National Puppy Day 2015

    It's March 23, which for those of you (like me) who didn't know, it's National Puppy Day!

From the Punchbowl website:

It's National Puppy Day! A woman named Colleen Paige declared the first National Puppy Day in 2006. The purpose of the occasion is to celebrate the unconditional love and joy that puppies bring to our lives, and to raise awareness about the horrors of puppy mills.

 

 

 

   So grab your pups and give them a squeeze or take a look at your local shelter/rescue's website and pick out a new friend for you and your family!

The dog we could not foster....

     Fostering is tough. And I don't just mean when it's time to let them go to their new homes. What do you do when you can't keep your foster in your home?

     Our most recent foster is a 10-year old female husky named Electra. Our local shelter received her after her owner's house burned down. She was brought in with 3 other dogs and a severe, but unknown skin condition that left many places on her body without fur. She became a small internet "celebrity" after our shelter shared her story and the story of a young man who raised money through a lemonade stand and used that money to sponsor her adoption fee. People from as far away as New Zealand had her about her and sent their well wishes.

    After seeing her update on her through the shelters Facebook page, I contacted Beth, our shelter's fostering co-ordinator, and told her if they still needed someone we would like to volunteer. The next day they did a skin scrape to rule out mange as the cause of her skin condition and I went down to pick her up.

    

 

 

     My husband and I brought our dogs out one by one to meet her and it did not go well. Everyone on a leash, we walked them by each other and allowed them to say hi, but both Becca and Electra lashed out, growing and posturing up. It was the same with Bowser, though less intense. She spent the rest of the night in a crate so she could get some rest and adjust to her new surroundings.

 

     The next few days, nothing improved. She was uneasy around our 2 girls as well, growling and staring at them sideways if they walked by and she was still lunging at our dogs through the crate. We had to alternate eating and going outside to go to the bathroom between the 3 of them, making sure they were either in separate rooms or they were being held. I quickly realized that this may be the first dog we weren't going to be able to foster.

 

     I called Beth and let her know what was going on. She was disappointed that it wasn't working out, but understood the problem. She said she would see what she could work up and let me know. A few days later she left a message saying a semi-local animal rescue had been contacted about taking  in Electra and we were just waiting on their answer.

 

 

     Well as of this past Thursday, Electra was off to her new home. Its a great animal rescue that's actually more like a rehabilitation center. She will be looked over and treated for her skin condition and her ear infections and anything else that can possibly be found. It broke my heart to see her go, but I tell myself it was for the best; being crated up all day in our home, while better than the shelter, was still no way for a dog to live. At least in the rescue she will have more room and a place to run.

  

    She is an amazing dog though.... just with a family/couple with no other dogs or young children. She has some life left in her and loves to just lay on the floor and rest or maybe cuddle up for a few moments for a head scratch. Just a bit more TLC and shell find her happy forever home, I'm sure of it.



Our First Foster

     I am really excited about starting this blog and continuing my own family's rescue and foster journey.


   We adopted our first dog, Bowser, last year (2014) in November, just a few weeks after buying our first home. As we were signing our paperwork, crossing our T's and dotting our I's, I took notice of our shelter's announcement board and the corner marked "Ask about becoming a foster!" After a brief description about the relatively new program, we left with the promise to return and fill out an application to start fostering. It would be almost a month later before we began.

   I got the call late in the evening from Beth the fostering coordinator. The shelter was at it's capacity and she asked if we would like to come down and pick up a dog to foster. It was a brief conversation and afterwards we packed up our 2 girls and Bowser and headed over.

   Ruby was one of the first dogs Beth showed us. She said she was a sweetheart, a gentle girl. After doing a meet & greet with 2 other long time residents, they brought out Ruby. She and Bowser went at it a bit, lots of "talk" but no bite, rough playing. She calmed down and cuddled up to my husband and our girls however, and we were sold. She was a long time resident of the shelter as well so we packed everyone up and took her home.

   She settled into our home and family with ease, like she belonged there. She was a gentle giant who loved rough housing with Bowser then settling down for a cuddle with our girls. She was our first experience with a Pit Bull and we were in love. How she had spent so much time at the shelter was a mystery.

   3 days later I received a call that there was a couple who wanted to do a meet & greet with her.

   Wait, wait, wait, what?!

   I'm not ready, that happened so quick, we haven't had time to work with her...

    She's not yours, you have to.

   We showed up to the shelter right on time that Saturday morning. As we walked her to the outside kennels I heard the woman gasp "Oh, she's beautiful!". I knew we were done.

   And it hurt.

   As they let both dogs get closer outside the kennel and finished up the details, I turned away from everyone to try and calm myself. I heard the wife thank the shelter volunteer and then thank my husband and I. By this time I was a mess and couldn't speak. As everyone moved inside, my husband followed to say good bye while I stayed outside. I admit, by now I was ugly crying and didn't want anyone else to see.

   It was tough that day for the next few after. I didn't realize how much it would be, even though I had been trying to prepare myself for it since before we even went to pick her up. Bowser and I cuddled up on the couch together and moped through it while my husband chuckled at how depressed we both looked.

  
   Since then we have fostered 4 other dogs and are waiting for the next call very soon since we recently heard our shelter is at capacity again. And though with each dog there is a little tug at my heart and a few tears I wipe away, each time it has gotten easier, especially seeing the difference from when they come into our home to when they leave. Our girls are still young and while they do get a bit sad when a dog leaves, my husband and I always explain that we still have Bowser (and as of just recently our pit bull Becca) who will be with us forever and need lots of love and hugs. We also explain how much they help the foster dogs by loving them, playing with them and getting them ready for their forever homes. By now, they're pros.  :) 

   My hope with this blog is to be a place to come to read and journey along with us while also being a resource for other foster families. From training tips to stories to commiserate with and PLENTY of pictures along the way, please, pull up a chair, lay a blanket on the floor for your furry friend and stay a while.  :)