Lingering Foster Dogs

Dogs just aren’t moving. Like everyone else’s, my foster dogs linger as adoptions have slowed down all over the country.

There are lots of theories about why this is happening, and I wrote about that this week on the Who Will Let the Dogs Out Blog.

‘Ann’ had a healthy baby boy and is doing well, but it is still undertermined whether she’ll be able to find work and housing that will allow Diamond to finally go home. This sweet girl is challenged by allergies and we are working through it, but treatment ideas are welcomed. She is red and itchy between her toes, and it’s quite a torment for her. I’ve cut out all chicken and chicken by-products in her diet, and that has helped but not eliminated the issue. She’s not a fan of probiotic wipes, but we’re trying that too.

Nancy was here to join me on the latest shelter tour and took some great pictures of this sweet, wiggle-butt:

Berry, our current OPH foster dog, is an absolute sweetheart, completely adoptable, and adorable. Yet he lingers. He’s been in rescue care for over six months. He came in as a puppy but is now becoming an adolescent, and there have been no adoption applications.

Berry is bunking with Hazel, our foster cat, in the kitchen of my foster cottage. Diamond has proven (so far) to be a little too enthusiastic in her play style (typical of pitty pups). Cat and dog are doing find together. They aren’t snuggling, but there is no animosity on the side of Berry despite Hazel’s unkind words to him whenever he gets too close.

Out of boredom (life in my office is just that much fun), he has taken to chewing on his beds, so after destroying two large dog beds, he’s been reduced to towels only. It feels like we’ve had a year of bed-eating foster dogs. I’ve got a recently discarded memory foam mattress topper I’m going to cut up and use, but I lack the sewing skills to make covers, so I plan to scour the thrift shops for crib mattress covers.

Thankfully his beds are the only inappropriate thing Berry chews. He and Diamond swap chew toys daily. It’s really not enough to keep him entertained. But I can’t blame him – he’s just a kid.

Berry is a dream on a leash, so Nick and I both enjoy taking him for walks. The weeks of rain have curtailed that a bit, although Berry doesn’t mind the rain a bit. Here is Berry encountering the neighbor’s cow – he barks at them, and they stare at him. So far, he hasn’t run out of things to tell them.

Berry is a gentleman, not just in how he interacts with Hazel, Diamond, and us but in all his mannerisms. Except for the beds, he is gentle with the toys I give him, gentle when taking a treat, and even gentle in the way he jumps up on me when I first come in each morning. He just has a soft way of being. I want more than anything for this boy to find an adopter who will appreciate his gentle nature and sweet, sweet heart.

And lest anyone forget, we do have another foster dog. Gracie Lou spends the majority of her time with a foster in Maryland who adores her. We get occasional visits from her, and I continue to advocate for her adoption.

Gracie Lou has been in rescue care for two years (possibly longer, but we’ve been involved with her fostering for that long). She is a funny, heart-breakingly grateful dog who just wants a person (and their couch) all to herself.

When she came into care, she was an adult dog, but you could now call her a senior, her arthritis has worsened, and I wonder—will she ever find a home? In the current situation in this country, who will (or even can) give this dog the home she deserves?

If you’re interested in adopting Berry, you can learn more and apply at https://ophrescue.org/dogs/13537 .

If you’d like to know more about Gracie Lou or visit her in person, let me know and I’ll connect you with her foster mom in Maryland.

If you’d like to adopt my amazing foster cat, Hazel, learn more here: https://www.adoptapet.com/pet/41637594-woodstock-virginia-cat

And if you have any great tips/products/treatments for itchy, allergic feet, please pass them along.

One last thing – PLEASE check out our ONLINE AUCTION we’re having at Who Will Let the Dogs Out. This is our most important fundraiser, and every penny raised will go toward delivering donations, resources, ideas, and, most importantly, hope to struggling shelters in the South. Please bid and share the link: https://givebutter.com/c/wwldofall2024auction

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on me, my writing, and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, and occasional foster cat updates (!) be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog. If you’d like to see dogs I’m connected to who are available for adoption in Shenandoah County, visit Shenandoah County Adoptable Dogs on Facebook.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Or its follow up that takes you to the shelters in the south One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

If you’d like to support the work we do (and save the rescue and me some money), shop our Amazon wishlist.

Many of the pictures on my blog are taken by photographer Nancy Slattery. If you’d like to connect with Nancy to take gorgeous pictures of your pup (or your family), contact: nancyslat@gmail.com.