Have I got some dogs for you! As always, I have adoptable dogs, but the three I have now are pretty special.
Sometimes fostering can be stressful – the crate and rotate, the noise, the poop, etc. So it’s refreshing to have a pack of three (relatively) easy fosters. They get along. They are all housetrained. And now, they are all crate-trained!
I’m happy to report that my streak is alive – I have successfully crate-trained every adult dog I’ve fostered, which must be close to 200 now. I thought Amelia was going to break my streak, but with time and patience, a super comfy bed, and a whole lot of squeeze cheese, she is happy in a crate overnight and for meals and naptime during the day.
With Zarko (now Toby) off to a new home….
I grabbed another foster while on shelter tour. Toothless, named for the dragon he looks like (don’t worry, he does have a full set of teeth), folded right into our little pack seamlessly.
Blarney has a new playmate, which allows Amelia to return to her full-time job hunting bugs. I’ve never had a dog with such a singular focus! She spends her days pouncing and digging bugs, her helicopter tail going madly, and making little happy chirps. The yard is suffering for it, but the upside is that she is keeping the carpenter bees and ants away.
I actually think she might do best without a fenced yard since the obsessive bug hunting doesn’t happen when she’s on a leash. Although if you have a fenced yard and need it aerated, she’s your girl.
Amelia is a sweetheart who loves everyone she meets. She is smart, obedient, and eager to please. She is lovely on a leash, unless she spots a deer or squirrel (or cow or pretty much anything that moves), and then her prey drive kicks in and she must keep tabs on its movement. Thankfully, at just 40 pounds, she is manageable.
Amelia’s athleticism led to yet another modification of the foster cottage. After she began scaling the ¾ door between my office and the kitchen area (Hazel’s territory), Nick added a top door that makes me feel like we are living in a prison.
The funny part is that Amelia isn’t scaling the door to cause destruction or even to chase Hazel (Hazel has asserted her superiority many times); it seems she simply does it out of curiosity and boredom. Having watched her do it a time or two, I do think she might be an ace at agility or parkour.
One thing is for sure, if you adopt Amelia you’ll not only have a sweetheart who loves you with all her soul, you’ll have an entertaining adventure buddy up for anything!
I’m surprised that Blarney is still here. He’s such a doll at only 27 pounds, and there truly could not be a happier dog. Even when he’s in trouble, that tail is nonstop.
I took him to the agility training center where I take my dogs and put him through some obstacles. He was a whiz. And he’s speedy too. If you or anyone you know is looking for an agility dog, he’s your boy. We took him out to lunch with us, and I expected he would need to be entertained, but instead he sat beside us, greeting everyone happily and chewing on a bully stick. On that same outing, we discovered that he is excellent with children, dialing down that enthusiasm and offering gentle sniffs and licks.
Okay, now let me tell you about Toothless! He does indeed have the same twinkly eyes and trademark grin as his namesake. At 8 months, he weighs just under 30 pounds. He is a skinny boy, though, so I’m hoping we can put a little meat on his bones. He and Blarney play nonstop. He’s doing really well on a leash. He is crate-trained and house-trained.
He was an amazing traveler on shelter tour. He didn’t mind the too-small crate we had and was quiet during our drives and waited patiently in his crate while we toured shelters. He was perfect in the hotel, not even barking back when a neighboring dog started the dog chorus.
Toothless was owner-surrendered at the shelter (through no fault of his own – his family’s situation changed), so we’re pretty confident about his age, which means he’ll get a little bigger, not a lot.
If you or anyone you know is looking to add a furry family member, please consider these three perfect pups! I’d really appreciate your help getting them into families of their own. The sooner I do that, the sooner I can save some more. But in the meantime, it’s sure nice to have an easy pack.
If you have questions or want adoption information, email me at FosterDogCottage@gmail.com.
And stay tuned because I have some exciting news about yet another foster headed our way tomorrow!
Cara
For information on 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, be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog. And if you’re on TikTok, you can find regular videos of my current fosters, dog news/tips, and more if you follow me there.
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, plus ideas, solutions, and resources to hep shelters save lives.
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 Denta-life chews, dog vitamins, canned pate dog and puppy food, probiotics, training treats, soft treats, and bully sticks.
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.
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