I was really counting on that adoption magic to prevail this week, but I’m an overly optimistic person.
I was able to see four of my puppies into the arms of their new families.


Our adventures as a foster dog family
I was really counting on that adoption magic to prevail this week, but I’m an overly optimistic person.
I was able to see four of my puppies into the arms of their new families.


Oh my gosh, small dog puppies are SO much easier than big dog puppies. At least in large quantities.
Clean up takes a fraction of the time and the correlating stink is also much lighter!
Maybe the best part is that I can hold three of four of them on my lap at a time (which still leaves two yelling for my attentions).
And talk about cuteness – why are small things so much cuter than large things?
Continue reading “Small Dog Puppies and Big Dog Puppies”Who is looking for a little dog?
Nearly all the puppies I foster are large breed puppies, but for a change I’ve got some littles!



How about a pupdate?I recently checked in with The Snack Cake puppies who are four months old! I was looking for pictures that the Humane Society could use for their brand new website.
The pups are living happy lives and clearly being loved enormously. Suzie Q goes to work with her mom, who is a vet tech, and is the star of the show at the vet office in Winchester. All the pups weigh around 30 pounds, so they’ve put on twenty pounds in two months! (and they are already bigger than their mother!)
Continue reading “How About a Pupdate?”My husband is pretty great. If you’ve read my book, Another Good Dog, you probably already know that (and wonder why he’s still married to me).

He likes dogs. But not like I like dogs. Or at least not like I like fostering dogs. Right now we have two foster dogs (the puppies all went home-finally!!) living with us (plus Gracie Lou who is currently fostering in Maryland).
Continue reading “My Husband is Pretty Great”From Marley’s point of view, people just don’t understand. What she’d like is a person (preferably a man) to be devoted to her in the same way that she is devoted to him. She’d like someone she could stick close to when he’s home and a safe, comfy crate to hang out in when he’s gone. Maybe a few long walks to sniff stuff, a few treats after she sits when asked, and a couch to snuggle on during movie marathons.
She’s a pretty simple girl.
Continue reading “Looking for that Adoption Magic”I’m currently working in the house of bark.
It’s rarely like this, but for the next nine hours, until our temporary foster takes off for his new life, there doesn’t seem to be a way around it. I’m trying to breathe calmly and exude still energy, but nothing really helps with this particular combination of dog.

I’m fairly sure he’s a Husky mix because of his need to ‘talk’ all the time, his crazy smarts, and his style of play (chasing anything and everything but not bringing it back). At nine months, Steele is a bundle of energy and curiosity.
Continue reading “The House of Bark”We are getting down to the wire with these puppies, matching them with adopters, microchipping (tomorrow!), and I just slogged through the multi-day Safeguard deworming protocol (none of us enjoyed it). They’ll get their second set of vaccines and be ready to go home as early as December 30th.

Every day I grow more convinced that they are hound dogs. As a foster, I try very hard to dodge fostering hound dog puppies. Not because they aren’t cute, oh my gosh, they are. And not because they aren’t fun or sweet or snuggly – they’ve got that in spades. But because they are messy.
Continue reading “Down to the Wire with These Puppies”Love is not enough. At least when it comes to puppies (maybe when it comes to anything…).
Raising a good dog means putting in the work when they are puppies. The genes and individuality of your puppy are out of your control, but there’s lots more that is within your control.
Continue reading “Love is Not Enough When It Comes to Puppies”Let me (finally) introduce you to the cuter-by-the-day pups who keep me from getting anything done these days. They were four weeks old on Thursday and all weigh about five pounds. Caitlin will be back to take some portraits of these cuties, but here are a few pictures taken with my iphone.
Ring Ding has probably the most dramatic brindle coloring of all. He is also the largest puppy. He is friendly and sweet, and seems fairly confident. He is often found lounging on his back and sleeps soundly (he’s not one to jump up if I come in the pen unexpectedly). The others love to pile on him, so perhaps he is the ‘popular guy’.
Continue reading “Introducing the Snack Cake Pups”