#dogs – Pet Momma

He’s HERE!

After many sleepless nights filled with nerves and excitement, I finally picked up our new pup yesterday! The whole process was so smooth—huge thanks to Live Free Pet Rescue for the seamless transport and organization.

We had a 2.5-hour drive to the pickup location. The rescue gave us a four-hour pickup window, then texted a more exact ETA the morning of—earlier than expected, so we had to hustle! I met a friend partway, hopped in her car, and off we went. I was excited but also nervous. I’d never adopted a pet sight unseen before. What if he wasn’t a good fit? What if he didn’t like me? So many questions—but I trusted the rescue and what I already knew about this little guy.

At the meeting point, we checked in, finalized payment, and picked up his paperwork. While waiting in line, I chatted with other adopters and watched excited families meet their pups—it was so fun seeing names I recognized, including some of my pup’s siblings!

When it was finally our turn, I gave his rescue name—Henry—and handed over his new collar. The moment they brought him out, I got teary. He was so tiny. So skinny. But full of puppy kisses. The rescue snapped a photo of our first moments together, and then we were off.

He was a total angel in the car, curled up asleep in my lap. Later, as I switched cars for the final leg home, he gave my friend plenty of kisses to thank her for the ride, and settled quietly into his carrier.

At home, he greeted my husband and son with tail wags and cuddles. He played, explored, and climbed into everyone’s laps—he’s truly an equal opportunity napper.

He had a good dinner but wasn’t thrilled about the cold outdoors. Potty training will take some patience, but we’ll get there.

That night, he slept straight through in his crate. I checked on him a few times—he was out cold. At 7 a.m., I tried to wake him to go outside, but he just burrowed deeper and went back to sleep. I let him snooze another 90 minutes before he was ready to start his day.

He’s had a full day of snuggles, and we even made a quick trip to the pet store—carried the whole time, of course, until our vet clears him for dog interactions. I needed to fit him for a harness since his martingale collar was too big. No way was I risking a loose collar outside!

So far, he’s eating well, adjusting to outdoor potty trips, and using his indoor pads too. He loves his little sweatshirts and definitely needs some time to get used to New England weather.

Tonight, he’s already excelling as my work-from-home buddy—and we’re still working on choosing his forever name.

Vet check-up is tomorrow. Fingers crossed it all looks good!

Have you ever adopted or rescued a pet without meeting them first? I’d love to hear your stories—did it work out for you too?

Planning for “Henry”

Losing Cali has been incredibly hard. The past few weeks have felt like an emotional roller coaster—grief and sadness one day, joy and purpose the next. Taking care of a foster dog brought real happiness, even though saying goodbye when she was adopted came with a twinge of sadness too. I was thrilled for her to find her forever home, but part of me missed her already.

Now, I’m facing all the questions that come with opening your heart again: Am I ready for a new dog? What kind of dog is right for me? When is the right time? Male or female? Short hair or long hair?

A Familiar Face
I spent countless hours scrolling through adoptable pups, but one little face kept popping up—Henry. A tiny Chihuahua mix, around 8 months old and just 5 pounds, he showed up again and again in my social media feeds. It felt like a sign.

About ten days ago, I gave in to the feeling that I needed him in my life. I submitted my application late one night, and by the next morning, I got a call from the rescue—Henry was still available, and my application was pre-approved.

The rescue contacted my vet, called a reference, and asked for photos of my home and yard. If all went well, Henry would be arriving on a transport from the South in a couple of weeks. I’d need to head to Connecticut to pick him up—but I was all in.

A Change of Heart
But it was all just too much, too fast. I panicked and backed out. I told the adoption counselor I wasn’t ready—that it felt overwhelming and rushed.

A week went by. But Henry kept showing up. His little face was still everywhere. And the house? It felt so empty.

I missed it all—the morning walks, the quiet companionship during the day, the routine of feeding a dog, the warmth of a snuggle on the couch. The absence was loud. And the feeling that maybe I was ready started creeping back in.

Back to Henry
By Wednesday, I’d had enough. The emptiness, the second-guessing—I was ready. It was time for a new dog.

That night, I talked to my husband, then messaged Henry’s adoption counselor: Any chance he’s still available?

She replied almost immediately—he had just become available again. She said she’d call me in the morning.

All In (and a Little Freaked Out)
Yesterday was chaos. I was making a video tour of the house, fielding rapid-fire questions about the dog, the adoption process, the costs, vet info, pick-up day and location. Sending the deposit. Confirming everything. It seemed crazy that Henry had been adopted, and then the people had to cancel, the very day that I reached out about him again.

And then—I panicked.
How can I adopt a dog I’ve never met? What if he hates me? What if he hates Dave? The stress hit hard. I made myself physically sick just trying to process it all.

Thankfully, my daughter and a few close friends talked me through the spiral. By last night, the panic had softened into something else—excitement. I was still nervous, but I felt that spark of joy and anticipation.

I made plans to pick him up. I ordered the martingale collar the rescue requires. I started a list of supplies to bring for the car ride—everything I could think of to make him feel safe and comfortable on his way home.

This Morning: Clarity
This morning, I woke up to two videos from Henry’s foster mom—and just like that, I knew. I’d made the right decision.

This little boy is perfect. His tiny paws, his dark eyes, that little face… I’m already in love.

We’ll figure it out together. He’ll learn our rhythm, and we’ll learn his. He’ll adjust to our home, and we’ll make space for each other. It’s all going to work out.

See you soon, little Henry.
(Or… whatever your new name will be!)

Has anyone adopted a dog without meeting it? Have you picked up from a transport? Send me your advice, thoughts, tips, etc.

The Hardest Part of Fostering

Today was Emory’s adoption day. Without question the hardest part of fostering is letting go. Cleaning up a messy crate, training, walking, feeding, it’s all easy compared to letting go.

So many people tell me they would love to foster, but it’s too hard. Letting go is hard, but I know I made a difference in this dog’s life. I gave her a chance to decompress after her transport from the South. I gave her the chance to be part of a home, to learn our routines, to ride in the car, to visit stores, to walk on a leash.

This girl was so sweet. The shyness she showed at first, quickly dissipated as she got used to the sites and smells of my home and yard. It’s hard to believe that when I brought her home two weeks ago, she was so scared she wouldn’t walk into my house. We spent half an hour together walking around the outside yard, smelling everything spooking at the wind, chewing up a stick, and then finally she was ready to check out the inside.

Why do I foster? I foster for so many reasons. Selfishly, I love dogs and I love the experience of working with them on such a close basis by fostering. I love the chance to get to know their different personalities. I also love animals in general, and I know that dog overpopulation is a continuing problem. I know that when I foster an animal, it helps make room for another one. I know that fostering helps the dog adjust to home life and makes it more adoptable.

I also volunteer at the shelter and love seeing all the new dogs and puppies that come through there. Friday I got to take care of a batch of puppies for a couple of hours. They ran and played in the mud. I made sure they didn’t escape the yard or get too rough with each other. I also gave the littlest one warm snuggles when she got cold.

I also sat with a shy little guy who wasn’t eating well. I patted him and encouraged him to eat his dinner. I walked him into the yard to sniff the air. I snuggled him up in his blankets and just sat with him while he ate.

Spending time with these dogs gives me a sense of peace. I do it for me as much as I do it for them.

The other night I met a woman who told me she used to have a dog, but lost him to old age several years ago, and didn’t get another. I asked her if she missed having a dog and she said she did, but that she couldn’t go through all the “end of life stuff” again. It seemed so sad to me that this person was missing out on the joy that having a dog can bring because dogs life spans are so much shorter than ours.

I can’t understand why she focussed on the last couple of months and how hard it was, rather than focussing on the joy the dog clearly brought her for so many years. She said she had the dog for almost thirteen years!

Every single day I miss Cali. Something will inevitably remind me of her, and I get sad, but I try to replace that sadness with a happy memory, maybe my daughter dressing her in cute clothes or cuddling her up in soft blankets. Maybe it is memories of Cali as a puppy chewing on our Yellow Lab, Cheese’s ears. I guess some people just chose to focus on the negative.

I’m going to focus on the positive. With fosters that means enjoying the time I have with them, being thankful to be a positive stop in their lives, and enjoying the joy of their new people when they get adopted.

And yes, I’m going to get another dog one day. Yes, it is a bit of a hassle to make arrangements for pet care when I travel, but it’s worth it. I miss the companionship. I miss the walks, and I definitely miss the cuddles. I’m not in a rush. I know my next best friend will find me when the time is right, and I’m keeping my eyes open so I don’t miss him or her!

Volunteering Update

Puck says TGIF! He’s bit tired today, who knows why. Our son got a new kitten and he is home for the weekend with his cat and the new kitten. Strangely, my two cats are so excited to see their friend Martin, that they haven’t really paid any attention to the new kitten. It’s been a nice and uneventful introduction.

Here’s Martin and the yet-unnamed girl kitten. She’s tiny and sweet.

Cali is doing so much better! She’s still eating the Dr. Harvey’s food that I mentioned in a previous post. I think we have found a winner! I’ve cut her pain meds down to once a day, and I’m slowly backing off of them all together. We took her hiking last weekend and she did great! I was a little nervous about her over doing it, so I did pick her up and carry her a couple of times, but that was more me than her. We hiked about 2 miles, and she came home and slept well, but it didn’t seem to bother her leg any more than usual.

I enjoyed pulling out my old baby sling for her, and it worked great!

My foster friend Kanga the cockatoo, now hates me. I’ve volunteered at the shelter to take care of the parrots a few times since I had to bring him back, and he just ignores me. He won’t dance or interact with me at all. This week, he just went to the back of his cage and wouldn’t even take a treat when I offered it. I think it’s really me that he is upset with. Parrots are so smart. I see videos of him dancing and playing with our volunteers and staff members. Sorry I had to bring you back Kanga, you were just too loud for our house!

I have been making progress with some of the other birds at the shelter. There is one macaw left and he is huge! No denying that I’m a bit intimidated by him. He has tried to step up on to my arm a few times in past visits and I just wasn’t comfortable with it. That beak is huge!

This week I got brave and let him step up. He was great! We walked across the room and got a treat which I gave him as soon as he stepped back on to his cage. I picked him up again a little while later and we went and sat in a chair. I talked to him and scratched his head for a bit. He’s heavy! I had to rest my arm on my knee so that I could hold him up after a while. He got another treat when he stepped back on his cage. It was all very uneventful, in a good way. It’s such a cool opportunity to be able to spend quality time with these big birds!

I also made friends with an Amazon parrot. He won’t step up for me, but he is taking treats from my hand now, definite progress.

I’m really going to miss these birds when they all get adopted! Of course, I’ll be very happy when they all have permanent homes, but I have really enjoyed the experience of working with them and having a foster parrot.

New for me, I started training as a Lobby Greeter at the shelter this week. I think I’m going to love this position. I meet people as they come in to the shelter and help point them in the right direction for whatever animal they are looking for. While I was there this week, I saw two dogs, a cat, and a bunny get adopted! So rewarding to see excited people and happy animals leaving the shelter!

The dragon realized there is sunshine on the cat bed next to her cage, so I let her come out and hang there while I worked the other day, she loved it! She spent some time in the actual cat bed, then wandered over to stare at me for a bit. The cats aren’t sure they like sharing their bed, but they can share for a short time in the afternoon once in a while. Once it warms up outside, I’ll bring the dragon outside for some real sunshine. She even has a little harness and leash!

Have a great weekend. I’m hoping to get Cali out for another short hike, and also hoping the cat introductions continue to go peacefully. Comment and let me know what you are up to this weekend.

Foster Return & Cali Update

Sadly, I had to return the foster bird on Monday. When I was home alone, he was lovely. He was sweet and fun. We danced together, he loved his toys and his treats. He called to me in his sweet little voice when I was out of sight, “hey, hi, hey baby.”

Sadly, Monster bird showed up whenever anyone else dared to come in the house. The screaming was horrific whenever my husband or niece were around. He even flew at my niece and landed on her, scary! Having my husband feed him treats didn’t seem to help at all. He would take the treats, some times he would try to bite the hand that fed him, and he still screamed.

I miss the morning dance parties, and that sweet little voice, but the screaming was making our house a very stressful place to be!

Hector D. Byrd was not the least bit interested in her foster friend. They barely looked at each other in the weeks K was here. Hector is very happy to once again rule the roost!

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Cali is doing OK. I tried to wean her off the pain meds, but it was clear that she still needs them. Another laser treatment today, hopefully it continues to help.

It has been a real challenge to find a kidney-friendly food that Cali will eat. I’ve probably gone through half a dozen of them. She eats for a couple of days, I order more of the expensive prescription food, and then she stops eating it.

Thankfully, she has been eating Dr. Harvey’s food pretty well for a couple of weeks now. I’m working with them to customize some kidney friendly food for her. They make an easy to use dry mix that just requires fresh protein, water and oil. Dr. Harvey’s even offers an amazing, free service to help customize their diets. They have a nutritionist on staff who called me to help me work out the healthiest diet for Cali. She even had me send in a copy of Cali’s blood test results so she could see everything that was going on with her.

Cali is eating the Canine Health formula and they are sending me a trial of their Paradigm food as well. The plan is to very slowly add some of the Paradigm to the Canine Health formula to see if we can get my picky eater to accept it. The food is super easy to use. Cali’s recipe is 2.5 oz of protein per day. I froze a bunch of different types of protein, chicken, ground turkey, ground pork, in 2.5 oz portions so I can just grab a protein from the freezer, steam it while the dry mix sits with warm water in it, add the protein and feed half to Cali for each of her meals.

Dr. Harvey’s also makes a Kidney supplement that I’m adding to Cali’s meals on the recommendation of their dietician.

From Cali’s blood work the dietician also noticed her blood sugar was a bit high, so she suggested I stop feeding Cali carrots as treats, and adding the vegetable-heavy Paradigm food to the Canine Health formula should help as well. I thought with her kidney issues I was doing a good thing with carrots, but they are too starchy. I even got advice on the best ways to give Cali her pills since commercial pill pockets I had been using also have a bunch of protein. Now I’m trying little bread balls to hide her pills, and baby food green beans and broccoli that don’t have protein or high starch. With a little luck all this healthy food will help, and it may even help the allergies Cali has always had!

Today’s Treat!

Cali is doing OK. She is slowly learning to get around a bit better, but I still have to carry her around a lot. I’m not letting her do stairs at all, so lots of carrying her in and out when she needs to go outside. The pen above is her night time set up for now. That’s in our bedroom, so she gets to stay close, but I don’t have to worry about her attempting stairs in the middle of the night. So far it is working out really well.

The Treat Planet goodies have been a life saver with Cali being hurt. The other night we were all in the living room and she was a bit restless so I pulled out a giant treat for her.

This was the Etta Says Mega Chew, Elk recipe. It’s huge! It’s about an inch around, and about 14″ long. It must smell really good to all meat eaters, because not only does Cali love it, but I’ve seen the cats chewing on it! This has been another great, long lasting chew. Cali worked on it for a couple of hours the other night and didn’t even chew up a quarter of it. Keep in mind, Cali is a 10 lb dog, so I’m guessing a bigger dog would go through it faster, but they do last. I love that Treat Planet is very careful about getting quality ingredients. Everything comes from the United States. I read that the elk is sourced from Texas.

I also read that Treat Planet has partnered with Goodwill Industries since 2010:

“Everyday, a dedicated team of adults with intellectual and /or physical disabilities, work to label our extensive chew line with the support of a supervisory team.

At Treat Planet, we’re proud to partner with our community and continually seek new ways to make a helpful impact.”

Cali was so excited when I gave her this chew. She sniffed it and then looked at me like, she just couldn’t believe her good luck! Once I told her it was OK for her to have it, she wasted no time at all getting to work on it.

Bean was also very interested in this chew and worked on it for a few minutes when Cali put it down! As with the other Etta Says chews I’ve tried, there haven’t been any stains on the carpet which I love!

I had to go out for a couple of hours this morning, so Cali got an Etta Says Chicken Yumm stick. This one smelled so good! These treats have no additives, they are all natural chicken, no hormones, no nitrates or nitrites, no MSG, and they are soy and gluten free. They really smell like something human-grade.

Cali has been hanging out in the little house above quite a bit since she got hurt. I had put the treat down just in front of the house, and she grabbed it before I could even pick up my phone for a picture.

As the cats smelled the treat and came to check it out, Cali managed to stand herself up to growl at them and explain it was her treat. When I got home, this treat was gone!

This morning I spent a couple of hours volunteering at a local shelter. Such nice people! I loved spending a couple of hours there with all the other animal lovers. I probably won’t foster again for a while , so it’s another way to help out and get some more animal time.

Does anyone else do any volunteer work with animals? What do you like to do? Share in the comments.

Weekend With Cali

It’s been tough dealing with Cali, trying to keep her from doing too much, carrying her around, medicating her, and constantly checking on her. This morning I woke up to her barking at 6:30AM and had to go find her. She made her way downstairs (I’m going to have to gate the stairs from now on), had an accident, and couldn’t get back up to the bedroom. I wish she had just woken me up to put her out!

Today, I have to give a huge thank you to Treat Planet. I discovered their treats in a local pet store recently, and reached out about getting some more products to review. They sent me an amazing variety of treats, and it has been a life saver with Cali being injured.

The chew sticks, bars, jerky and Yumm Sticks have been great for keeping Cali occupied while she can’t really move around.

This Etta Says bacon flavored chew kept Cali busy all day yesterday. I like that there were no messy crumbles, no stains on her bedding, no odor, and she worked on it all day and there is still about a third of it left.

The Etta Says brand focuses on meat-based treats and unique chews. They are easy to digest, and thankfully they aren’t smelly!

I’ll be writing more about Treat Planet in the coming weeks, but wanted to thank them for their perfect timing on these treats for Cali! I’ll be writing about some of their other brands in the coming weeks. Overall, they have 5 different brands with different focuses, surely something for every type of canine.

Do you have a favorite brand of treats? What do you look for in a treat? Let me know!

Happy Hatch Day Hector D. Byrd!

Busy day today! Picked up Skye the foster dog to bring her to an adoption event this morning. She was such a good girl! Lots of people really seemed to like her. Hoping she met her forever family today!

Hector D. Byrd is celebrating her 31st birthday today! She’s happily whistling away. She enjoyed making lots of fire alarm noises earlier today when my husband was checking batteries in the fire detectors! Tonight she will celebrate with a nice, fresh, birdie omelette!

http://Www.TreatPlanet.com sent me a lovely sample bag of treats to check out. Looking forward to sharing more info on their products soon! Cali is already going crazy just smelling the bag. I wonder what her favorite will be! Does anyone have a favorite Treat Planet treat, let me know!

Foster and Logan Update

I’m worried about my kitty. Logan had bloodwork done earlier this week because of her starting on Bexacat. Her blood sugar was remarkably better after just three days on this med, but there were some other numbers the vet was a little concerned about. For now we are continuing the med and doing more blood work on Monday. Logan isn’t eating very well since she started the medication, so I’m a bit concerned about that. We will find out more on Monday or Tuesday.

Foster dog Skye is really a dream foster. This puppy is so good! She loves to go on walks, but can also calmly chill. She is content as long as she is by my side. She’s currently sleeping in her little pen right next to me.

Unfortunately, there is something about this dog that is totally freaking out my cats. The cats have not ventured far from the underneath of my bed since she got here. She hasn’t chased them or barked at them, but there is something about her that has them really shaken up. I was hoping that they would come around, but it has been several days with no change. I’m looking for a new foster for Skye, or I’ll have to take her back to the shelter tonight. Sunday, I’ll take her to an adoption event, hopefully her new forever family will be looking for her there.

The good news is that other than the cats, fostering has been a great experience. She’s been super easy to take care of, and even my husband is willing to try fostering again. My cats aren’t usually wary of dogs. My Dad’s dogs come over pretty regularly and they don’t care, so I’m hoping fostering might be more successful in the future.

Way too long!

With one very cuddled up Puck to welcome you back to the blog, here’s a quick update with a promise of more to follow. I have been terrible about posting and hope to get back to it on a more regular basis next year.

Cali is getting older. She’s 14 now and starting to have some kidney issues. We found out because she had a couple of back to back infections. The vet has prescribed some medication and a prescription diet. She HATES the prescription diet. The food is all low protein, so it is basically a bowl of rice. I’ve tried mixing in pumpkin, different baby food veggies, veggie broth, etc. She’s not having it. She’s losing weight and I’m not sure what to do about it. She seemed to like the Just Food for Dogs prescription kidney food at first, but she isn’t eating it very well anymore. I just ordered a bunch of Royal Canin renal health food, and she is eating that a little better. I’m nervous about her losing weight. A pound or two is a lot when your total body weight is only 11 pounds!

Logan the cat is also having kidney issues. She’s also on a prescription diet, but thankfully she is eating her food without issue. She is still having issues controlling her bladder, so she is still confined, but she is doing well and seems very content.

Bean is still just Bean. He’s happily keeping an eye on the Christmas tree for us.

I’ve had puppy fever really bad. I signed up to foster for a shelter thinking that it might help to ease my puppy wanting, but so far there haven’t really been any fosters available. There was one, but she was a very active adult dog, and without a fenced in yard I was worried about what it would be to take her in. I was told she wasn’t the easiest and maybe not the best choice for a first foster, and not wanting me first experience to be a super challenging one. I passed.

There was an adorable little dog on Facebook the other day that I came very close to applying for, but after ordering more prescription food for Cali, I decided maybe I should let the medical issues settle in a bit here before I actually do take on another dog.

Hector D. Byrd is doing great. She was pissed at me for a bit because we were doing some remodeling and we had to move her cage upstairs and out of the way for a few weeks. She’s back in her usual spot now and much happier. I’m happier too, I like having her near my work area.

Wishing everyone and their feathered, furred, scaled babies the very happiest of holidays! Hoping to be back more regularly next year!