Category: fosterdogs

Begonia, fosterdogs, Foxglove, Hadley, Lilliana's puppies, oph, Pigweed, puppies, Snapdragon, Sneezewort

Puppies!!

Cara Achterberg

The puppies have arrived! The cuteness is pretty much unbearable, so it’s good that they stink pretty bad.

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At five weeks, they have no qualms about walking through, playing with, or even sleeping upon each other’s poops. I’m trying to stay on top of it (so to speak), but with the Christmas chaos, visitors, my own work, Hadley, GRACIE (no, we haven’t forgotten our own personal pup), and the fact that I have to bake six dozen cookies and package them beautifully for a cookie exchange tonight, it’s pretty much impossible to keep them poop-free.

My five little charms are half of the litter of pups that I witnessed Lily give birth to back in November. They are growing fast and resemble little bear cubs. While I’ve only had them 24 hours, here’s what I can tell you about them as individuals- Continue reading “Puppies!!” →

fosterdogs, Hadley, oph, puppies

Erratic Progress Before the Puppy Invasion

Cara Achterberg

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Hadley’s progress seems to have stalled. My mother-in-law is visiting and my college age son just got home, so the household dynamics are shifting and perhaps our little sensitive girl is picking up on that.

She’s back to staying in her crate for hours on end. She runs for the crate every time anything frightens her or makes her nervous. I’m trying to counter my own impatience and leave her be, but it’s frustrating. I’d like to shut the crate up during the day, but I know it’s her safe place. We all need a safe place.

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I thought the rate of progress would increase, not decrease, since she seemed to be getting so comfortable with the house, the people in the house, and Gracie. That evaluation is relative, since anything probably seems like progress when you start with a dog who was curled in a ball for three days unwilling or unable to engage with us.

She still slinks around like she’d prefer to be invisible, startling at any sudden movements or noises and making a beeline for her crate. She runs when any of us reach out to touch her. She does love to be petted and cuddled, but only on her terms.  Continue reading “Erratic Progress Before the Puppy Invasion” →

fosterdogs, Hadley, oph

Curiosity is More Powerful than Fear

Cara Achterberg

IMG_2176So, the gloves are off. Hadley may be a traumatized little soul, but she still has powers beyond her little thirty pound self.

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This week she ate the remote control, destroyed Ian’s favorite set of ear buds, and obliterated countless nerf darts. She seems attracted to things that smell like us – shoes, devices, playing cards, etc. I was forced to put away my puzzle and now there will be no puzzling for the duration. I like to keep a puzzle going on the coffee table in the wintertime. It’s great for occupying my busy mind while watching football/basketball/whatever nonsense hubby has on the tube and is the perfect activity to do by the woodstove. But, alas, Hadley also likes puzzles. Eating them. Continue reading “Curiosity is More Powerful than Fear” →

fosterdogs, Hadley, oph, Uncategorized

Tipping the Scales

Cara Achterberg

IMG_2162 - CopyI keep wondering at what point the scales will tip for Hadley.

Will this treat, this snuggle, this walk, or this ear rub be the one that makes the difference? Maybe this will be the one that pushes her over the edge into a place where people are good and every sudden movement or noise doesn’t mean the sky is falling.

I figure we have to keep piling up the positive interactions, and at some point she’ll trust us. And then maybe she can begin to trust the world.

As far as I can tell, she’s had only two negative encounters since she’s been in our care. One was Gracie’s initial snarly greeting on her first night. Since then, Gracie has reigned it in. I guess even she senses that Hadley is a fragile soul. The second truly scary moment for her was when my ipad mini fell on the dog bed next to her. It confirmed for her the sky was falling rather than her foster mommy is a bit of a clutz.

At the same time, I know the bubble wrapping is nearly impossible, so there will be a few unintended and inevitable scale tips the wrong way.

It’s been nearly a week and Hadley still spends her days anxiously curled up in one of her three “safe zones”. These are the Frank bed in the kitchen, the dog bed next to my desk, and on the sofa behind the couch cushions (which are flipped down to keep Gracie off the furniture). Continue reading “Tipping the Scales” →

fosterdogs, Momma Bear, Nowzad dogs, oph, returned dogs, Uncategorized

When the Guest Becomes Family

Cara Achterberg

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Just the other day, I was shocked to retrieve Addie’s red polka-dotted slipper shoe out of Momma Bear’s mouth. For some reason, known only to the canine world, those shoes are the best tasting ones in the house. Pretty much every foster dog has favored them. Somehow they’ve survived the onslaught, although several dogs ago, Addie had to use blue flowered duct tape to re-secure the liner to the bottom of the shoe.

Momma Bear’s paperwork says she’s between 2 and 5 years old. I’m betting she’s on the low end of that scale. As she’s finally begun to relax at our house, we’re seeing more puppy-like behavior.

Next was Brady’s forgotten croc and then Ian’s stinky sneaker. And the children thought they could stop putting their shoes away since there wasn’t a puppy in the house. Think again!

It’s not just the shoes she’s begun chewing. She’s gnawed on the directions for my new iphone, multiple ball-point pens, and yesterday she found a box of packing peanuts. That was pretty funny. They were the kind made of cornstarch which disappear when wet. She’d poke her long snout into the box in the corner of my office and fish out one peanut and then take it to her favorite spot only to discover it was gone! So she’d return to the box and grab more, repeating the process until I put the box up because I didn’t know if cornstarch was poisonous to dogs (it isn’t). Continue reading “When the Guest Becomes Family” →

Foo Foo, fosterdogs, oph, Uncategorized

Hero Dog in my House

Cara Achterberg

This past Sunday a VERY special dog arrived to celebrate the holidays with us.

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Momma Bear is from Iraq. Her story breaks my heart every time I look into her beautiful eyes or feel her lean against me with her trusting heart.

I’m sure I won’t get all the details right, but let me tell you just a piece of Momma Bear’s story.

Last winter a man and his wife living in Iraq, learned of three dogs living on the campus of a University. The dogs were in danger of being exterminated (per campus policy). This amazing couple has rescued 17 dogs through their own efforts and money. Hearing that one of the dogs was injured and in danger, the man went to the campus to help. Momma Bear was there, along with the injured dog.

When the man attempted to aid the injured dog, he was surrounded by a pack of male dogs. Momma Bear put herself between the man and the pack and defended him. He was impressed by her bravery, and experienced it again another time when he returned to the campus to help a dog who had given birth to puppies. Once again, Momma Bear accompanied him and protected him from other dogs. Continue reading “Hero Dog in my House” →

Foo Foo, foster dogs, fosterdogs, John Coffey, puppies

Of Miracles and Magic

Cara Achterberg

It was quite a weekend! At least in terms of dog fostering, but definitely not exciting in terms of regular clean-the-house-be-mom-drive-kids-everywhere. Pretty yucky weekend for all that, plus I made the mistake of finally getting on the scale after several months of too much wine and too many new recipes to discover I’d gained five pounds since summer. Ugh. Let’s not think about that – let me tell you about my amazing weekend instead!

First up, John Coffey went home on Saturday with a family that is perfect for him. He knew it immediately. Three boys – all for him!! And fun parents- dad’s even a runner, so score there, too. Sometimes when an adopter turns up, I have to simply trust that OPH did their due-diligence and the pup is the right match, but sometimes it’s completely clear that there is magic at hand. John Coffey was so anxious to get going with his family that he leapt in their car as soon as a door was opened. We had to bring him back out to take a picture, but you can see from the picture how happy he was – what a smile!

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So, super duper awesome adoption. Now I have all my fingers and toes and anything else that can be crossed, crossed that he is not overwhelming them with his happiness and enthusiasm, and that he has NOT broken into the lego room that their youngest son told me about!

Just before John Coffey’s family arrived, I got word that the puppies were being born!

What puppies? (you sound just like my husband!) Continue reading “Of Miracles and Magic” →

Foo Foo, fosterdogs, John Coffey, puppies

Adding Chaos to the Calm

Cara Achterberg

Why I keep adding chaos to an otherwise calm situation is beyond me. We’d just settled into a routine with John Coffey and Gracie (who have become great buds) and then I go and answer a plea for a foster home for a returned puppy.DSC_0775

Not sure what made me take this one. Maybe it’s my puppy addiction. I’m owning that now. Puppies are my crack.

Or maybe I just want to ease the heartbreak that surrounds any return. I know the puppy will be confused. I know the adopter will be in turmoil. It’s not an easy thing for any reason. I see the dogs and puppies listed as returns and I want to just swoop in and take them all. Make it better. This is my third return and the heartbreak in the eyes of the returner was evident once again. Poor people. Poor dogs. But it’s for the best and I’m just grateful a decision was made. No dog should have to stay where she isn’t ABSOLUTELY wanted and loved. And no adopter should keep a dog out of GUILT. Not healthy. Not good. For anyone.

This made me think whether or not I keep Gracie out of guilt. There may be a sliver of it there, but it’s mostly that I made a promise to this pup (and the kids that love her). She is absolutely wanted and loved by four out of the five people living here. Fostering has given me a new appreciation for her. She’s consistent. She’s trying. She’s doing the best she can.

Gracie, our personal puppy
Gracie, our personal puppy

So on Wednesday, Foo Foo (who had been named Daisy and seems to answer to it despite only being with her new adopter barely two weeks) moved in. She came with a plethora of pink – pink collars (2), pink leashes (2), pink toys (many), pink harness, pink sweater, even a puffy pink jacket. There was a hot pink crate, but I declined it as we already have three crates cluttering up our space and no pink room to match. Continue reading “Adding Chaos to the Calm” →