ADOPTED: The Buster Effect

This post is long overdue considering that we fostered Buster almost a month ago. With each foster dog, I continue to be amazed with what I learn about animal rescue.

Buster was found as a stray in a local city--emaciated and clearly not cared for. The family who found him tried unsuccessfully to find him a home because they couldn't keep him. They contacted our rescue group to see if we could take him.

One afternoon, another volunteer helped me load Buster into my car. When she closed the door, I looked at him in my back seat at him—ears up, head tiled—and said, "Buster, you are one funky dude." I thought he would probably be with us for awhile because of just how funky I thought he looked, but it turns out that the more unique a dog looks, the more people want to adopt him.

"The Buster Effect," as I've termed it, is the exact opposite of the "I Need a Specific Breed Effect." There are plenty of people out there who only want a Lab that looks like every other Lab and acts like every other Lab on planet Earth. But it turns out that there's another contingency of people who want a dog that looks like no other dog out there.

Well, with those big bunny ears and quizzical look, Buster was that one-of-a-kind dog. It didn't hurt that he had a Prince-Charming type personality. I think he was Missy's best foster friend yet, and he just loved every person he met.

Buster was only with us for a week or two before being adopted by a couple who was instantly won over after one look at those ears. Buster, you're gonna break some hearts, you funky dude, you!