Haven’t you always dreamed of a dog you can take with you everywhere? I’ve got one for you!
Abby is the most portable foster I’ve had in recent memory. She simply loves a good outing.
A Dog You Can Take Everywhere
Fostering Animals Is…
It’s all coming back to me now.
Fostering is unpredictable, rewarding, frustrating, entertaining, and so worth it, but nearly always stresses my marriage.
It’s been nearly two years since we were fostering regularly, and somehow, like the rosy memory of childbirth, I’d forgotten.
As we jump back into this passion of ours mine, I was reminded of how unpredictable fostering is….
The Most Adoptable Dogs
I can’t help but think that if my two foster pups were scruffy or curly or smaller or younger, or this was a year ago, they’d be snapped up by now. Instead, these two housebroken, crate-trained, people-friendly, lovely-on-a-leash dogs are spending long lonely days in their crates in my future foster cottage.
The Honeymoon is Over
Often when you first bring home a new foster dog (or two), the dog is still stunned by its new situation, maybe feeling queasy from the recent dewormings and vaccinations, so they are not themselves. It’s a mistake to assume that the compliant, easy-to-deal-with dogs you first bring home will still be that way a week or two into their stay with you.
I’ve fostered over 200 dogs now, and am wary of that honeymoon period. So, I’ve been holding my breath, wondering if Abby and Bonnie (A&B) who had been so quiet and easy their first week with me, would continue to be once they got comfortable with their surroundings…..
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Off the Chain and Into a Foster Home
It was clear that Abby was ready for a new life. I met her two months ago, living on chain tied to a dog house in the hot sun in Cowen, West Virginia. She’d been saved from euthanasia at the local dog pound, but life laying in the mud, chained to her house, made me ponder the word ‘saved.’
When I returned last week, Abby was still there, chained to the dog house. Still greeting every person who approached with joy, her tail wagging, leaning in with pleading eyes that said, ‘love me.’ This time, I had made arrangements to pull her for the Humane Society of Shenandoah County and bring her home to foster.
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Let Me Introduce You to ‘The Ladies’
You know me, never one to go all-in on anything when it comes to animals….
My latest foster kittens have all moved on. Chett and Poe found a great adoptive home not too far away. Their adopter sent this picture of their new spoiled life:
And Harper, Hemingway, and Twain caught a transport headed to a rescue in Carroll County, MD in need of kittens (WHO is in need of kittens anywhere at this point in history??).
So…when the cat foster coordinator texted and said, “Would you consider five more ‘middle-aged’ kittens?” I thought, I survived this last lot, so, why not?
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Becoming a Cat Person (By Default)
The boys survived their ‘alterations’ this week and hopefully, two of them will be moving on soon. Chett and Poe have an adopter, they’re vaccinated, dewormed (multiple times), microchipped, combo-tested (neg), and now, neutered. They are ready to go!
The Humane Society of Shenandoah County charges $175 for kittens and $150 for cats in adoption fees. I’m pretty new to this cat game, but even I can see that adoption fees don’t begin to cover the cost of saving these kitties.
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Five Little Kitties Jumping on the Desk
It’s pretty quiet here at this foster home. That’s the difference between fostering cats and fostering dogs. Dogs require a lot more attention.
But cats, kittens in this case, also require a little attention. Just like puppies, there is a lot of deworming. Plus, for the first few weeks with us, Harper needed to be bathed almost daily because she had not figured out how to take care of herself. Thankfully, she’s finally doing her own grooming. Neither of us enjoyed her baths.
My Surprising New Fostering Assistant
I have a surprising new assistant helping me with the foster kitties.
We’ve discovered that Otis simply loves the kittens. All our foster cats/kittens usually live out on the sunporch. We haven’t added furniture or renovated the area because we need to replace the supporting posts (one is rotting) and possibly the windows (which are sagging, but once the posts are replaced that problem may correct itself).
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A Little Dog From Texas Who Changed the World
Sometimes rescue sucks.
I’m sorry. I’m not usually so negative. I’m really a very positive person.
When my children were small and we talked about swear words, I told them, “People who need to use those words so often simply lack creativity.” But sometimes, those bad words fit the situation. And I muttered more than my share in the past week.
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Another Good Dog™ 