Adoption Stories: Meet Koa & Tegan

A recurring series about the magic of finding furever love (and giving a sweet baby a safe place to call home!)

Head on over to our IG account (after you read this post, of course), where today marks the start of a special holiday campaign featuring author and actress, Lili Reinhart. Throughout the holiday season, we’ll be spread the love for pet adoption while raising funds for longtime partner Best Friends Animal Society, America’s largest no-kill shelter.

In tandem with this campaign, we’ll also be rolling out a new series here, called “Adoption Stories,” where we’ll be highlighting stories from our home office colleagues who’ve found their BFF’s through shelters. First up is Koa — our Associate Manager of Experiential Marketing — who has been with Free People for over 3 years.

Why did you choose Best Friends Animal Society, and how long had you been thinking about adopting?

I chose BFAS because they are a no-kill adoption non-profit who commits to their animals for life. This means that if someone adopts from them and 8 years down the line can no longer care for the Animal BFAS will always take the animal back — no questions asked — and re-home it. This felt really good from a values perspective to me. They also focus on ensuring accessibility is not a barrier in allowing animals to be adopted so they keep their adoption prices affordable compared to other organizations.

Tell us about meeting your pup. Was it love at first sight? What brought the two of you together?

I found Tegan at a Valentine’s Day Super Adoption event called “Find the One.” BFAS was trying to home unhoused cats and dogs for the winter and all adoptions were $14 in honor of Valentines Day. I was waiting until I graduated college to adopt and I remember there was a blizzard the day I met her. She was sooo shy, they had just rescued her from the NYC city shelter and she had just been fixed. When they let her into the playpen area to meet me and her soon-to-be-brother Duke, the first thing she did was shred a paper towel roll and want to play. We knew instantly she was the one.

What’s your pup’s name? How old is he/she?

When we adopted her they had just named her Zoe, but she is most definitely a Tegan! We got her at 7 months and she is now 6 and thriving!

Any idea of the breed?

She is a Labrador, Rhodesian, Pit mix. 100% princess.

His/her favorite toy?

She loves squeaky toys, kale stems, and buffalo horns.

Funniest quirks?

Tegan is VERY vocal. She has a ton of different sounds she makes depending on what she wants, sometimes it sounds like she’s trying to sing. She also will pick up her bowl and make a sound if it’s empty and she wants food or water. She always pokes her head in the shower while I’m in there. I like to think she’s checking on me. And she can’t walk past a flower without smelling it.

Favorite activities to do together?

We like to hike down to the river and play in the water on the warm days. These days we are doing a lot of snuggling and she’s my sous chef when I make bone broth.

To learn more about Best Friends Animal Society click here. 

For more info about our campaign, visit us on Instagram. 

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