Our adventures as a foster dog family
Puppies.
Ah, now I remember.
And I’m really glad I only have three as I get my puppy-raising legs back underneath me.
After several different set ups, I’ve settled on having a big area (3/4 of the room) for their awake time and a small area (1/4) for bed time, nap time, and get-them-out-of-the-way-so-I-can-clean-without-helpers time.
Continue reading “I Remember Puppies Now…”
What will fostering look like for us in 2021?
I honestly don’t know. Maybe one thing 2020 has taught me is that I can’t assume anything about the coming year.
I have many hopes for my ‘dog life’:
Continue reading “A New Year of Fostering”
Having Billie Jean back with us has been really fun. She has an energy that shimmers off her and an eagerness to please that is refreshing. Like most cattle dogs, she has a lot to say and a huge repertoire of sounds. She is great company and an entertaining guest.
She is so much the dog I remember, but at the same time there is Continue reading “Our Beauty Queen Returns”
Our foster world is pretty quiet these days. And that’s a good thing.
I’m busy getting ready for the release of my new book, 100 Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelter and Rescue. It’s a strange time for all of us, dogs included.
OPH has been saving dogs in record numbers with Continue reading “We CAN Rescue These Dogs”
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).
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”
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?”
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”
For two days there were no dogs.
At least no foster dogs.
It was weird. Frankie was so bored he managed to get Gracie to (sort of) play with him and he even went on a short run with me.
Reports are that both Oreo and Dixie are being loved and spoiled in their new homes. AND each of them has their own little boy. Pretty cool. This makes me beyond happy. It’s what this whole gig is all about.
Friday evening we picked up Continue reading “What’s Better than a Houseful of Dogs for the Holidays?”
Sometimes it’s really easy to foster. Sometimes it’s not.
Willow has been one of our easiest foster dogs to date. Absolutely housebroken, wonderfully crate-trained, not overly-chewy (except stuffed animals). She loves our visitors, tolerates visiting puppies, and listens in an I-will-do-anything-you-ask-especially-if-you-have-a-treat kind of way.
Little Zander is also one of the easiest foster puppies we’ve ever had. A house-broken, mild-mannered, relatively calm puppy who’s worst habit is his penchant for shoes.
So, I didn’t hesitate to leave my 15-year-old in charge of the foster dogs, plus Gracie and Frankie overnight last Friday. Nick and I headed to New Jersey to see our daughter perform in a benefit showcase. We would stay over and pack her up the next day and bring her home from college.
I left Ian a list of instructions and even measured out the dogs’ meals and labeled them so he wouldn’t be confused.
No worries, right? Continue reading “Sometimes it’s Easy”
I don’t know where to begin.
Truly.
I guess I’ll start with the biggest news – Continue reading “Believing in Meant to Be”
Another Good Dog™ 