet and Valentine are still getting to know each other but for the most part are getting along very well. 

She did super in her crate overnight, didn’t make one peep and had no accidents. She’s been good throughout today as well, we’ve been making sure she goes out with Bullet and he generally pees which then makes her pee as well. 

She has learned that wood floors can be slippery and is a bit scared of them right now. She’s sorta playing the floor is lava hopping from one carpet to another. Ha! We adjusted some of our carpets to help her move around till she’s more confident. 

She also learned what stairs are! She went up but refused to come down yesterday evening.. I had to carry her. lol! Today she watched bullet go up and down and we used it as a training moment. She went down with him so hopefully over the coming days she will get better! 

She also met our one cat. They hid in the closet together when I was trying to get her to go down the stairs. 

In general, she’s eating, peeing and pooping as expected”. 

One Week Update

“Good morning! 

Valentine has done really well this week. She learned how to walk on the wood floors.. still slips sometimes but is way more confident. She also is super comfortable running up and down the stairs, and even learned how to jump up on the couch and loves it there. 

Her and Bullet had a little scuffle last week centered around food and a toy but we haven’t had any issues since. We think maybe she thought she needed to guard her food and the toy… Brandon did some training and she’s been good. She doesn’t mind us touching her or her food when she eats so we are happy to work through whatever caused it. 

She also had some practice with recall this week, learned sit and stay. She has been so so good in her crate and on Saturday we left her for 5 hrs and had no accident. 

Last night with the fireworks was a little rough for her. We expected it because a few days ago she got really scared after hearing a loud pop. She stayed with us most of the night and we realized putting a movie on to drowned out the noise helped quite a bit. 

She is settling in very very well and we are super pleased with her progress in such a short time”.

One Month Update

“Hello! 

Valentine has meshed with our family better than we could have ever expected! Her and our Belgian Malinois are best friends- they wrestle, drink from the same bowl, steal each others toys, and sleep in one another’s beds. Valentine has also made a friend with both our cats (which was a huge check in the box).  And of course last but not least, she showed us how great she is around horses. We own a horse and attend competitions regularly and after Valentines first 2 weeks she was able to attend one and showed us how great she is around the hustle and bustle of people, dogs, kids, and VERY large animals! 

Aside from getting along with all our animals, she does great in the house. We didn’t know for sure if she was house broken when we adopted but turns out she is potty trained and crate trained and is the happiest girl. 

We are super thankful we waited for the right pup to come along. We had been looking for a GSP for almost 5 years, paused our search when we moved overseas (due to lots of travel) and then when we came back to the states applied to a few rescues. We actually ended up with our Malinois because we went to a shelter to pick up a GSP, but it was adopted by the time we arrived. Turns out this whole time we were waiting for Ms Valentine. She is cute as a button and so lovable and still has plenty of “puppy energy” to keep up with our other dog. 

We are looking forward to continuing her training and her continuing to settle in to our everyday life”. 

- Abigail and Brandon