Category: fostering

dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, oph, puppies, Rescue Road Trip

You Can’t Come Home Without a Dog

Cara Achterberg

After spending nine days visiting shelters, rescues, dog pounds, and one awful flea market where they sold dogs and puppies, it was inevitable that I would come home from our Who Will Let the Dogs Out trip with a dog.

Mind you, I didn’t even take a crate with me on this trip. (It wouldn’t fit in our rental – Jeep’s look much bigger from the outside than the inside.)

Wednesday night, I finally hit a wall of exhaustion and emotion. I told Nancy in colorful language that I was finished with the trip, Continue reading “You Can’t Come Home Without a Dog” →

adopters, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, puppies, returned dogs, Who Will Let the Dogs Out

Doing the Impossible Requires Rose-Colored Glasses (or I Believe in Adoption Magic)

Cara Achterberg

A week ago, I still had four foster dogs under my roof.

That’s not so odd (for me) except that on Friday I leave for a ten-day whirlwind tour of 16 rescues, shelters, and pounds in Tennessee, Mississippi, and the tail of Missouri as part of Who Will Let the Dogs Out (an initiative of Operation Paws for Homes).

Leaving foster dogs at the house for my busy husband and my even-busier son to care for in my absence isn’t really an option. Which meant Continue reading “Doing the Impossible Requires Rose-Colored Glasses (or I Believe in Adoption Magic)” →

adopters, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, returned dogs

And He’s Back – One of our Fosters Returns

Cara Achterberg

I wondered what I would write about this week since nothing exciting had happened and our foster dog situation hadn’t changed, but then….as is always the case in dog rescue, things changed.

To be specific, Bowflex, the most amazing foster dog we’ve had in quite some time, the dog I said would get adopted quickly and did (in eight days!), the dog we all loved, most especially Fanny, the only foster dog we’ve had in years who was actually housetrained. That dog. That perfect dog.

Bo-38

Was returned.

I’d heard from his adopters a week or so ago that Continue reading “And He’s Back – One of our Fosters Returns” →

dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, puppies, transport, Who Will Let the Dogs Out

Meet the Pep Boys- Manny, Mo, and Jack!

Cara Achterberg

I’m not a night owl, so when I saw the transport time to pick up my puppies, I joined the chorus of grumbling that came from pretty much everyone whose new foster dog was on the last stop scheduled to arrive at 11:30pm Friday. Normally, transport arrives around 9:30 (although one recent transport didn’t arrive until closer to 1am thanks to traffic on 95). I am generally sound asleep by 9:30, so that was already pushing it, but 11:30?

I registered my unhappiness but accepted that it wasn’t within my realm of control. I’ve long ago come to grips with the fact that fostering can be a lot of things and one of those is inconvenient.

Friday night, we had a nice send-off dinner for my oldest who was moving to Phoenix the next day for a job and then I settled in to binge watch Pitbulls and Paroles until it was time to go. In the end, transport arrived at 10:45; somehow like the pilots flying east, they made up time in the air. Continue reading “Meet the Pep Boys- Manny, Mo, and Jack!” →

adopters, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, puppies

Fosterless

Cara Achterberg

And poof! He was gone.

I warned you we wouldn’t have Bo very long. They don’t make them much nicer. We had a fun week with him and packed in as much as we could, but on Sunday Bo left for his forever home.

DSC_2603

It’s a great home with Continue reading “Fosterless” →

Barkalona, dog rescue, Edith Wharton, Flannery Oconnor, fosterdogs, fostering, Frankie, Volunteering

Fostering Can Be Fun and Easy

Cara Achterberg

One of my semi-permanent foster kitties, Luna, seems to enjoy smacking our new foster dog, Bo (he is Bowflex on the OPH website and was Tick at the shelter).

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Bo is like one of those overly eager to please, see-only-the-sunny-side dogs who pokes his nose into everything, including Luna’s face. He chases the reflections from the prism that hangs in my window as they waver and wander over the walls, and he quickly changes course, no hard-feelings, when Continue reading “Fostering Can Be Fun and Easy” →

adopters, Dixieland, dog rescue, Fanny, former foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, Gracie, puppies

Who Doesn’t Love a Happy Ending?

Cara Achterberg

What a special week it is for ten lucky families! All of the PA Pups went home to forever families last week.

It is always fun when families come to pick up their pups – so much excitement and joy! Of course, that joy is likely tempered when they get home and the whining and housetraining and teething begins in earnest, but from my end it’s always fun! Continue reading “Who Doesn’t Love a Happy Ending?” →

adopters, dog rescue, foster dogs, fostering, litters, puppies

Last Day of Puppies!

Cara Achterberg

The countdown has begun. Puppies will begin leaving tomorrow!

Normally, we have ‘adoption day’ on a Saturday and all the puppies leave the same day. This keeps it simple for me and less disruptive for the family. I like them all to go on the same day so that I’m not left with one crying puppy.

This will be the first time the puppies leave their siblings and it will be their first experience ‘all alone.’ There tends to be a great deal of Continue reading “Last Day of Puppies!” →

booktour, dog books, dog rescue, fosterdogs, fostering, poop, puppies, writing

A Day in the Life of a Puppy Foster

Cara Achterberg

I’ve mentioned before that puppies are a lot of work. So I thought I’d give you a peek into a typical day of caring for ten large puppies.

5:15-5:45am

Someone, somewhere in the house flushes a toilet and the puppies wake up. The pipes run through the wall in the puppy room which is our converted mudroom. It is somewhat miraculous that they don’t seem to waken if the flush happens earlier than five. Puppies commence yipping for breakfast, pooping, fighting, and zooming through poop while yipping for breakfast and fighting.

5:45am

Nick gets up and has breakfast, completely ignoring the puppies, and more amazingly, the smell of the puppies.

6am

I accept the fact that the puppies are not going back to sleep and Continue reading “A Day in the Life of a Puppy Foster” →

dog rescue, foster dogs, fosterdogs, fostering, litters, puppies

It’s the Cuteness That Saves Them

Cara Achterberg

What can I say about the puppies? They are adorable, but a ton of work. Every time I get to this point (six weeks), I wonder why I do this and swear I will never do it again.

Like small children, I suppose, it’s the cuteness that keeps us from tossing them out on their ears. This bunch is especially cute, with something for every taste. Only four puppies are officially spoken for, so if you’re considering a puppy in your lives (and you’re ready for the work that involves), let me tell you who is still available… Continue reading “It’s the Cuteness That Saves Them” →