Adopt This Dog! (Cupcake... Falling in love with the last 10%)

Apr 04, 2012

I've been volunteering with APA! for several years now and have been a giant dog nerd pretty much since birth. As a child, I drew up contracts for my mother about all of the things I was willing to offer would she just get me a dog.   In all this time, I have loved a lot of dogs and there are many that I would happily have taken home.  But there have only been a handful that have completely stolen my heart and made me wish with everything I've got that they could be my dog.

Cupcake is one of those dogs.

I had a hard time deciding how to write this blog post.  I've written about this girl before and I gush about her constantly.  I think she is one of the most amazing dogs in the world (EVER!) and I'm blown away that she has been waiting for her home for OVER A YEAR.  I joked with another person who shares my Cupcake obsession that I would like to write this entire post in all caps, essentially screaming ADOPT THIS DOG!!!!  over & over again.

How can I best come up with an effective way to convey the happiness Cupcake puts into the world?  How can I make her person notice her and realize how infinitely lucky they'd be to have this dog in their life?

I have decided to put it in the form of an abbreviated, slightly unorthodox thesis.  My thesis is this: "Cupcake is one of the greatest creatures ever to grace this earth and you should take her wiggly behind home!"  If I prove my thesis, rather than a passing grade, I expect an adopted Cupcake.  I demand it, Austin.  ADOPT THIS DOG!



1. She is a petite, wiggly bundle of adorableness! Cupcake is an athletic little package with one of the best cabooses in Austin, which is saying a lot for such a fit city.  She has a heart stopping smile made all the more adorable by a slight underbite and her face is incredibly animated.  She's full of smarts and spice and it all shows on her crazy cute, always happy to see you face.

Her coloring appears to have been applied by an expert designer.  She carries all of this cuteness with wiggly, goofy grace that has the power to compel you to change trajectory and walk towards her, entering her magical forcefield of amazingness.  She even makes people break into giggles, skip, and start to wiggle back at her!

2. She is smart, sassy fun times a million! Just saying hello to this dog is guaranteed to be one of the best parts of your day so imagine what it's like to actually hang out with her!  From the full body wiggles, happy bounces, sparkly smile, and bevy of kisses and enthusiastic cuddles you get when you greet her, comes time spent with a dog who's a true best friend and companion.

It's impossible to forget or fail to appreciate the awesome dog at the end of your leash or flopped by your side.  Cupcake is super smart, excels at training, and learns new skills with lightning speed.  What's more, she loves it!  She can knock out an agility course, perform commands and tricks with style, and is an awesome partner in crime for all of your adventures!  Not to mention, Cupcake comes with a training scholarship to help her awesomeness continue to soar!



3. She is an expert cuddler, napper, and slayer of stress. Had a rough day?  Just feeling tired?  There is nothing better than relaxing with this sweet creature by your side.  Cupcake radiates affection and love and you can't be in her presence and still think the world sucks.  How could it when she's here?

Cupcake may be a sparkly, energetic girl but she has also been known to cuddle right by your side for as long as you need.  Sometimes she's belly up, sometimes she's in your lap, sometimes she's nomming a toy and gazing at you with her best, "I love you, everything's awesome, huh?" face, making it impossible for you to disagree.

4. She has an indomitable spirit and makes being part of the last 10% look easy. Despite months in the shelter, and contrary to almost every other dog we've ever had, Cupcake's spirit never dimmed even a sliver.  She has been in foster the past few months because, frankly, spending any longer there given this dog has been with us over a year would be terribly unfair.  However, Cupcake never deteriorated.  She never became depressed or exhibited escalating behaviors as is often the case with a long stay dog.

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Adopt CupcakeOn the contrary, we worked on her reactivity (the sole reason we can find that she hasn't been adopted) in the chaotic shelter setting with great success.  She went from a girl who made gremlin sounds at other dogs from all the way across the street to a girl and who needed entire handfuls of cheese in her face the entire time the other dog was in view, to a girl who could successfully be in group training classes with other dogs and pass them within about 8 feet with just some simple redirection.

While our program gets some credit, it's really a function of the fact that Cupcake is an incredible dog with an unshakeable spirit, an ever present sense of optimism and fun, and a true love of life.



5. Cupcake makes the world a better place! I am not kidding nor am I exaggerating.  It has been said that everything is better when Cupcake is there and that statement is one of the truest ever made.  Her enthusiasm, the joy in her heart that's expressed with her entire being, and just how much she loves you when you're one of her people cannot help but make every day a little bit brighter.

As my final piece of evidence, I invite you to go meet this girl in person.  Really, that's all the proof my argument needs but this post is serving as the means to get you there.  Go meet Cupcake, take her home, make her fan club incredibly jealous, and give her a hug and sloppy kiss to celebrate the best decision you'll ever make in your life.  Email [email protected] and ADOPT THIS DOG!!



We have started a drive to raise funds to hire professional dog trainers to help us work with and develop training plans for dogs like Cupcake.  Can you commit to $25 per month to pay for an hour of professional training per month?  Our goal is to build up to 100 hours of training per month so we can save more of Austin’s homeless dogs this year!

You can set up a recurring or one-time donation here– just select “dog behavior program” in the program dropdown so we know your donation is to pay for training.  And $25/month makes you part of our Constant Companion Club!

Visit our program page and follow the LFS dogs on facebook to see how else you can help give these dogs a chance.