Tag: fosterdogs

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Dog-less (for now…)

Cara Achterberg

We’re dogless. Well, that’s not exactly correct. We still have Gracie.

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But she doesn’t count.

Okay, that’s not fair. She counts, but she already has her forever home, for better or for worse, so no worries over her.

This week I said good bye to three dogs. I think I’m getting better at this, because instead of being a wiggly-hearted sap, I was excited for my dogs – proud of them and so very happy for the families that lucked into these good dogs.

Frank was the first to go. And the hardest. I still miss his wide soft head, always there, right next to me at the perfect height for petting. I worried and fretted and second-guessed myself, but in the end it was the right home for him. Continue reading “Dog-less (for now…)” →

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Chhhhhhanges……Adjusting and Letting Go

Cara Achterberg
Texas and Tennessee keeping tabs on the horses for me.
Texas and Tennessee keeping tabs on the horses for me.

Wasn’t sure I would write this week. We still have no answers with Texas and my heart is tired of thinking about it. Did I miss something? Could we have done something? If only I’d been home….all these thoughts swirl around me when I watch Tennessee and Frank playing without Tex. I’ve always hated mysteries. Living with this one frustrates me, but I guess I’m going to have to make peace with it.

My favorite quote when it comes to parenting, training horses, writing, and now fostering dogs is from Maya Angelou – “You did then what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better.” Simple words, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve turned to them for comfort. Regretting not doing something you weren’t capable of doing at that time is pointless.

Tennessee has morphed into a different dog. I guess none of us realized how much of a calming influence Texas was on my little pack. Left to his own devices, gated in the kitchen, he’s managed to remove the entire top edge from my hard plastic laundry basket, destroy the zipper and strap (the two most important elements) of my daughter’s book bag, and gnaw the corner off one of her school owned textbooks. Continue reading “Chhhhhhanges……Adjusting and Letting Go” →

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They’re Really Lovers, Not Fighters, Honest!

Cara Achterberg

DSC_9994I need to find a way to harness all this dog energy to power my house. Two border collies, the Amazing Frank, and my own over-anxious, awkward personal dog, Gracie, have turned our home into something of a three-ring circus.

Lucky for us the boys are all super good at coming when they are called, so they can have regular romps outside. This is a video of the craziness…

It’s so entertaining that one of my new favorite activities is to retire to the top of our hillside in the evening with a glass of wine and watch the shenanigans. The only problem is, just like boy children, boy dog play can sometimes graduate to boy dog fights.

Usually this happens when somebody (the “senior” member of these musketeers) gets tired and has had enough. Texas, who has endless energy and can outrun all the others, just never quits, but since he is too speedy for Frank to grab him, Tennessee usually ends up on the bottom of the pile. Unlike Texas and Gracie who will both take their licks and slink away, Tenn hangs in there for a moment too long probably protesting with growls that say, “Hey! That wasn’t me! It was him! He did it! He’s the one you want!” but either Frank is color blind and simply sees an annoying black dog or he enjoys kicking a little Tennessee butt on occasion.DSC_0059

There’s only been one serious incident which resulted in a small cut on Tennessee’s face. It’s one more nick on his sweet face that was already covered with tiny tooth sized injuries when he arrived at our house, so I’m guessing he isn’t a stranger to these scuffles. I tended his wound and chastised Frank and kept them apart for a few days, but finally relented. They really, really, really wanted to play. And up until that point, they’d done well together, wrestling for hours without it breaking into bloody battles. Besides, Texas needed some relief as he was limping from one too many top-speed full-body slams with Frank. Continue reading “They’re Really Lovers, Not Fighters, Honest!” →

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Being Frank About Frank

Cara Achterberg

DSC_9975I’ve been thinking a lot about Frank. He’s the first foster dog I’ve had who was returned. I feel partially responsible for that fact. I worry I didn’t present Frank as frankly as I could have. I wonder if I could have said or done something differently that would have made the situation turn out differently. Maybe, maybe not. I do believe that there are courses we are all on and we must follow them. So maybe Frank moving to Virginia and then back a week later was a lesson for me, for his adopters, and probably for Frank.

Since he moved back in, Frank has been my daily joy, showering me with his devoted affection and constant company, but he has also had a few episodes that illustrate why he wasn’t such a great fit in Virginia.

This morning, I separated him from the other dogs so that everyone could eat in peace. Frank has a habit of sampling everyone else’s food when it’s served and Gracie and Tenn are not sharers, plus Tex can’t afford to miss a meal. So Frank was left alone in the living room with his bowl. I was nearby, folding laundry.

Frank did not eat. Instead, he grew frantic running between me, the gate into the kitchen where he knew T&T were and the door to the porch where Gracie was. Panicked would describe the expression on his sweet face.

When he finally slowed down for a moment, he paused and peed on the dog recliner (the ugly, filthy blue recliner that we long ago stopped trying to keep the dogs off and now keep around just so they can rebel and sit on it). I was shocked! Frank hadn’t peed in our house since the first day he was here over three weeks ago. I yelled and reached for him, but he raced away and I followed him upstairs where he peed on the edge of the blanket on our bed. This time I yelled, but I was able to grab him. I dragged him outside, and left him there while I cleaned up his mess. He whined at the door, but I didn’t let him in until I’d located his male dog wrap and securely fastened it around him. There would be no more peeing in my house.

As soon as Frank was reunited with the other dogs, he relaxed. He spent a half hour wrestling on his humongous bed with Tennessee, his favorite playmate and his biggest advisory. Continue reading “Being Frank About Frank” →

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One Dog, Two Dog, Three Dog….Four?

Cara Achterberg

imagejpeg_0Texas and Tennessee have landed! What sweet boys these two are. Couldn’t find better mannered guests. (Well, guests who were housebroken might be better…) They are gentle and eager to please. They watch my (and everyone else’s) every move. Sadly, they both cower when anyone raises a hand above their waist, moves quickly, or picks up anything large (Ian has to keep his baseball bat hidden). I am guessing not every human has handled them kindly. No matter, they seem ready to give just about anyone a chance, loving on every person who walks through my door.

Texas - isn't he a stunner!
Texas – isn’t he a stunner!

These guys seem grateful for every kindness thrown their way. They’re like that visiting relative who is always saying, “Please don’t got to any trouble….really, I’m fine.”  They still haven’t figured out what a treat is and Texas kept running into glass doors, so they seem a bit new to this living-in-a-house-and-being-loved thing. But they are both smart as whips, so they are picking up very quickly on everything, even the don’t-pee-in-the-house rule. We’ve outfitted them with “male dog wraps” which sounds kind of cosmopolitan but is actually a glorified diaper. Male Dog Wraps are my new favorite thing, ever.

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Here’s Tennessee modeling the latest in dog wrap fashion – a nice gray nylon number.

It’s very good that T&T are such model guests because the house is overflowing with dogs. T&T arrived late Friday night and at 8am on Saturday morning Frank returned to us. He could not make the adjustment to his new home and his wonderful family. It just wasn’t the right fit. I know it was a heartbreaking week for both Frank and his adopters. It was very hard to hear the stories from afar, only able to offer advice when what I wanted to do was run down there and move in and help all of them. In the end, they made the difficult decision to return Frank to OPH and Nick and I knew immediately he had to come back to us. We are wrestling with that decision – the one I said I wouldn’t write about again in this blog. I’ve thought all along that it was up to us to choose a dog, but I’m beginning to wonder if it isn’t actually up to the dog to choose us. We shall see. Meanwhile, we are loving on Frank and he has happily assimilated right back into our world and is currently lying behind me watching every word I type (and hopefully not reading this and thinking his little plan worked…). Continue reading “One Dog, Two Dog, Three Dog….Four?” →

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A Day in the Life

Cara Achterberg

My days are still blurring together on this publishing roller coaster, but Frank is steady as can be. He did prove that he is a real dog and not the Super Dog I thought him to be…..

He rolled in horse manure. Covered himself in it actually. Proving himself to be a true dog. Fun times.

And then a group of deer ran across the road in front of us and he scrambled to the end of his leash in a hurry to join that parade as opposed to staying with me on our happy run. I’m relieved to say that all these years of running with Gracie have prepared me to hold tight while a dog levitates at a full-run (ala Wylie Coyote) on the end of my retractable leash.

So, yes, Frank is mortal. Sigh. He’s still my favorite dog ever, though.

Here’s what it’s like to be Frank….

6am wake up call. He waits patiently in his crate, thumping his tale against the wire sides, occasionally emitting a high pitch whine that you would swear couldn’t possibly have come from him.

DSC_9782 Continue reading “A Day in the Life” →

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Thanking the Timing of the Doggy gods (and possibly exploiting Our Relationship)

Cara Achterberg

DSC_9717It’s been a busy week. It’s been a good week. I’ve been grateful to have a dog like Frank around. A dog who doesn’t require my constant attention, yet is always ready to give me his.

Frank is getting healthier by the day. He’s almost finished his full course of meds and things seem to be back in working order. He’s settling in at a decent weight and doesn’t respond to food like a dog on a deserted island anymore. Yay.

Frank’s going to hang around our B&B for another ten days until his new forever family is able to make the drive up here to pick him up. We don’t mind one bit because, as I said, he’s easy to have around, a pleasure even.IMG_1915

Somehow I think the doggy gods knew I needed a coast these weeks in terms of foster dogs. This week my first novel was published. So, in many ways, my dreams have come true.

I’ve been writing for years, getting published in magazines, newspapers, anthologies, blogs, websites, even my own independently published book that grew out of my blog and workshops, but being a novelist…this is what pretty much every writer is working towards.

And it happened! But it’s a crazy time to be a first time novelist. The publishing industry is tight and getting your name up on the shelves with the established writers is not an easy task.

It requires lots of time and attention. Much like some foster dogs, but instead of cleaning up messes, concocting special meals, and walking endless loops around the yard, I am working the social networks, writing guest blogs, pitching libraries and bookstores, and all the while, getting my next book written.

Oh, and then there are these people who live in my house and expect to be fed and chauffeured and even, on occasion, to have clean laundry. Continue reading “Thanking the Timing of the Doggy gods (and possibly exploiting Our Relationship)” →

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Fabulous Frank

Cara Achterberg

DSC_9637So, you may have noticed that I haven’t been quick to write about Frank. I haven’t even updated his profile on the OPH website.  I’ll get to it, I will. But right now I’m still humoring this crazy debate between my head and my heart about Frank.

Frank is awesome. And I know as soon as I start writing about his awesomeness, some wonderful person is gonna want to adopt him and I’m still trying to figure out if we are that awesome person.

I’m not going to foster fail. I’ve said that. Again and again. Heck, if I was going to foster fail it would have been with Carla, not some skinny, funny looking, boy dog with crazy eyes.

My husband is pressuring me. He loves this dog. He even said last night, “What if I put in the application and he’s my dog?”

But he isn’t his dog.

Frank loves me. Yesterday when I left him for the first time, he nearly went through a window screen to follow me. Continue reading “Fabulous Frank” →

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A Friend for Gracie (also MIB’s most powerful alien)

Cara Achterberg

The last puppy left tonight, but the next transport is tomorrow! You’d think after four weeks of puppy poop, I’d be ready for a break. I am, but I owe Gracie.

Remember Gracie, my personal dog? You may have noted that not a word has been written about her during the entire puppy odyssey.

That’s because Gracie hated the puppies. This is how she greeted them. I know she only looks disgusted, but I promise she was growling all manner of meanness at them.

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And it didn’t get any better. Whenever she passed the puppy room (a space she avoided whenever possible), she snarled for good measure. On the occasion when she actually ventured into the puppy room, she let loose with a full attack sound. Which would be worrisome except Gracie has always been all bark and no bite. Whenever we are running and pass a fenced dog or a stray cat, she flips to the kill setting in her vocal options, but if we come upon a loose dog or something larger than a cat, say a deer or on one occasion a skunk, she runs for the hills with her tail between her legs. She’s a total poser.

I have no doubt had I ever let the puppies loose to meet Gracie, she would have been overwhelmed and cowered under the coffee table.

We kept Homegirl mostly in the kitchen this past week, separated from Fang, I mean Gracie, by a sadly sagging baby gate supported by Addie’s mellophone case. (We originally propped up a board to keep Gracie from seeing the puppies, but it was scratching the wall, so we resorted back to the pathetic broken baby gate.) Either dog could easily take down that gate, but instead, Homegirl, sat sweetly on one side whining to see Gracie, who occasionally popped up on the other side of the gate to threaten her with every kind of bodily harm. Homegirl, either because she is a puppy or doesn’t speak Gracie’s language, only got more excited to see Gracie, ostensibly saying, “I’m so HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY to meet you too! I wish this gate didn’t keep us apart!” Continue reading “A Friend for Gracie (also MIB’s most powerful alien)” →

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Carla, Oh Carla It’s Time to Go Home

Cara Achterberg

I’m hesitating to write this because the last time I wrote about a dog getting adopted before it actually happened, it didn’t happen. But in the spirit of moving past my silly issue with jinxes, I’m writing anyway. (Hopefully I don’t jinx Carla. Wait, there is no such thing as a jinx, right?)

Way back with on our first foster dog Galina, I remember having this same exact moment of insight. I was frustrated and sad for Galina when one after another potential adopter didn’t pan out. Galina was with us four weeks. And when her forever family finally turned up it was clear why she’d been with us for so long and why so many potential adopters backed out – because she had to be available when her real forever family was ready for a dog. Galina’s adopters were so clearly perfect for her and she was such a perfect fit for them, it all made sense. I could see that some kind of larger plan had been hatching and that brought me peace, as it was painful to let her go after an entire month.

Carla has been here for three months! She’s truly become part of the family. We love her and treat her like our dog, even though she’s not. She’s someone else’s dog. I’ve had to tell myself that every day (well almost every day, sometimes she does get on my nerves with her barking and bigness, but only for a moment) because every day that she’s been here, I’ve had to make a conscious decision not to foster fail on her. I remind myself of all the other dogs to come. Dogs who need us. And I have held on tight to the truth that Galina’s adoption taught me – I am not the only good home for a dog. There is someone out there right now who is looking for a dog like Carla. Someone meant to have her.

The coolest part about the special someone named Carol who is adopting Carla is that Carla recognized her. Let me tell you about last Sunday when Carla and Carol met. Continue reading “Carla, Oh Carla It’s Time to Go Home” →