A Valentine’s event for the dogs

At the Roses for Noses pop-up adoption event, held recently in a storefront in Chinatown, lots of canine bachelors and bachelorettes from the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in New York City and partner organizations made love connections and found homes. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, 16 of the 19 dogs at the event were adopted, and the three who didn’t are sure to find true love soon.

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Love can’t be rushed, which is why Onyx, an eight-year-old dog from Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC), waited a little longer than most to find a home. But that wait came to an end during the pop-up event when he finally found true love with adopters who only had eyes for him.

Anna, a dog from another Best Friends Network partner group, Louie's Legacy Animal Rescue, also waited patiently for love, but then she met a police academy cadet who works with K-9 unit dogs.

It was also a special day for a tiny Chihuahua named Rocky — a dog with a big heart, literally. Rocky (who was from the Best Friends Lifesaving Center) has advanced cardiac disease with a heart murmur, but that didn’t stop him from getting adopted at the event. How perfect is it that a pup with a heart condition found true love at a Valentine’s Day event?

For Mallory Kerley, Best Friends’ communication manager in New York, the best part of the weekend was the hug she got from a little girl who had just met her new best friend. When Mallory asked her if she was happy to go home with her new dog, the girl paused for a second and then ran full force into Mallory’s arms and squeezed as hard as she could, saying, “Thank you so much.”

“This is why we do what we do,” Mallory says. “For the animals, of course, but also to make dreams come true for the people who choose to love.”

Find love near you. Adopt a pet.

Photos by Shannon Kirkman