I’ve been schlepping the foster dogs all over Shenandoah County looking for adopters. Happy to report that we finally got one home.
And We Have a Win!
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A Doghouse-Full of Foster Dogs
The foster cottage is filling back up!
After a year with us, Diamond was able to go back home this past weekend! You can read about how she came to be with us here. From the start, we were never sure this day would come. But it finally did, and I’m thrilled for her. She has a fenced backyard of her own and is back with her mom for good.
Dogs Are Backing Up
Things are moving very slowly in the dog adoption world. Which means dogs are backed up at shelters all over. And we all know what that means.
My adorable, sweet, smart, healthy puppies are twelve weeks old today, and neither has any interested adopters. This seems crazy to me. But it speaks to the times.
It seems unlikely that everyone who had ever planned to adopt a puppy has adopted one. It’s more likely that I just can’t find them. Which guts me because as long as they linger here, I have no room to save more puppies.
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Roster Report from the Foster Cottage
Things are a bit busy here in the foster cottage, so here’s the rundown:
Lima Bean had her amputation surgery on Wednesday and is doing really well. She’s back to wearing toddler shirts to protect the huge incision and keep her from messing with it. When I picked her up, they recommended she wear a cone, but this poor girl is miserable, so we’re going with shirts instead. So far, so good.
Sometimes Fostering is Hard on the Heart
Fostering is often a lot of work, and always rewarding, but sometimes it’s also just plain heartbreaking.
Every time we welcome foster dogs or puppies, they are a mystery. They are most often strays, and lately, most have been pulled from the euthanasia list at an overcrowded shelter.
We don’t know their medical histories before the day of their intake at the shelter, but we do know they have often been subjected to neglect and rarely have had good nutrition, medical attention, or even basic care. They suffer physically, but emotionally as well.
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The foster cottage is FULL!
Having four adult dogs and four two week old puppies is requiring me to refine my juggling act.
At this juncture, none of the adult dogs can be loose in the cottage at the same time. So it’s a game of crate and rotate and walk and keep track of who hasn’t been out recently to potty and who needs snuggle time with me and what the best set up is to have quiet for my zoom call.
I make myself take several deep breaths and put on my ‘calm mama’ invisible cloak before entering the cottage. That helps tremendously. In the early days of my fostering career, I used to allow my anxiety over the situation and my frustration at my inability to instantly fix things to color my world. And the dogs picked up on that.
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Have I Gotten Myself in Over My Head?
Have I gotten myself in over my head? This is the question that rolled across my mind early this morning when I couldn’t sleep.
The last time I had this many dogs in the foster cottage, I was overwhelmed.
In fact, it was also four dogs and four puppies. Of course, those were basically feral dogs and worm-riddled puppies, so the physical work was overwhelming. After the seventh or eighth poopified crate, I’d come pretty close to quitting this whole foster gig.
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Confessions of a Terrible Foster Mom
Okay, I don’t really think I’m a terrible foster mom.
But I want to share the mishaps/mistakes that I made in this last week fostering. Basically, to show you that we are all learning as we go and that no matter how long you’ve been doing this, you still mess up.
And that’s okay.
My worst day saving dogs is better than someone else’s best day wishing they could save them.
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My New ‘Dog’ Book
My newest book is a little different. It’s a passion project, for sure, and it’s been five years in the making. It’s also a nonprofit venture.
Huskies are special.
Huskies are special. Leche is the second Husky we’ve fostered. The last one was equally special. Special dogs require special adopters.
Which is why so many Huskies land in shelters. The combined intelligence, athleticism, curiosity, and drive is both a joy and a challenge to live with. In the five days we’ve had Leche with us, I’ve already heard from multiple Husky owners and met several when we’ve taken Leche out with us. They all tell me how much they love the breed, how special they are, how beautiful Leche is, and then I hear stories of the Huskies they’ve loved. It’s like a club.
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Another Good Dog™ 