It would be very easy to keep Flannery. I’d love to foster fail and make her a permanent part of our pack.
Undoubtably, she fits in here just fine. Continue reading “Flannery, Flannery, Flannery—what will we do with Flannery?”
Category: fosterdogs
A Mama’s Instinct
The natural instincts of animals are remarkable. Spending so many of my hours with animals in the course of a lifetime, I’ve come to respect this, but I’ve also come to wonder at length about human instinct and whether we are compelled to follow it the way animals do, but that is decidedly a topic for another post.
A week ago today, I had just finished a post about Thelma’s arrival and the happenings in this foster house, when Continue reading “A Mama’s Instinct”
Diary of a Rescue Week Ten: Frightened Dog Getting Braver
Daisy continues to surprise us as she gains her confidence and health. Thelma had her puppies on Tuesday and I watched Daisy, wondering if she would be bothered by the sounds in the next room, but she seemed unfazed.
The only notable thing that happened Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Ten: Frightened Dog Getting Braver”
Time for some Puppies!
Puppy watch has begun in earnest. After a week of her temperature holding steady at a consistent 100 degrees, this morning Thelma’s temp dropped to 98.7. She is still happy to see me and thumps her tail, but she doesn’t get up and climb over the side of the whelping box to greet me. More tellingly, Continue reading “Time for some Puppies!”
Diary of a Rescue Weeks Eight and Nine: Separation Sometimes Makes You Stronger
I really hope I won’t be writing, Diary of a Rescue Week Fifty-Two, some day.
Daisy is still here, but she is ready to go. She is healthy and happy, and while she still needs a slow introduction to women and won’t go near men, I think she is ready.
Whatever happened to this dog to create such a deeply-rooted fear of men is not something she will simply get over. I don’t know if she ever will, but I do think she will make a wonderful best friend and awesome canine companion for some lucky woman.
As she has gained her confidence, her Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Weeks Eight and Nine: Separation Sometimes Makes You Stronger”
Foster Dog Overload
I’ve often wondered what my limit is.
I know other people who have four, five, even nine dogs living in their houses.
Five.
That’s clearly my limit, judging by Continue reading “Foster Dog Overload”
Diary of a Rescue Week Six: Change is Coming
The coming week will mean a big change for Daisy.
I am preparing to leave on the OPH Rescue Road Trip, a weeklong trip with seven other volunteers to visit six of our partner shelters in North and South Carolina to spend our days working in the shelters. Our hope is to not only offer physical help with the dogs and the work, but to learn more about the needs of our shelters and to raise awareness of those needs.
You can follow along on our Facebook group, OPH Rescue Road Trip, where we’ll be sharing pictures, stories, and live videos all week long.
This is an exciting adventure for me, but it means that Daisy will have to leave our home which has been her safe haven for nearly seven weeks. Nick and Ian cannot be left in charge of Daisy for an entire week.
It’s not their safety I’m worried about – Daisy has shown no aggression at all towards any people (although it’s more than clear that she has suffered at the aggressive hands of people). The problem is that she goes into a blind panic if Nick or Ian approach her and I worry for her safety and emotional health if we force the issue. We have made incremental progress, but sadly, there is still so far to go in convincing her to trust them.
She has three options. One would be Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Six: Change is Coming”
Big Dog Lessons
I hope I didn’t take on more than I can handle.
Last night it seemed overwhelming, but today in the sunshiny energy of a new morning, it seems, well, maybe not totally doable, but somewhere in the realm of possibility.
We have a new foster dog. And he’s Continue reading “Big Dog Lessons”
Diary of a Rescue Week Four: Progress is an Eight-Letter Word
I have to forewarn you that this past week hasn’t been terribly exciting. The progress with Daisy is only incremental and likely will stay that way. Again and again, I shake my head at the depth of pain this dog has endured. Her scars are deeper than any dog I’ve encountered.
It has been a month now since I picked up Daisy on a cold night at the bowling alley where she arrived on a transport from South Carolina.
And yet despite the fact, that during that first week of fevers, labor, delivery, and surgery, literally carrying her 60+ pound body in and out of cars, hospitals, and vet offices, she Continue reading “Diary of a Rescue Week Four: Progress is an Eight-Letter Word”
If I Never Fostered Dogs….
I’ve always liked dogs.
Liked them.
I wasn’t necessarily a ‘dog person.’ We always had a dog when I was growing up. A steady stream of strays and dogs that just happened into our lives. Truly, I never gave it much thought. I liked cats better. Especially once I hit young adulthood and lived in an apartment.
But now, somehow, dogs have taken over my life. My days, really my hours, revolve around dogs. Currently, we have four here at the house. Two are permanent residents and two are foster dogs only here for a spell awaiting the moment when their forever families find them.
As I write, Continue reading “If I Never Fostered Dogs….”
Another Good Dog™ 