Adopt This Dogue! | Vogue

Doodles! Doodles as far as the eye can see! The full-throttle heat and humidity have finally let up on this unseasonably pleasant August Saturday in New York City, and it seems that everyone and their mother (and their dog) is taking full advantage of the good weather. Designer dogs promenade around the Union Square farmers market in Burberry harnesses; a pair of pups bask in the shade of a lush green tree in matching Fendi outfits.

“So many of our dogs hate doodles,” jokes Mallory Kerley, the marketing director at Muddy Paws, a New York–based dog rescue. Today, a sampling of Muddy Paws’ adoptable pups are shooting their Dogue cover with photographer and social media fixture The Dogist. The spectacle that has many purebred and hybrid dog owners conspicuously lingering, hoping that their pricey pups will catch his—and his 7.7 million Instagram followers’—eye.

But today is about the Muddy Paws brigade (another testament to “adopt, don’t shop”), an amuse-bouche of blocky-headed pit mixes, seniors, and other adoptables. Among them are Elmo, a dignified senior Chihuahua; Cora, a heart-of-gold pitty who sits sidesaddle; and Brave, an energetic puppy whose cuteness earns squeals of delight from people on the street.

Many of the Muddy Paws gang have come to the rescue under devastating circumstances, victims of neglect and abuse. Belfast, a friendly, tiger-striped Bully breed, was brought in with lacerations on his neck, still visible underneath his collar. Benji, a furry white senior with golden spots, was found abandoned in the subway, so matted and dirty his rescuers thought his coat was brown. Nicki, an adorable lowrider, was found tied to a tree, severely emaciated. “I fell in love with her personality,” Nicki’s foster, Ali, says. “She’s a sweet little love bug. She goes on her back for belly rubs. She’ll nudge you for more. She’s just like this sweet, silly little kid.”

Muddy Paws is entirely foster reliant, but every weekend most of the available dogs convene outside Petco in Union Square or PetSmart in Flatiron. Some lounge inside the shelter’s van, their names written on its transparent side panel, while others take meetings with potential parents and charm passersby on the sidewalk, dressed in Adopt Me vests. The days are long, with volunteers splitting morning and afternoon shifts. “We really try to maximize their visibility and ability to get adopted,” Kerley says. On an average Saturday, 12 to 15 dogs find their forever homes.

You, too, can adopt these Dogue cover stars. Well, most of them at least; some of these lovable pups found their forever homes before the shoot even wrapped (talk about star quality!), while others have been snapped up in the following weeks.

Below, meet a small sampling of Muddy Paws’ pups. While some of them have already been adopted, the rescue (not to mention your local shelter) always has more in need of a foster or a permanent home.

Cora

Elias Weiss Friedman “The Dogist”