I had never owned a Puppy before. Not as a kid, not in college, not through my twenties. When I finally had a stable apartment and the time, the sheer volume of online listings felt overwhelming — until a colleague pointed me toward Pups of Hope.
Why a Miniature Poodle
I live in a one-bedroom in Chicago, so I needed a breed that could thrive in an apartment without turning my neighbors into enemies. The concierge team walked me through hypoallergenic options and activity levels, and we landed on a miniature poodle — smart, compact, low-shedding, and social enough to enjoy weekend trips to the park without being destructive during a workday.
The breeder they matched me with was a small, family-run operation in Ohio. Video calls were arranged so I could see the litter, meet the dam, and ask every anxious first-timer question in the book. Nobody rushed me. Nobody made me feel naive for not knowing what a dew claw was.
As a first-time owner, I needed hand-holding — and the Pups of Hope team gave me exactly that without ever making me feel like a burden.
Jordan Achebe
The Process
- Application review and video consultation within 48 hours.
- Breeder match with full health and lineage documentation.
- Two live video sessions with the litter before commitment.
- Klarna Pay-in-4 option that made the financials stress-free.
- Air delivery with a dedicated flight nanny — puppy arrived calm and healthy.
Mochi has been home for four months now. She learned sit and stay in under a week, greets every neighbor in the hallway like a tiny diplomat, and has turned my quiet apartment into something that actually feels alive. The follow-up emails from the Pups of Hope team — checking on her vaccinations, offering training resources — still arrive like clockwork.
If you are on the fence about your first Puppy, stop scrolling and talk to these people. They turned a terrifying decision into the best one I have ever made.