Oscar (Riff)

Riff was the last of the Junkpile to find his home, which didn't surprise me. He's always been more cautious and slow to adapt. When I dropped them off at Petsmart, he hunkered down in a depressed huddle and didn't move the entire time I was there. Typically, I'd just drop off and then leave, but the teen volunteer didn't show up so I got to hang out and help in the back for most of the day. During any lull in activity when I'd check on the babies, Flotsam and Scrapper would both come begging for me to pick them up and hold them, but Riff just continued to lay down, curled up in a ball. I was heading out of town for the week and worried about him the entire time I was gone. Brother Flotsam was adopted that day, but Scrapper and Riff stayed at Petsmart for days. I returned to town on Thursday and arranged to go in on Friday morning to clean their kennels so I could see them. But during my drive home (I wasn't driving... just riding) my friends told me Scrapper got adopted. My heart cheered for her, but I worried even more about Riff. I planned to go in very early and give him a lot of time to play- maybe even trying to entice people to look at us so they could see how sweet he is with someone he knows. But a family stopped by late Thursday evening and fell in love through the window. A volunteer was able to race to Petsmart to get him adopted out while the store was closing for the evening!! Yay Riff!
But in the rush through the late night adoption, his gift bag and microchip card were overlooked. One of my new volunteer jobs is to mail out microchip cards to adopters if they're forgotten, so I was able to look up their contact info to reach out and ask if I could meet with them so I could give them their gift bag in addition to the microchip card. Not only were they ok with it, they immediately sent me pictures!!

I LOVED seeing Riff already making furry friends. He definitely learns love and trust by watching how other furballs are treated, so a house with a well loved cat is perfect for him. Here he is with new brother, Leo- a 1.5 year old rescue.

They wanted to honor his connection to being found in a junkpile and named him Oscar, which I absolutely loved! I made them a little photoshop.

I tried hard to be very respectful of Oscar's new family and not demand info or pictures, but mom shared that she loves to take pictures and introduced me to the entire clan, offering to keep me updated on Oscar's life as he grows.

She also happily invited me to see him when I drop off his gift bag tomorrow and sent me a facebook request. We discovered we have even more connections- a shared love for Disney, RHS Tiger Band, and mutual friends. I'm so excited for Oscar's new life!

Update 1/28/23

I had a lovely visit with Oscar and his amazing family. Oscar was still not sure about his new home and pretty scared of their dogs, but their cat Leo fell in love at first sight and was helping Oscar adjust. I took some toys and treats and loved getting to play with him and help him feel comfortable in his new home.

Now we're facebook friends and they send me updated pictures now and then. No more fear in Oscar! He loves his new family and cuddles with his puppy pals now. It's lovely to see how much he is loved and adored!