Our adventures as a foster dog family
Someone told me I jinxed Mia by writing about her last week in such a celebratory way.
Sad to say, she is back and not because I jinxed her but because she was set up to fail. I’ve agonized over how to explain what happened. I don’t want to throw Mia, the adopter, or the rescue under the bus, but I’d say that we all deserve to be runover on this one.
Continue reading “When a Bite Was Just a Bite”
I’m in a quandary about what to write on this blog.
I could tell you about Otis, also known as Otis-Potis, Otis-the-mostest, and occasionally Otie-oat or Otis-Blotis (as he was called last night after he ate his own and then Fanny’s dinner and waddled about with great joy and an unwieldy pregnant belly).
Otis is proving to be a remarkable puppy, and as his proud mom, I could chatter on for days about his exceptionalism. But that’s not what you’re here for, is it?
Continue reading “Now What? You Tell Me”
We are down to just one foster.
Hard to remember when that was last the case. It leaves me wondering what I will write about on this blog. Although Mia is an incredibly interesting and entertaining dog, maybe it won’t be an issue. Just in case, I’m considering a few other ideas (and welcome yours!).
Continue reading “My Four-legged Silver Lining”
I’m pretty sure Mia will be here indefinitely.
It may take some time for her people to find her. She’s incredibly special and so her people are likely special too. She’s ceaseless entertainment for Fanny (and for us), so we don’t mind waiting.
Continue reading “Coming Soon to a Foster Home Near You: Puppies!”
Smart dogs are just harder to deal with—same goes for smart children. Mia still has no applications, but that’s not her fault. She isn’t a simple dog.
She is clever and energetic and totally in the game. She doesn’t miss a thing—my glance her way while working will bring her to her feet, she’ll nudge my hip as if to ask, “How can I help?”
Continue reading “Of Bite Addendums, Smart Dogs, and Transparency”
Sometimes rescue is hard. Sometimes it doesn’t come easy.
As I put the final touches on my next book, due to the publisher December 1 (and if all goes well, released July 2020), I’ve spent a lot of time remembering one particular dog who changed my life. Gala was with us for over eleven months, but truly she has never left my heart.
The new book, One Hundred Dogs and Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues (and yes, that is a mouthful and no, it wasn’t up to me), begins with Gala. Up until Gala, fostering had been mostly fun, occasionally stressful, but ultimately a win-win for all parties involved.
Gala challenged me, not just in terms of exposing how much I don’t know about dogs, but emotionally as I wrestled Continue reading “Sometimes it Don’t Come Easy…”
There was a time when we had two, even three new fosters each month, but for the last few years, it’s been one long-term foster after another (Gala, Flannery, Daisy…) and a few puppy litters. This weekend we had planned to welcome a much anticipated foster dog from Alabama – Houdini, whom I met while visiting Walker County Animal Shelter where OPH partners with RUFF to support the shelter and rescue dogs.
That reunion has been postponed because transport for Houdini and the other RUFF dogs fell through at the last moment. Hopefully, he will catch his freedom ride at the end of this month and we’ll welcome him then.
Meanwhile, Fanny was in need of a playmate as Flannery and Gracie easily tire of her endless puppy-like energy, so I Continue reading “A Designer Dog Looking for his Designer Family”
I’ve wondered what I will write about now that we are holding steady with the same two foster dogs. I could tell you more about Flannery and how entertaining she is—how she chases her tail on a near daily basis, how her enthusiasm for her supper knows no bounds, how she zips around outside like an oversize hummingbird and comes the moment she is called. (And don’t worry, in that second video she totally takes out my husband but he is fine). Continue reading “We’re All ‘Complicated’”
This morning as I began to reorient myself to life in the real world after three wonderful weeks in the mountains, I started by cleaning up and putting away the detritus of summer. School starts on Thursday. It will be the last ‘first day’ for us as our baby starts his senior year in high school.
While I was away, Thelma Continue reading “Back to the Dogs”
It’s felt like we have been in a holding pattern for many, many weeks here. Flannery, Daisy, and Thelma have become permanent fixtures. Our whole family has adapted to life with them.
Don’t leave the kitchen gate open or ANYTHING on the floor or Continue reading “Our Trifecta of Foster Dogs”
