Our adventures as a foster dog family
Over the weekend, Nick posted a Beware of Dog sign on our driveway.
He did it in response to the fact that two of our neighbors were burglarized, but he also did it because legally it’s a good idea. You should be aware of my dogs.
It’s a sign we should have posted long ago since Lucy bit the UPS guy and Gracie tried to bite the Fed Ex man (and bit me instead when I stepped between them). And now Frankie Continue reading “Beware of Dog/s?”
My heart is so full this morning that tears seem to turn up on my face without warning.
Sunday night was the official ‘end’ of my tour, although there are still a bunch of events this month and I’m hoping to get more opportunities to talk about the book, its purpose, shelter dogs and how we can all make a difference. (So feel free to toss my name/contact in any direction you want!)
My last event was sponsored by an awesome person, Karen Johnson and Paws Go. She designs and sells fabulous t-shirts and gives away much of what she makes to dog-related causes. During August and September that cause was OPH.
Sunday night, Karen hosted a book signing for me at Nectar Wine & Coffee Bar in Alexandria, an adorable little spot with great VA wine selections and amazing food. Rooney came to sign along with me (thanks Lauren!).
The generosity and kindness of so many overwhelmed me as I drove home from Nectar through the growing darkness. Not only Continue reading “My Heart and House is Full”
The last time I whelped puppies, it didn’t go so well. It’s been over 18 months since that tragedy, but it still crept into the back of my mind when I watched Dixieland in the whelping box.
Fostering a pregnant dog is exciting and amazing, but it is also terrifying. These dogs come with no history, no prenatal care, lots of stress (theirs and yours), and normally no timeline. I was lucky to have a general idea of when Dixie’s pups were due because of the x-ray she had to check out her broken back leg.
As the days ticked past the ‘due date’, Continue reading “Welcome to the World, Puppies!”
I’ve been kicking around ideas for this post—lots to say, not enough space (the usual for me).
My thoughts are scattered because part of me is in North Carolina worrying about the dogs at the three shelters we visited who were all evacuated. I know they’re confused and frightened, but so far, at least, I know they are safe.
In a news story about the Anson shelter, I saw footage of several of the dogs I met – Oreo (who is coming to my home at the end of the month), the Great Dane that Lisa and I flirted with (whose destiny is uncertain), Sparky (the shy, adorable pit mix with bandit eyes that Lisa coaxed out to say hello to us), and a large gray pitbull whose sad face I’ve been carrying around with me ever since I met him. Of all the dogs we met, his eyes seemed to sear my soul – the depth of sadness and the resignation broke my heart.
Seeing those friends crammed in crates and stacked in a van, while the people around them talked in panicked voices and the flood water closed in on them was unbearable. I want to be down there, doing something, and yet again, Continue reading “Am I Becoming a Broken Record?”
There are so many dogs in my house, it’s hard to keep them straight. After everything I saw on my shelter/book tour, I just can’t say no.
I feel an urgency I didn’t have before that trip. There are simply too many good dogs dying in our shelters; foster homes can buy them time.
If you’re waiting for someone to ask you to foster dogs – I’m asking. More foster homes can make a difference. YOU can make a difference.
Here’s our current roster:
Flannery O’Connor is a quirky little southern sprite.
We picked her up as scheduled on our last stop of the tour at Scott County Animal Shelter in Gate City, Virginia. In fact, we picked up six dogs there, but Flannery was the only one without a committed foster home, so Continue reading “Dogs, Dogs, and More Dogs!”
I have so much to say.
My head is spinning with all I want to tell you—the extra three dogs in my house, their stories, the impending puppies, Frankie’s new classes, news of the book’s travels.
I’ll get to all of it, but if you want quick pictures and updates, you can always jump over and join the Another Good Dog facebook group where I try to post daily doses of my foster world. You can also sometimes catch updates on previous foster dogs there, which is always a treat (hint, hint to you adopters!).
But first, I need to tell you about my other shelter visits.
On Friday, Continue reading “I’m Not Gonna Shut Up Anytime Soon”
I’m home again now and only just beginning to process all that I saw and learned in the last ten days touring shelters in the south. Images of the dogs haunt me – their eyes full of sadness and confusion, their bodies tense and leaping with stress or shut down and still.
They scroll through my mind when I wake in the night and when I sit down at the computer now to write this. There is much to feel hopeless about in the world of southern shelters and rural dog rescue.
But there is also much to be hopeful about. There were two shelters we visited that made it clear that while there is still so far to go, Continue reading “It Can Be Done (but it may require SuperWoman)”
The range of emotions on this trip swings wildly from devastation and hopelessness to joy and gratefulness. Almost every night we’ve stayed with old friends who I rarely see, but are dear to my heart. It has been wonderful to catch up with them and they’ve also proved a delightful distraction from the reality of rescue in the rural south. There hasn’t been time in the evening to dwell on what we’ve seen during the day; there also hasn’t been time to write.
I mentioned this to Lisa and she said, “But it would be really hard to go back to a dark hotel room after what we’ve seen.” And she’s right. We’ve been blessed with wonderful hosts and hostesses all week long who’ve shared their food and homes and hearts.
I’m writing this post from my second hotel night. Lisa has flown home to PA and Nick has arrived to help. He’s taken over the driving and I’m trying to ‘be Lisa’ which is a much bigger job than I realized. She has been a wonderkund at social media – tweeting and posting and tagging.
She has been the one getting the word out, which I’ve discovered is probably the most critical part of this trip. People need to know. If they don’t, they can’t help. They need to know what the shelters need, how they can help the dogs, and the truth of what we all wish was not true. So, Nick has been doing the driving and I have been doing my best to gather the pictures and put them out for you to see.
I’m way behind on recapping out shelter visits, but really want you to get a picture of what is happening. On Wednesday Continue reading “Anger Won’t Bring Change; People Will”
I am the queen of best laid plans. I almost always assume the best. The way I see it is – why waste all that negative emotion dreading and worrying and stressing something when you can instead bask in the view from your rose-colored glasses?
Or – more simply – as the poster in the guidance office says, “Save your drama for your llama.”
We are now four days away from the start of my southern book tour and Billie Jean and Grits are still here.
Still not adopted.
Billie Jean is Continue reading “Another Good Dog ON THE ROAD!”
The excitement level in this house is working its way off the charts, so having four puppies and three dogs in our midst just seems appropriate.
Dear friends stopped by Sunday night for an impromptu supper and as we talked, we had to raise our voices over the excited yipping of the breakfast pups (Grits was hiding under the raised bed again – which makes his sisters go nuts. I think maybe they believe he really is gone when he does this.).
When Snoopy jumped up on one friend to assist him with his plate, he laughed and gently nudged him away. And when Frankie’s excitement veered towards the out-of-my-control level, they waited while we crated him.
I love that I have the kind of friends who don’t bat an eye at the dog chaos that has become my life.
The Breakfast pups are sweet, goofy, houndish pups who I am truly enjoying. They are affectionate (with tongues instead of teeth!) and happy and as puppies go, pretty easy to manage. Barkalona (aka Snoopy) is still a dreamboat (although he did figure out how to wiggle under the fence yesterday and had a happy runaround, cautiously checking out the horses, but thankfully, coming when I called!)
They are finding their adopters, and as soon as we get their tummies right, they will begin leaving. (Grits is still available if you’re looking for a super-sweet pup with houndish habits!) Amongst all the puppy-ness, Continue reading “A Pup You Don’t Want to Miss”
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