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!

Grieving and Fostering

Grieving is hard. Letting go is harder. Everything in the house reminds me of Cali, but I’m healing slowly. Trying to focus on the happy memories.

A rescue I volunteer for put out a call for fosters yesterday. They needed seven fosters. I looked through all the little faces, all the different colors, and one caught my eye. She wasn’t a chubby little 3 month old puppy. She was a one year old lab mix that looked like she was holding the weight of the world on her little black shoulders.

I knew I wasn’t ready for a puppy, but maybe I could deal with this older dog? I wrote the volunteer coordinator and offered to come meet the dog, but someone had beaten me to it. OK, that’s good I thought, at least she found a foster home.

A couple of hours later, I got a message that the other foster family picked a puppy, and the other dog was still available. I replied right away and said I would come get her. It seemed meant to be!

When I went to pick her up, she was leaning into the legs of the volunteer that brought her out. She seemed so scared. Who knows what this sweet girl has been through in the past year? 

I bent down to her and diverted my eyes, eventually she approached and I was able to pat her velvety, soft ears. She was reluctant to leave the safety of the shelter, but she followed me with a little reassurance. We walked outside for a couple of minutes before I tried to convince her to get in the car. She wasn’t interested, but she let me pick her up and put her in.

The drive home was a little chaotic. She was clearly scared and talking to her helped, but not enough. She tried to climb from the backseat to the front, then she climbed in the back. I cracked a window for her and she calmed a little as she sniffed the air.

Once we got home, she got right out of the car, but didn’t want to go in the house. We walked around the yard for 20 minutes or so, sniffing the air, the snow, the mud. Eventually we approached the door again and she followed me inside.

I did what I needed to do while she basically stayed glued to my legs. I fed her dinner, but she seemed too nervous to eat. Eventually we settled in the living room, where she immediately jumped up and snuggled on the couch. We try to keep the couch as a cat safety zone, so I set up a blanket on the floor for her, and sat on the floor with her. I had to correct her a couple of times, but she eventually figured out that the floor was her place. As I put on the TV and relaxed, she stayed close, but sniffed her way around the room, and eventually ate her dinner.

We had a nice quiet night, lots of pats and snuggles. She didn’t want to go into her crate to sleep, but with some treats and coaxing, she went in. She barked a few times and settled down.

This morning we went for a nice walk around the neighborhood. She’s pretty good on a leash, stays right by my side. The hard part is not tripping over her because she wants to be SO close. She’s currently sitting next to me while I type, I think this girl would be an amazing companion for someone who works from home. She’s a perfect medium size, calm and so very sweet.

My heart is so happy to be able to help this girl, and selfishly to have a dog to take care of, and collar tags to jingle in the house. I hope she finds her forever home quickly, but maybe not too quickly!

 

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.

First Foster! Meet Skye!

After two nights of volunteering at the shelter taking care of puppies, this one came home with me. Not to keep, just to foster. Out of 21 puppies brought up from the South, they are all already adopted except for a couple.

This sweet girl is named Skye. I’ve been calling her Pie, as in Cutie Pie because my daughter’s name is Skye, so it’s just a little weird to call the dog Skye.

So far she is doing great. She doesn’t like going in her crate, but she is fine once she is in it. She spent the night in her crate, no accidents, and waited nicely to pee until I got her outside.

She is definitely nervous about a lot of things, but she can be brave and work through them with a confident human at her side. She is fantastic in the car! She doesn’t like to get in the car, but once she is there, she sits right down and doesn’t move for the whole car ride. I even left her for a second and got out to grab something, and she sat up so she could see me, but she didn’t try to escape the car or even to move around.

She hung out in this pen while I worked this morning and did great. She didn’t make a sound. She got a little nervous when I was out of sight, but she settled and didn’t try to get out of the pen which she easily could have done.

 

We went to the pet store and met the nice employees. She was a little shy and worried about the new smells at first, but quickly decided she wanted to explore. I didn’t get any pictures in the store because I was busy with her, but this is her back in the car with her bag of goodies.

 

I’m looking forward to getting to know her more. So far she is such a good girl. She really wants to please. We had a nice little adventure to the pet store today and then a short walk outside. I’m hoping the rain goes away and we can get out for a longer walk soon.