How did you realize your dog was a keeper?

It's impossible to explain. We searched for the "right dog" for about 4 months, met 10+ dogs, went to 2 diff. shelters and looked on Petfinder for hours. And when Stanley walked into our apartment for a home visit... we just knew. And he knew too. It was his home.

The only dog I ever picked was Nikki.  I was 9.  There were three puppies, and Nik just jumped in my lap right away.  The two boy puppies were off playing by themselves, and Nikki wouldn't leave me alone.  I didn't even look at the boys the entire time we were there.  The owners of the parents warned me that she was rotten and could be onery.  I didn't listen, but took her anyways.  They were right!  But she's the best dog ever, and we've definitely had a connection unlike any other I've had with a dog.  I mean, I love my other dogs, but throughout the eleven years Nikki's been with me, we've come to know each other so well.  It's so hard to put into words how big the bond is between us.

Sally--she picked us.  She was dumped at the barn about a week and a half before we moved into an apartment next to the barn, which allowed us to keep her (we looked for anyone missing her--none found).
 
Jack--We went to the breeder wanting a black lab, and this little chocolate lab pup cuddled right up to my leg as soon as I went into the yard.  I remember thinking "I bet we end up with this one," and we did.

The first moment I looked at him.

His second owner was an irresponsible roommate of my husband.  She brought him into the house.  I looked at him looking up at me, scared, dirty, and matted.  My eyes teared up.  It was love at first sight.

After his second owner lost interest.  I took over, but couldn't afford him or had the time for him.  I couldn't stand the thought of giving him to someone I didn't know so I begged, I mean begged my mom to take him. 

I just "knew", DH took some persuading.

We first saw Mookie at the Humane Society - he was 12 weeks old and just the cutest thing. DH said he didn't want 1. A big dog, 2. A black dog, 3. A male. Everything that M was aspiring to be. We left the HS with no puppy and me in tears. Four days later we went back for an adoption open house and M was gone. There was a note on his kennel saying he'd been taken to another adoption outreach program. Unknown to DH I went up to the desk and had the volunteer call the other program and place a hold on M. DH wanted to look at some other shelters/etc. so I just patiently waited until we got to the Tack shop where M was being held. When we walked in the volunteers said Oh you must be his new owners! Poor DH, he was completely confused. Fortunately for me DH is incredibly patient and has a kind heart. When he saw M for the 2nd time there was no way he could resist!

My parents got their youngest dog from a breeder in Colorado. Six months later, there was another litter, so DH and I decided to reserve a boy. There were 3 boys in the litter. My parents visited the pups every couple of weeks and sent us pictures of the boys. Loki was nicknamed "big blackfoot" by my dad. Eventually the breeder asked us to choose one and put a collar on him, so she could sell the others. We were so worried about picking the wrong puppy, especially since we only had pictures to go by and we were 1500 miles away. My dad said "don't worry, you won't get the wrong one". So he put a collar on the big guy for us. When I flew in to pick up Loki, I looked at him and just knew he was the right pup. He's the biggest Elkhound I've ever seen. And the sweetest, smartest boy. We couldn't love him more.
 
I found Odin on Petfinder. I tried to avoid looking for months and one day on an impulse did a search for Norwegian Elkhounds and found a stray named Macklin about 200 miles from where we live. I kept in contact with the shelter for a couple of weeks and kept telling myself "if no one claims him or adopts him, he's meant to be ours". Finally I had enough waiting and drove to pick him up. He had just been neutered and was so smelly (we couldn't bathe him due to his surgery), so it was hard to love on him for the first week he was with us. But I loved him from the time I walked into his kennel and he wiggled his whole body at me. I fell deeper in love after he came home and continued to wiggle every time he saw me.

Max and I sort of picked each other.  He was in a cage at the shelter - there he was, this little honey colored ball of fur with floppy ears, jumping up and down and licking my hand through the bars. The expression on his face just said "Be my new mommy.  Get me out of this cage and take me home. Pleeeeease."  So I did. []
 
Joyce

Roxie was in my driveway one morning in April of this year.  I didn't plan to keep her, because I'd always been a cat lover.  The dog I'd grown up with died years ago, and having another wasn't really what I wanted.  She was a gift for me, though.  I didn't know it at the time, but Roxie came here to pull me through a hard time.  I lost a beloved cat to kidney failure in late May, and Roxie was there to ease the pain.   

Well, my BF and I live together during the week, but on weekends he would leave me all alone in stinking Orlando, and go back to NSB. So every weekend, we would have the same routine. He would get ready to leave, I would pout, he would leave anyway. So one Thursday, he went to NSB, and left me in Otown. And I called him that day, and heard all this BARKING. So he hurries up and practically hangs up on me. That night, we talk, and he tells me that I have to come to NSB, and that he found the perfect dog. I, at this point, don't want a dog. But the next day I went to the shelter, and saw poor Griffen (YUCK. what a bad name!) in the cage. All the other dogs were barking and lunging at the gates, but Griffen ([:'(]) just sat quietly. Probably because he was half-starved and covered in fleas. That's when I knew he was ours. And we promptly renamed him Pirate.

I actually didn't have a choice with Cassidy. There were three puppies in the litter, and the other two were already chosen. But it worked out just fine since she's a really good dog [] Another of the puppies actually had aggression problems when she got older (not because of the way she was raised, though, I know because I knew the dog quite well), and they had to put the dog down after she bit one of the kids....and this was after they had been working with the dog for quite some time. The other puppy ended up getting out and getting hit by a car, so poor Cassidy is the only one left in her litter. [] Anyway....I didn't choose with Mirelle, they chose for me and sent her to me. Though I know it's not the same thing since I won't be keeping her. 

I just love reading all of your stories!  They are so happy[]
 
I know I#%92ve told my story many times but I always say Gizmo picked me.
 
Someone came down my street and randomly dropped off black and white puppies at different doorsteps.  A neighbor kid opened his door to find a puppy, after much wining to his parents they told him “NO” he could not keep her.  So the boy went around the neighborhood and asked other if they could take the puppy, that#%92s how we all found out about the abandoned puppies down our street.  There were about 4 other people down my street who also found similar puppies on their doorstep that day.  Finally he came to me, he said he would have to take her to the shelter because no one wanted her.  I already had a dog and was not sure if I could keep another one but I certainly couldn#%92t see how such a cute puppy could go to the shelter so I said “I#%92ll take her and find her a home”
 
I was only going to foster her but I just got too attached.  Within a week she was potty trained and fit in well with my other dog.  She learned quickly and after I realized how smart she was I knew I could not let her go.  I took her to a vet for a puppy exam just to make sure everything was alright and that vet thought she was a Chihuahua mix because of how small she was.  I didn#%92t like that vet much and never went back.  She must have only been 6 weeks old at the time; she was about the size of my hand.  She is now a tall lean 40lbs dog.[]

Gingerbread was not a planned puppy.... I was at a petstore just looking at puppies (with no plans whatsoever to get a puppy anywhere other than a breeder) and the instant that I saw him and his brother I was like- are those liver and white Shih Tzu!?! That's exactly what I'd wanted for a long time and I just had to hold them. Between the two of them, Gingerbread was more laid back. His brother wagged his tail a lot and gave kisses; Gingerbread just sat there and would wag his tail a little, but mostly was very calm. I just fell in love with him and his gentle spirit.

What really sealed the deal is when my husband said "no" we can't have him and I put him back in the crate. He was drinking from the water bottle, minding his own business, and his littermates were pulling on his tail and basically picking on him. My husband and I felt really sad for him and I had already fallen in love with him- we just couldn't leave him there. And the rest is history. []

I had been looking for a dog for about a year, found a breeder put down a $500.00 deposit, and came across Romeo on the shelter's web page, and there was something about his face, I could not get out of my mind,  it was late at night so I had to wait to the next day.  When we looked into each other's eyes, my heart skipped a beat and I knew I had found the dog I had been looking for, althoug he was everything I thought I did not want. ( male, 6-8 yrs old).
 
We have been together 6 yrs  now and was the best decision I have ever made. 
 
I get off from work at 3:00 am and every morning at 5:00 am, he jumps up in my bed and snuggles with me, he gives me a gazillion kisses first, and flops down, and not even a second later he is snoring, a soft purr that puts me back to sleep, with a big smile on my face.
 
I love my Romeo.

Good thread.
 
I just knew, I guess. I went to the home of the woman who ran the rescue (all the dogs are fostered at her place), and my dog was the only one out of all the dogs shown to me who actually came up to me and gave me a sniff. I had her on my mind as the one I wanted, and when I asked my dad (who came with me) who he liked best, he said he liked the "brown" dog as well -- her! I am so glad I went with a rescue and with an adult dog at that. One of the best things I have ever done in my life.

Destiny.