How A Pup Born In Puerto Rico Changed This NY Man's Life Forever
On a recent episode of The Woof Life Show, Henry Friedman, who works at the Team Dogist, along with his brother, Elias, the company’s founder, sat down to share his incredible story about adopting his dog, Finn, who now happens to be a social media sensation, with over 160,000 dedicated followers on his Instagram account.
The dynamic duo met in May 2018 during the Dogist’s first Rescue Ride. For the mission, the Dogist had partnered with The Sato Project, a non-profit that rescues stray dogs in Puerto Rico. At the time, Henry was living in a van, trying his best to stretch out his savings, before he would have to give up his nomadic lifestyle and find a part-time job on the East Coast. When his brother requested his help to travel with a dog saved from Puerto Rico. They were going to drive a dog across the country to his forever home, Henry jumped at the chance.
“At the time obviously I had nothing on my calendar… So when I got this call I was like oh yeah sure. A road trip across the country with my brother and a dog this is great,” explained Henry.
Little did he know this trip would change the course of his life forever.
Throughout the duration of the month-long journey, he fostered Finn, while his brother photographed other dogs at various rescues to share their story. While Henry instantly connected to the handsome pup, he felt it was necessary to keep his guard up, as the initial plan was to give Finn to his aunt. However, she eventually changed her mind, expressing concern that Finn would not get along with her other dog. After the adoption fell through, Henry did not offer to take in Finn and instead, assisted his brother in searching for potential families.
But as their bond grew stronger, he could not shake the feeling that there was no other choice but to keep Finn. It felt as if their meeting was fate. Somehow, Henry, a former Marketing Analyst in New York City, had been given the privilege to know this incredible street dog, born in a bush in Puerto Rico.
As fans are well aware, Finn is a special pup. Despite, or perhaps more likely because of the hardship, Puerto Rican street dogs, like Finn, are incredibly intelligent and resilient. Due to this, Henry knew that he would be a great fit for his adventurous lifestyle. In our interview, he later explained that the road trip was the perfect opportunity to see if Finn was, in fact, compatible. Obviously, the pooch passed with flying colors.
The caption of this photo is: “The moment you realize you’re going to be a father ❤️”
“He’s definitely the perfect dog for me in terms of my lifestyle and him able to be flexible for me,” said the outdoor aficionada. “He’s incredibly athletic and smart and fits into exactly what I was doing… I got to test drive him… I think that organic transition to the next part of his life and the organic nature of how the whole story unfolded it just made the whole thing that much better.”
Due to the fact, that the Dogist had documented the entire journey with Finn, many people felt invested in the pup’s story. To make the special announcement that Finn was staying with him, Henry and Elias decided to make the Instagram account Keeping Finn and immediately felt the love from fans.
This sudden rise to fame was admittedly a bit jarring. Henry was put in an interesting predicament, as he essentially went from barely having any presence on social media to running an incredibly popular account. That being said, he attributes the fact that he is not the most social media savvy as one of the reasons Finn’s account is so authentic.
While Henry never had the intention of being an Instagram influencer, or rather assisting a dog who is an Instagram influencer, he is incredibly grateful that he has landed his dream job.
“I truly wasn’t trying to create an Instagram dog account and then it happened… he totally created the dream gig anyone who lives on the road is trying to create an Instagram account the best part about it is that it’s about my dog,” revealed Henry. “I don’t think I could ever just take pictures of myself and do that van life Instagram thing… It’s kind of cliche but people are always like wow rescued who but in this situation here it’s insanely mutual.”
Early on, he decided that he wanted to use the platform to help out dogs in need and small rescues that have limited resources. Henry noted that he rather focus his attention on spotlighting underrepresented shelters, rather than the well-known organizations that are already thriving thanks to donations from corporations. This way, his help will be more impactful. Currently, the partners in crime have developed a way to help rescue dogs all over the nation. You can support their Patreon account where 90% of proceeds go to a local shelter and the other 10% is given to the Sato Project.
Henry views Finn story as inspirational and perhaps more effective than heart-wrenching advertisements, ala Sarah McLachlan, to convince people to adopt. In essence, Finn is helping change the narrative regarding rescue dogs, as he has disproved the harmful misconception that abandoned or abused pups are lost causes.
The next big adventure for Henry and Finn is to go back to Puerto Rico to assist the Sato Project with a freedom flight that will safely transport 100 dogs to the East Coast.
Listen to the podcast here:
Follow Henry &n Finn on their Adventures and support their Patreon which is helping rescue dogs across the nation.
Follow them on social media @keepingfinn
Support Finn to the Rescue’s Patreon