Review: Adopting Our Dogs from FOHA in Aldie, Virginia

Xak is totally aware that one of the reasons he and I started dating is because of his rotund little Yorkie, Bocephus (Bo for short). The first time I met Bo, he barked at me while laying on the floor, unsure why I was inside his home before eventually settling down to watch my every move with suspicion.

As I was about to leave, Xak picked up Bo in his arms and I gently held his tiny paws and patted his head to say goodbye. I was rewarded with a short, efficient, wag of his tail. It might have been because Bo was thrilled I was leaving, but it made my heart melt anyway. The last time I had held tiny paws was with my sweet pug who passed away in 2013 (I love and miss you so much, Pugsly ❤️).

The next few years, Bo became much more comfortable with me and his tail wags lasted longer upon seeing me. He even (reportedly) became noticeably sad upon my departures. I grew to love Bo very much and was heartbroken on the rainy October night in 2020 when we all drove in silence to the vet hospital to say our final goodbyes.

After Bo passed away, Xak and I agreed it would be a very long time before we could consider getting another dog. However, we both knew that we would be open to adopting one in the future. In 2021, although we weren’t ready, we came up a with a list of criteria:

• Must be from an animal shelter/rescue
• Bonded pair (preferably boys, but not a big deal)
• Small (less than 20 pounds each)
• Local (Northern Virginia area)
• Less than 2 years old

This seemed like a pretty specific wishlist, and honestly we did not expect to find any exact matches anytime soon. However, we hoped that if we were patient, we would eventually find the right pair of pups to join our family.

Turns out, the right match is out there if you’re willing to wait four years for it. 😊

About FOHA (Friends of Homeless Animals)

During my frequent visits to Petfinder, I stumbled upon pet listings from a local rescue named Friends of Homeless Animals (commonly known as FOHA) in Aldie, Virginia. This no kill animal rescue has been saving the lives of thousands of dogs and cats since 1973. One of the things that stood out to me about this shelter is the amount of clearly laid out information on their website for a potential adopter for each pet including background, pictures, and adoption fees. The other thing that really interested me with was the fact that their physical address is literally located on “Goodpuppy Lane.” (Really)

FOHA has an active social media presence, and I started following them so I could be alerted when potential dogs that met our criteria were available. On the website, you can filter the dogs by size, gender, and age. Most of the time, the “small” filter (25 pounds or less) was not available, since small dogs get picked up extremely fast. Even though I was just browsing, it was always nice to see when dogs would switch from “available to adopt” to “pending adoption.”

Since I knew that our list of criteria would be extremely difficult to meet, it became a habit to check several times a week. I also made sure to send every single adorable pup to Xak as well (which he enjoyed immensely).

Finding (and Missing Out) The Right Pair of Pups

One December afternoon in 2024, I was during my normal checks of local shelters when I noticed two little pups (named Peter and Pan) listed on a FOHA Facebook post with the following description:

• Bonded Pair of two boys
• Small (10 pounds each)
• Around one year old
• Local (since FOHA is in Aldie)

I did a quadruple take, and quickly texted Xak, who was sitting at the airport about to board a plane. Since Xak was so used to me sending him dog listings, I figured he wouldn’t even check it until he landed. To my surprise, he replied immediately with great interest. We decided we would schedule an appointment for after he returned and talk more after he landed.

“Are these our new family members?!?!”

-Me, excitedly talking out loud to no one since Xak wasn’t home

After two hours of me impatiently waiting for Xak to land so we could figure out when to schedule the appointment, I realized something had changed on the website listing:

PENDING ADOPTION???? WHAT THE —

-Me, in shock and still talking out loud to no one since xak wasn’t home

Naturally, I refreshed the page about a dozen times to see if maybe the site had messed up. All dozen times, the status remained the same. When Xak happily texted he had landed along with available dates for a potential meet and greet, I had to break the sad news to him. We knew that finding the right pair of pups for us would be a difficult journey and we would just have to continue to be patient. Still, I couldn’t help feeling sad and disappointed since I really thought these boys could be the one.

Scheduling A Meet and Greet

A week later, Xak came home and we were in the middle of discussing our upcoming holiday travel plans at the end of December. As I was doing my check of available dogs in the area, the same pair of pups I had seen earlier that month (Peter and Pan) were listed on the FOHA site again with an “Available Adoption” tag. A dozen refreshes later to check if the website was cached or messing up, I realized this was real.

After a quick confirmation from Xak on his schedule, we quickly clicked on the “Set Up an Appointment” button in the sidebar on one of the dog’s webpages. It took us to the Sign Up Genius site (specifically for FOHA appointments) and listed available time slots for Friday and Saturday. Friday was out of the question because of work obligations. We had plans on Saturday at 2 PM, but the first available slot was for 12 PM which we promptly snapped up.

The site also encourages potential adopters to fill out a non-binding application which can help with the process. The form asks for things like your contact information (name and address), which animal you’re interested in adopting, your pet history, your current living situation, and how you plan to take care of your new family member. Nothing that should be too difficult to answer if you’re serious about adopting a pet.

After submitting the form, we received a confirmation that our application was received (along with a copy of our responses) and that our application was under review.

The next email, which wereceived later that night, notified us that our application had been reviewed and that we were invited to schedule a meet and greet through a Sign Up Genius link (oops, I guess I did things a little out of order). At the bottom of the email, it stated that other adopters could potentially place an adoption hold for the dogs you are scheduled to meet prior to your appointment… suddenly I wondered if waiting until Saturday would turn out to be a bad move. 😕

Meet and Greet With the Pups

After stressing out the entire week, Saturday finally came around and we got into the car to head to our appointment. There’s a video tour on the FOHA Youtube channel which naturally I watched multiple times to ensure I knew we were going to the right place. I also checked Google Maps numerous times to ensure that “Goodpuppy Lane” actually existed.

The road leads into a wooded area, and the entrance was a little tight. As we were entering, someone else was trying to exit so we played a small game of “you go first, no you” with the other car until both of us successfully got past each other.

After a few turns, we saw some signs that reassured that we were indeed in the right location (and not trespassing into someone’s private backyard). We could hear the sounds of dogs barking and playing outside and saw a few buildings including the adoption office, where we had been instructed to enter for the meet and greet.

Truthfully, I was nervous. Even though this was a “no pressure” meet and greet, I felt a ton of anxious excitement: These pups could be our potential new family members! Or, they could end up hating us… or they could already be adopted by someone who had a Friday appointment. 😕

Luckily, we pulled up into the parking lot right in front of the adoption office before I could come up with more worst case scenarios. We headed up the steps and opened the door… or tried to. As we opened the door, we saw people rushing to the door to close it yelling for us to hold on and we stood back on the porch startled wondering what we did wrong. 😳

A few minutes later, the door opened again and we were allowed to walk in. We were informed that an adoption was currently taking place in the office (meaning another dog was in the building) which is why they couldn’t let us in right at that moment. I felt relieved. We hadn’t done anything wrong after all. 😮‍💨

The Adoption Office

Once we were let into the adoption office, we signed in at a computer and confirmed that we were here to see the bonded pair of little pups, Peter and Pan. The office was quite long with office equipment, some tables to review paperwork, a little closed off area full of dog toys and a small bench, and lots of wall decor, signs, and flyers.

After signing in, we were informed that the dogs would be brought out to the office and in the meantime we could review their files which included vaccination information, health history, and most recent vet visit. Since these boys were strays, some things like their age and breed type were just best guesses.

As Xak and I reviewed the files, we also inquired as to why this pair was available again after already being adopted. The FOHA staff was open and transparent: ultimately the pups had done nothing wrong. It simply was not the right fit for the previous adopter and per the FOHA contract, the dogs were returned back to the shelter.

As we continued to review their file and waiting for the dogs to enter the adoption office, another couple entered and said they were here to see the same bonded pair as Xak and me. Alarm bells immediately rang in my head and I flashed a look of panic over at Xak.

“Did I set the wrong appointment time??”

-Me, panic whispering to Xak

As it turned out, the couple who had just entered apparently had NOT set up an appointment. While walk-ins are allowed, appointments are preferred and will get precedence. The FOHA staff informed the couple that someone (us) had an appointment with Peter and Pan so they could either wait or perhaps see another dog in the meantime. So important PSA to all: MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!

Luckily, just as I couldn’t take it anymore, the door opened and in bounced the two most adorable pair of pups.

Meeting the Pups

Even though I had seen the dogs online through pictures and a video, I was absolutely not prepared for my heart to melt from cuteness. At the same time, it was clear that they had extreme puppy energy (as evident from them literally leaping vertically 2+ feet into the air like a slinky).

We were guided into the enclosed play area where the dogs each grabbed toys out of the toy bin to play. Their tags were wagging non-stop and I had the most ridiculous grin on my face which matched the ridiculous grin on Xak’s face.

After a bit of playtime in the pen, we asked the staff members if we could take the dogs out for a walk on the grounds. We were provided treats, poop bags, slip leads and leashes, and brought the dogs out of the adoption office and into an open field area, each of us holding the leash for one dog.

We spent about an hour letting the dogs sniff the trees, fight to pee in the same place at the exact same time (meaning someone’s head would get in the line of fire), jump on the benches, stopping them from eating grass and watched as they wrestled non-stop and pulled hard on their leashes. Throughout the whole hour, these dogs could not stand to be apart even for a moment.

As Xak and I watched them, I had a lot of thoughts in my head. These pups were strays and had no training of any kind. As adorable as they were, they would be a ton of work. Most people struggle with one 12 week old puppy and here we were thinking about adopting TWO dogs who were basically puppies. We’ve had freedom to do anything we’ve wanted for the past 4 years, like sleeping in until 1 pm, staying inside for 4 days straight during a snowstorm, and leaving socks carelessly on the floor (ok, that’s just me). Those days would be over.

However, when Xak and I looked at each other to discuss what we thought, both of us had the same happy smile on our faces and I knew that we had already made the same decision (which we still verbally confirmed, of course)

As we started heading in the direction of the adoption office, a staff member was heading towards us and asked if we wanted to proceed with adoption. Apparently, the other couple who had entered was still waiting in the office and she needed to tell them if they should continue waiting around. I felt a little bad for the other couple since they literally waited an entire hour for us to finish our visit, but… what can you do when you’ve met new family members for the first time 😊

Proceeding with the Adoption

We headed back inside the adoption office with the pups to begin filling out the necessary paperwork. Most adoptions typically take about a week since it involves a few things such as

• having your vet references checked (if you had previous pets)
• having a meet and greet between your future FOHA pet and current pets
• having a consultation with a FOHA staff member

Since Xak and I were leaving in less than 24 hours for a week, we asked to have a hold placed on the dogs for an extra week. The hold costs $200, however that money is applied to your overall adoption fee which is dependent on the type of pet and age (up to date fees are listed on the FOHA Policy page)

As we signed the paperwork and put down the deposit, we sat on the floor with our future pups for a few more minutes before saying goodbye. As the pups departed, Xak and I returned to our car and sat for a few moments in silence. To those boys, we were just new humans who stopped them from eating a lawn buffet and probably wouldn’t see again. To us though, they were our new family!

We both had high hopes for this meet and greet, and those pups were as wonderful as I had hoped they would be. Now it was time to plan for our new family members to come home. For starters, we decided on their names: Boba and Chai 😊

the Adoption Consultation

Since Xak and I were leaving the very next day by car, we had plenty of time to talk during the trip about what we needed to purchase. The shopping list at this point was about 3x the length of a CVS receipt. Beds, leashes, collars, food, ID tags, and so many other essentials like toys. Lots of toys.

We had been notified during our meet and greet visit that we would be contacted by someone from FOHA to schedule an online Zoom call for the consultation along with a handbook for caring for your rescue dog. Although it was the week of Christmas, we were able to find a time convenient for everyone on the Friday after Christmas.

Prior to the call, I read the entire handbook which described in great detail how to handle the adjustment period for your new pet, useful general information like foods to avoid, and specific topics for FOHA pets such as microchip information and adoption fees.

During the call, we discussed any questions we had about the adoption process, the dogs themselves, and also shared our previous experience with the animals. We were asked questions about how we planned on exercising them, our yard/fence situation, how we would handle leaving them alone if we were at work, and basically all the questions you should have no problem answering if you’re trying to adopt a pet.

At the end of the call, we were informed that we would be sent a Sign Up Genius link to schedule our pickup time, just like when you make an appointment. Since the link gets refreshed with the new dates every week, we were told we wouldn’t receive it right away (that didn’t stop me from refreshing my email about 1000 times).

After the 1001 time of me checking, the new dates were finally up and we set our pickup date for January 3rd at 12 PM. New year, new family members!

Adoption Day

After coming home from our trip on New Year’s Eve, the whole week went by as a blur due to my uncontrollable excitement. As we finalized dog proofing our house, making three separate gigantic Chewy orders, frantically getting ID tags made once we realized one of the Chewy orders wouldn’t arrive in time, January 3rd was here!

The drive back to Goodpuppy Lane felt a little different that day. The backseat of our car this time had new special car seats and I realized this was the last time that Xak and I would be driving anywhere as a family of two.

When we entered the adoption office (by knocking first, heh), we sat back down at the table to review the final paperwork and complete the payment. We were also given a bag containing the following:

• two slip leads
• toys
• treats
• a small bag of the food the dogs had been eating
• one month supply of flea, tick, and heartworm medication

When the dogs were brought in, my heart melted yet again. They excitedly hopped their way around the office to greet everyone and then began to happily dig into the toy bin to find a suitable toy. Once said toy was obtained, they commenced a game of tug with each other.

While they were playing, Xak and I tried to put on the new collars we purchased for them only to find out that they didn’t fit. Of course we found that out after Xak had painstakingly attached the bone shaped ID tags to each collar. 😒

Luckily, the FOHA folks had a couple of extra collars that fit the boys just fine, which we were very grateful for. Several minutes later of Xak struggling to remove and secure the ID tags to the better fitting collars, the pups were reluctantly wearing their new neckwear.

As we were wrapping up in the office, it was time for the pups to say goodbye to their FOHA friends and to head to their new home (our house). Since the boys were so attached to the toy they were playing with, we were told we could also take it home along with a sweater and a coat since it was so cold outside.

Instead of jumping directly into the car though, we stopped to take a few photos in front of the famous FOHA going home bench and then walked around the grounds again. The boys happily sniffed and wrestled, just like the first time we saw them, completely oblivious that they were about to go to their forever home.

After a bit of ruff housing and lots of sniffing, we guided them to our car and placed them into their separate car seats. There was confusion (“why can’t I sit with my brother”) and also curiosity (“where are we going”) and I was worried that they would whine and bark the entire way from unhappiness. Surprisingly, they were so quiet during the whole ride that I only realized they were there because I had picture and video evidence.

Welcome Home, Boba and Chai

Once we got home, we let Boba and Chai explore their new home and get comfortable with their surroundings. After a few hours of playtime, chewing bones, and dinner, it was time for them to settle down for their first night. We had been advised that the boys preferred to sleep in the same bed, but I was still worried that they might not sleep through the night. Luckily my worries were unfounded.

As we spent the next few days getting Boba and Chai settled into their new homes, we spent time reviewing the documents that FOHA had sent over which included downloadable links to medical history, contact sheets, and even a coupon to Petco (which sadly we forgot to use before it expired)

It’s been a little less than two months since we’ve brought Boba and Chai home and honestly I can’t imagine our life without them. We love them so very much and we are so incredibly grateful to everyone at FOHA for being so kind and supportive with a special shoutout to Natasha for helping us during the meet and greet, Heidi for working with us during the consultation, and Rob for walking us through adoption day.

Thank you so much FOHA for taking such great care of Boba and Chai and bringing them home to us! If you are looking to add a pet to your family, please strongly consider adopting and looking at FOHA or your local animal shelter.

For more of Boba and Chai’s daily adventures, follow us on Instagram at @twopupsoftea!