Having dogs in New York City can be rewarding and stressful all at the same time. Not having a car to get places with them, having to be in midtown then make it back to BK by 6 to walk to them, making sure you make that 25 minute walk to the park everyday no matter if it’s 100 degrees outside, raining or snowing can make things hard. But, being able to be apart of an amazing dog community here in the city, having endless fur-friends for play dates and so much more makes it worth it.

I started with one dog, Pharrell… then I saw a post on Facebook about a 6 month old red merle border collie that was left in a house in upstate New York… so then I had two. Well, then I went on vacation and met a sweet Potcake pup on the beaches of the Dominican Republic, and then there were 3. You can see Rumabs adoption story here on the Dodo.

Adopting dogs is the most rewarding feeling in the world, and sometimes you don’t have much say it in. When we found Rumba on the beach, she knew from the moment she licked my face in the sand that she was going to go home with me somehow and someway. When she got off the beach and to New York, she also knew that she wasn’t leaving our house, no matter how many times we said we were just “fostering” her. Rumba had other plans and almost 2 years later she is laying here on my leg as I write this. Dogs choose you sometimes, and I thank God everyday for that.

When you adopt a dog, there are so many things that go into it. You have to make sure you have all the must- haves you need for your new fur-baby, training set up (if needed), things to socialize them and most of all, a lot of love and patience to give them as they get used to the new human and possible new dogs in their life.

When it comes to picking the right food for your newly adopted dog, you want to make sure that you are giving them that good food. Most adoptable dogs have come from bad backgrounds, homeless, neglect, or worse. So getting them on a good diet is a must. That’s why as soon as Rumba got here we got her on Stella & Chewy. Our favorite thing about Stella & Chewy besides the amazing quality of their food is that both of the founding dogs are rescues so the company makes it a MUST to give back. Every bag that is bought they give a meal to an adult shelter dog. So far, they have given OVER 230,000 meals to dogs in need. How freaking amazing is that?

To get involved in Stella + Chewys Journey Home Fund, all you have do is feed your own dog and #JourneyHomeFund, as easy as that!!!

Comment below and let us know your rescue story!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Stella and Chewy's.  The opinions and text are all mine.</p><!-- TapInfluence Comment Widget - Do Not Edit or Remove --><div id="ti-pixel-tracker"></div><script type="text/javascript" src="https://influencers.tapinfluence.com/assets/cogs/core-v4.js"></script> <script>var ts=document.getElementById('ti-pixel-tracker'); var axel = Math.random() + ""; var num = axel * 1000000000000000000; var ti=document.createElement("img"); ti.style.display="none"; ti.src="https://tracking.tapinfluence.com/trk/sCIBT/xa21R/p.png?p=o9CIz" + String.fromCharCode(38) + "i=kzR90" + String.fromCharCode(38) + "ord="+ num + String.fromCharCode(38) + "s=" + encodeURIComponent(document.referrer); ts.parentNode.replaceChild(ti,ts); JSON.stringify({"program_id":"a7a6501e-6a94-11e8-bc94-068617ee6438","post_id":"f0246d64-f1a1-11e8-a01b-06344b32889a"});</script><!-- End Widget --><p>Hello, World!</p>

Megan Rose

Megan is the Co-Founder of Gal's Best Friend and the East Coast Editor. She lives in New York City with her 3 dogs. Megan works in the pet industry on the marketing side, Megan is also the Pet Contributing Editor at Bestprodcuts.com is an author of Rescuing Rumba (coming Fall 2021), and a border member of Global Strays.