This is the story of @Canadog, the craziest, cutest collection of rescue pups on Instagram in the Great White North.
Canadog began when Holly Brookhouser, the three pupz’ mamz, was volunteering at the Lifeline Animal Placement and Protection shelter in Wichita, KS where she had the intention of finding a big old dog in need of a home.
The first day she volunteered at the shelter, Holly made the rounds and fell in love with all of the big pups. That day at the shelter Holly was assigned to clean the area for all of the small pups. It was there she met Davey– the most impatient, crazy, uncouth terrier mutt she’d ever met.
Davey was about a year old and he’d never had a home. Six months before, Davey was saved from euthanasia at the pound and the only thing he knew was a kennel. Holly fought this little fella’s affection towards her for two weeks until she couldn’t resist any longer. She apologized to all of the big old dogs as Davey walked out of the shelter with her in April 2010.
When Holly brought Davey home, he was a holy terror. He hiked his leg on everything, tormented her old Cocker Spaniel– basically Davey was like if “Donkey” from Shrek existed in dog form in real life. After all of Davey’s crazy antics, Holly questioned taking him in but she was never going to give up. After a few weeks of work, Holly’s husband declared, “You can have a house full of Daveys!” After that, things settled and Davey became a complete cuddle bug.
A few months later Holly’s daughter fell in love with Mini the Chihuahua. Mini was four years old and had been given up by her previous owners after they lost their job. Holly did NOT want a Chihuahua–ever. She wanted that big pup in her life. But the connection between Mini and Holly’s daughter became undeniable. So in September 2010 Mini joined their family and broke all stereotypes Holly had of her breed. <3
A few years went by and the Brookhouser’s old Cocker Spaniel lost a battle to cancer and Holly started fostering a 12-year-old Schnauzer. Gracie was the sweetest old gal, so polite and quiet. Gracie was very loyal to Holly and she constantly stayed close and even would howl if Holly went outside without her. Holly knew it was fate and became a foster failure in September 2011.
Though Gracie wasn’t as young and playful as Davey and Mini, she was a perfect addition to the Brookhouser’s “muttly” crew and Holly couldn’t imagine life without her. 🙂
After Holly’s family adopted Gracie, the Brookhousers got news that they’d be moving to Ontario, Canada for a new job. After some searching, they found a landlord who would allow a family where the four-legged members outnumbered the two-legged members and in June 2012 they made the long trek up from Kansas to Canada.
Once Holly’s family got settled, Holly got the itch to start volunteering and helping pups again… But since their furry family was at maximum capacity for the landlord, Holly found a new way to give a voice to shelter pets– through Instagram.
@Canadog was born!
With her iPhone in hand Holly started documenting Canada through her dogs while showing the world that shelter pets rock.
Through all of Holly’s experiences adopting pups, her family has developed a passion for promoting pet adoption through social media. On @Canadog, Holly’s first, foremost, and favorite hashtag is always #adoptdontshop. Holly’s daughter, Macy, enjoys spreading the word about pet adoption as well. 😉
It’s Holly’s goal to let the world know that you can find the perfect four-legged family member without setting foot in a pet shop and she accomplishes this goal one adorable picture at a time. 🙂
For more cute pics of the @Canadog clan, follow them on Instagram!
