Helping Herb Find a Home

Herb, a young pup from a litter at HVAFARC, saw his siblings quickly find homes, while he took a little longer to receive interest. Happy Paws Happy Hearts (HPHH) participants, who learn all about animal behaviour and reading body language in sessions, quickly identified that Herb was a very energetic and excitable pup—something that, on first impressions, can unfortunately be seen as an undesirable behaviour. 

While Herb was still waiting in care, the Hunter Valley participants quickly became committed to helping Herb grow, something which made all the difference to Herb’s story.  

Week after week, participants dedicated time to Herb—training, walking, and playing with him to better socialise him and help channel his energy, in the hope to build adoptable behaviours. Tara, one of the HPHH Hunter Valley Program Trainers, was also committed to helping Herb, working with him on her days off, and was proudly joined by participants in her groups to support his progress. 

The team’s hard work paid off when Herb was booked for a meet and greet. The group rallied around him—giving him a big play session before hand to exert some of his energy and relax him. They also made sure he had the perfect harness to make a good first impression, sent him off and cheered him on from the sidelines. 

When the news came that Herb had been adopted, Team Leader, Nina, commented that the joy was contagious. Participants were literally jumping with excitement, so grateful to see him find his new family, and feeling a sense of pride, to tangibly see how their commitment and passion played a role in his happy ending. 

Herb’s story is a powerful example of the win-win model at the heart of HPHH: participants find purpose, build skills, and grow in confidence, while animals receive the care, training, and socialisation they need to thrive—and ultimately, to find their forever homes.