Meet YoYoMa (and her remarkable foster mom)!

It’s a quiet house now.

Just us.

Well, and Willow, but she feels like she’s one of us.

Willow’s spay appointment is May 3, and after that she’ll be ready to go to her forever home. I’m pretty certain by then she’ll have one. She was just added to the website and there’s so much to love about this girl that I expect there to be plenty of applications.

There is rumor that we’ll have a new pup joining us on Friday night from the transport. Check in on the Another Good Dog facebook group for updates.

Since I have no dog stories to tell on my little herd, I thought I’d do something special this week. I’d like to introduce you to a very special dog who came into the rescue about the same time as my Gala but is still searching for her forever home.

YoYoMa is a foster mom herself, as you’ll soon discover. I’ve followed her story because I think it’s a special one and because she is such a funny dog! Her pictures always make me smile. She’s had a hard-luck life and more than deserves a forever home, so I appreciate anything you can do to help us find her people.

I’m also going to introduce you to her foster mom, Val, who is someone I look up to and learn from every day.

Here’s my Q&A with YoYoMa (and then the same questions posed to her foster mom Val!)

YoYo, how did you come to be associated with OPH? 

The director of Operations was visiting shelters in the south to introduce OPH Rescue and to offer much-needed food and supplies. When she arrived at my shelter we were introduced. My shelter name was Candy but I was thin, malnourished, and dirty. My toenails were so long they curled, and I was full of milk but my puppies were nowhere to be found. The shelter put a litter of 8 motherless pups with me and I took care of them as if they were my own.

Shelters are a horrible place for puppies; the overcrowding leads to diseases and parasites that their little immature immune systems are unable to fight. OPH put a call out and my new foster mom did not hesitate to take me and my new babies in. She didn’t care about my breed or my horribly cropped ears; when she saw my picture she knew what she had to do. 

I rode in a van all the way from South Carolina with my eight 5-day-old foster babies. When I arrived at our meeting place, the director tried to draw blood but I was too dehydrated to find a vein. My foster mom drove me another hour to my foster home. 

 

How long have you been hanging out with OPH? 

It’s been 14 months. I was on a trial adoption for a few weeks of that time, and though my adopter loved me we were not a good match.

What’s life like in your foster home?

My foster mom and dad have birds and a cat. When I first arrived I would lunge at the birds but every day my foster mom would have me walk by them as we went out. I no longer lunge at them but sometimes I do look at them from the corner of my eye. I’m allowed to sit in front of my favorite bird from time to time and she talks to me. I don’t know what she says but occasionally I think she says, sit. I discovered parrots drop food and if I’m lucky I get steal it off the floor. 

The cat is not allowed to be out when I’m roaming in the house, but I’ve met him while he was safe in his townhouse. I’ve only ever looked at him, but my foster feels it would be best for me not to have little critters running around.

My foster also has small dogs and a couple of med/large dogs too.

 

What are you looking for in an adopter?

I’m looking for an experienced dog owner who likes rules and routine the way I do. I would also like a fenced in yard to hang out with my adopter as I don’t like to be alone outdoors. I love to play, so I’d really like somebody who will keep me busy and active so I don’t get bored.

What are your best qualities?

I love my home and family; I love to be petted and cuddled. I also love toys, I even love my crate so I go right in when asked. I will protect you and your family. I will let you know when someone is at your door but I’m not a barky dog and when told, Thank you, enough, I stop.

Nobody’s perfect, so what do you see as your areas for improvement?

I’m picky about my human friends and dog friends. I need to be allowed to introduce myself and they need to understand that looking pretty is what I do. I can’t be rushed so don’t force me to meet people. I especially like people with treats, but my foster mom says I must behave and earn them. 

Who are your best friends?

My best friends are my foster family and I’d have to say BooBoo the large male foster who lives here.

What’s your idea of a perfect day?

Hanging out with my foster family, playing ball or with any toy, playing with my best friend BooBoo, hanging out in the front yard on the bench with my foster mom and watching people go by. Definitely going to McDonald’s because I love a good car ride and bacon from my foster’s Mcgriddle. That’s an awesome day!

 

Anything else you want to share with us?

Though I’d love to be social, I require slow introductions. That’s why I need someone who is willing to keep me safe. I need someone who will give me time to adjust to a new routine, understands dog behaviors and allows me the time to bond. I need other avenues of exercise besides only leash walks, like mental stimulation. But most of all, I need people to keep rude growly dogs away from me. 

I think Val is pretty special to stick by YoYo all this time. If you read this blog, you know a lot about my foster home, so I thought it would be fun for you to learn about another foster home and here from a foster mom with more experience, patience, and knowledge than I.

Here’s my interview with Val:

How did you come to be associated with OPH?

I had completed my dog training certification in 2013 and part of the curriculum was training shelter dogs. I knew I wanted to continue that and found OPH Rescue in 2014.

How long have you been hanging out with OPH?

4 years

What’s life like in your foster home?

Pretty quiet, and routine. It’s just my husband Joe and I. It becomes more active when the litters I foster reach 6-8 weeks. Lots of picture taking and thinking of ways to enrich my personal dogs’ and fosters’ lives.

What are you looking for in an adopter?

One who does their research, is realistic, is willing to listen, to take advice and who asks lots of questions.

What are your best qualities?

Patience, listening, love to troubleshoot, peacemaker, optimist

 

Nobody’s perfect, so what do you see as your areas for improvement?

I’m a borderline introvert; I sometimes avoid confrontation, but I’m always working on this.

Who are your best friends?

My husband Joe

What’s your idea of a perfect day?

A cool sunny day, following a routine that is uninterrupted and peaceful, my grandchildren visiting and all my fosters finding good homes. Perfect!!

Anything else you want to share with us?

Not really; I’m pretty boring (editors note: untrue!). I just love caring for the moms and pups, quietly, peacefully. Watching people get excited, or cry over their puppies, I know then I’ve done well. I like to enrich my puppies’ lives, so I’m always researching ways to help them be prepared for the real world and preparing their adopters.

Val is truly an OPH star and has fostered hundreds of dogs and puppies. I’ve been amazed again and again by the work she does and she is one of the first people I reach out to when I have a question about training or puppies. There are lots of other great people involved with OPH and we are always looking for MORE! If you’d like to know how YOU can become a foster for OPH, click here.

If you’d like to apply to adopt YoYoMa, click here.

Thanks for reading!

If you’d like to know more about my blogs and books, visit CaraWrites.com or subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter.

If you’d like to know how you can volunteer, foster, adopt or donate with OPH, click here. And if you’d like more regular updates of foster dogs past and present and extra puppy pictures, be sure to join the Another Good Dog facebook group. I’m sure I’ll post pictures of our new guy if he arrives on Friday.

I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to comment here on the blog, email carasueachterberg@gmail.com or connect with me on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram.

 Best,

 Cara

COMING AUGUST 2018 from Pegasus Books:

Preorder available NOW on Amazon!