Princess, Sonoma County Animal Shelter’s longest resident, adopted after 644 days

The Sonoma County Animal Shelter’s longest resident finally has a forever home.

Princess, a German shepherd mix who was mentioned in a recent Press Democrat article about the adoption of shelter dog Ace after 469 days, was adopted on Dec. 28, 2023, after 644 days at the shelter.

Before coming to the Santa Rosa shelter in March 2022, Princess bounced from owner to owner.

“She was an owner surrender,” said Shelter Supervisor Emma Diemert in an interview with The Press Democrat. “(Her original owners) could not handle her. She was previously adopted once before but was then returned because of her energy level and strength. She was a lot of dog.”

Despite her overwhelming dog-ness, Princess is “super loving, really smart and very affectionate,” according to Diemert.

“She just needed someone more experienced, someone more acclimated to a high-energy breed,” said Diemert. “Finding the right fit for a dog like that can be kind of difficult. Even our most experienced handlers had a little bit of difficulty with her because she’s so strong.”

But Princess’s behavior and strength wasn’t the only thing narrowing her chances — she never blew up on social media like some of the other shelter dogs.

Diemart regularly posts videos on TikTok and Instagram about the shelter’s animals in an attempt to find them new homes.

A few of those videos have gone viral.

TikTok videos about Ace the Husky and Galapagos, a Shar-Pei mix adopted in May, for example, both garnered well over 1 million views.

Diemert posted videos of Princess, but they didn’t attract as much engagement as the other videos.

“Some of her videos did relatively well,” said Diemert. “We tried to post Princess two to three times a month, because she was our longest resident at the time. But they never caught on quite like the other videos we’ve done.”

But all hope was not lost for Princess.

Things started looking up when she was offered free training and boarding. K9 Activity Club & Lodge reached out to Sonoma County Animal Services last year to offer free day care and ongoing boarding for a few shelter dogs.

Diemert suggested they take Princess.

“She was a longer-term resident and needed a break. It seemed like a good opportunity for her,” said Diemert. “It’s fun to say, ‘This dog goes to doggy day care twice a week.’ It just makes them that much more adoptable. I mean, who doesn’t want a fully trained dog by the time they adopt it?”

But volunteer efforts ended up being the key to finding Princess a home.

One volunteer posted persistently on various outreach boards, apps and online platforms before finally finding a suitable fit through Nextdoor, a social media app for local neighborhoods.

That fit was with Timaree O’Brien and Joe Aldridge of Oakmont.

The pair already owned a German shepherd mix named Finn, and had been keeping an eye on Princess since October. Although they were initially unsure if they could handle such an energetic dog, that all changed when they learned more about Princess’ situation.

“We had heard that she was brought back, and that she had been there for a year and a half,” said Aldridge. “That’s when we said, ‘We have to have her,” to finally give her a forever home.

Princess, who O’Brien and Aldridge renamed Maddie, now enjoys playing with Finn, going on plenty of walks and sleeping on her brand-new dog bed.

O’Brien said that having two German shepherd mixes actually makes them easier to manage, because they play together and tire each other out.

Maddie has slotted right in to her new family.

“We love her to death,” Aldridge said. ”She’s a joy.”

“She’s home now,” added O’Brien. ”She’s not going anywhere.”

For more about the Sonoma County Animal Shelter, go to sonomacounty.ca.gov.