Two Goodbyes

Last week I lost two dogs.

They are both in a better place, and I know it was time, so gratefulness filled my heart more than sadness.

If you’ve been following this blog since before the Foster Cottage, you have likely gotten to know Gracie.

Last Wednesday, we had to say goodbye to her after 17 years together. We adopted Gracie in 2008 from a group of college students fostering her in their messy, noisy apartment. Which might have been part of why Gracie was such an untrainable, irrepressibly independent girl.

Gracie challenged me all of her days, even attempting to bite the vet who came to our house to euthanize her. For the last few years, she has been mostly deaf and blind, but still very much herself – ignoring me when I called her (although now she had an excuse) and spending her days outside barking (but now at things more imagined than real). In her old age, she had finally begun to like treats, so she learned to sit and to run to her crate when asked.

We are so grateful for Gracie’s long life. She raised our kids, moved with us two times, and has been a steady, if sometimes frustrating, presence in our lives. I know we were lucky. Most people don’t have a dog who lives such a long and healthy life. While we knew the day was coming, it is still a surprise not to have her underfoot or hear her ever-present barking.

Gracie was never much of a fan of our foster dogs, with the exception of our very first foster, Galina, whom she adored. I’ve always wondered if her grumpiness towards the hundreds that followed was her way of complaining that we didn’t just quit with Galina.

Here is a collection of Gracie with some of our other fosters:

The other dog I lost last week was Lima Bean. She left with a wonderful family who promise to spoil her all the days of her life. LB was here for four months – through raising her babies, having her leg amputated, her spay surgery, and then heartworm treatment. Her gentle, funny, determined spirit never waned.

She was my first experience with a tripod dog, and had I not had such a great experience with her, I probably would have been hesitant to pull Cherry, another Memphis dog who will be making her way north soon.

Luckily, Lima Bean, now Honey, is not so far away and her new family has told me to visit any time.

I don’t know if I will or I won’t. I always hope my fosters will forget this little interval and live the lives they deserve. They certainly didn’t deserve to end up on the streets or in a shelter, or even in my foster cottage. They, like all of us human and canine, deserve a home full of love all the days of our lives. I’m pretty sure that’s what Lima Bean will have. It’s good-bye’s like this that make fostering worth it, even if they come with tears.

When I told Nick I was pulling two dogs from the euthanasia list at Memphis Animal Services (despite have our newest most amazing foster Leo newly arrived, plus three wild puppies I am fostering for Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA), he said he wasn’t surprised. When I am stressed or sad, saving dogs is my go-to balm for my heart.

So, once again the foster cottage will be filling up – stay tuned for more on Leo and Huey, Louie, and Dewey, Cherry, and Rose.

And I’m pretty confident Gracie is up in heaven romping around, rolling in horse poop, and barking to her heart’s content, relieved that she doesn’t have to endure another pack of foster dogs.

And I’m also confident that Lima Bean landed in the forever family.

If you’re in the Harrisonburg area, come out and meet Huey, Louie, and Dewey on Saturday October 4 from 10-2 at Bob Wade Subaru (along with 30 other animals from RHSPCA)!

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

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

My newest book, Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues is a primer for those new to the cause, an invitation to get involved, and a source of inspiration for those already working tirelessly to save lives. With stories of successful shelters, innovative strategies, and the key ingredients for success—strong leadership, veterinary access, and community engagement—it’s a celebration of what’s working and a call to scale those solutions nationwide. Learn more and get your copy and/or send one to a shelter or rescue on our website. Also available in paperback and e-book on Amazon.

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.

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 it’s a 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. We are currently in need of a new puppy cam, dog vitamins and probiotics (we have puppy), size large martingale collars, and tough-chewer toys.

If you’d like to take a vacation with your whole pack, consider visiting one of our two dog-WELCOMING vacation rentals. Visit BringDogs.com to learn more.