Our fosters to date

I said this blog was to write about my fosters, so I thought I'd get caught up to speed.

Thanks to the inspiration from ladies on an online message board I frequent, in March I got my ass in gear, stopped making excuses, and started making an actual difference in the lives of shelter animals. After years of talking about it, we finally opened our house to dogs and cats who needed a temporary home while they were waiting for their forever home, and we are so extremely glad we're doing this now.

Here are our fosters:

Gracie, Beagle/Whippet Mix, 9 months old
Fostered March 13 - March 16

Gracie was our first foster. They wanted to give me an easy one, and she fit the bill.

She was 9 months old, and had already been adopted and returned to the shelter twice. The first time was because the owners moved and didn't take her with them, and the second had her for a couple of days and returned her because she peed in the house. Riiiight...that's what puppies do until they know better.

Anyway, her time with us was short for a number of reasons. Just a few days after we first got her, a potential adopter wanted to meet her. I took her to the shelter, and was told with certainty that she would be adopted to this family, so they gave me foster #2. However, those folks didn't adopt Gracie, but she went to stay with her former foster parents for two weeks, until she finally did get adopted by an awesome family (who oddly enough had 2 beagle/whippet mixes in the past)! Let's hope third time's a charm for Gracie!

*****

Buck, Sheltie/Corgi/? mix, 2 years old
Fostered March 16 - April 3

Oh sweet Buckley...I loved this boy. He was brought into the shelter as a stray, and was an absolute nightmare at the shelter. He was so scared, there's no way he ever would have shown well there. He was a pretty shy boy, but after seeing Lizzi and Rocco, he warmed up quickly.

I had heard that the first foster was hardest (long term foster at least...Gracie was in and out so quickly), and it was so true. My 'downfall' was treating him too much like he was a new member of my family, rather than a temporary resident. We only had him for three weeks, but my stomach sank when I got the call that a family wanted to meet him. What home could be better than ours?

The shelter said "a man is interested in meeting Buck." Here's what went through my psycho head: "What kind of man wants a 10 pound dog? What the hell is he going to do with him? Is he going to use him as a bait dog for his fighting dogs? Okay...that's silly...who would pay $100 for a bait dog? But he's just not a 'manly' dog...what kind of man would seek him out?" Yes, I realize I was being judgmental, but hey - it's what I was thinking.

Turns out that it was an awesome family who fell in love with his picture on Petfinder.com. They used to show Corgis, had rescued a beagle the year before, and were looking for another dog. Buck is now very happy in his new home, and is definitely the husband's dog. :)

*****

Jack and Diane (AKA little ditties)
Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mixes, 1 year old
Diane - fostered May 1 - May 8
Jack - fostered May 1 - May 25

We needed a little time off from fostering to emotionally heal after Buck was adopted. But then I got a call from the shelter asking if I wanted a foster. A cocker spaniel/poodle foster. "Sure," I said. "Why not?"

I get to the shelter, and Lindsey (one of the workers) says "So, there are some cocker spaniel/poodle mixes we need to get out of the shelter because they have snot nose." Some. That indicates more than one. I walked into their run, saw the two dogs completely intertwined, and didn't know how I could separate them. So I didn't. I just told Kyle I only loaded up one at the shelter...they must have multiplied in the car. He thought it was cool - perhaps they were kind of like Gremlins when you get them wet.

They were dropped off at the shelter by a man who 'found them wandering down the side of the road.' More than likely though, he got sick of them and wanted them gone without having to pay the relinquishment fee the shelter has.

Over the next few days, I realized how close these two were. I've seen dogs that were closely bonded, but it was nothing compared to these two. I so desperately wanted them to go together, but a week after we had them, an older woman adopted Diane, despite my best efforts to talk her out of it and a mini-fit I threw at the shelter (I had even rewritten the lyrics to Jack & Diane for their Petfinder page).

I was really afraid Jack wouldn't adjust, but he did. I just made it a requirement that he go to a home with another dog he could be friends with. A couple weeks later, a woman drove in from Kansas City with her German Shepherd/Poodle mix to meet him. She was awesome, they fell in love, and she adopted him that day.

*****

Ella, Maltese, 2 years old
Fostered June 1 - June 11

We picked Ella up, and she was so insane, they were convinced I'd bring her back the next day. She was another one that was magically found on the side of the road, with her litter mate, just wandering around. Whatever conditions she had been in were NOT good. She had a lot of hair loss (presumably from lying around in her own urine), and the hair she did have was matted down to her skin, which only led to a very terrible haircut from yours truly. She was in tact, and had likely had a litter, so I'm still curious if she was a puppy mill dog who was maybe unable to get pregnant.

She was definitely a bit on the high energy side, but after running around like a madwoman with Lizzi and Rocco, she really settled down just fine. I had such a little crush on her - she was like an all-white Lizzi. I attempted to get a coworker to adopt her (they were looking for another Yorkie, I told him she was a very rare, solid white Yorkie), but she didn't mesh well with his dog.

She had terrible crate anxiety. The first night, she barked for an hour and a half in her crate. The next night - 11:00 p.m. - 6:30 a.m., non-stop barking. After that, I broke down and let her sleep in bed with us. What's another 7 pound dog in the bed, right?

One day, a woman was at she shelter with her well behaved 8 & 14 year old daughters and wanted to meet Ella. We chatted, they seemed really great, but the mom was hesitant about dealing with her crate anxiety and wanted to take some time to think about it. During our conversation, another woman came into the shelter, and happened to have seen Ella's Petfinder profile. She had her 2 & 6 year old sons with her who had zero respect for Ella's personal space, and had a 30 pound dog they kept outside because she wouldn't take the time to train him not to jump on her children.

Guess which family she went home with.

(It was the second family). I was extremely pissed, because I felt that my opinion as the foster parent didn't matter. I get that they want (and need) to adopt as many animals as possible, but I am the one who is personally attached to these individual animals, and I want to feel comfortable with who they are going to.

I expressed my concerns, and fortunately the foster coordinator agreed with me. Didn't change the outcome for that potential adoption, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the future ones.

*****

Daphne (top) & Oliver (bottom), 8 weeks old
Fostered June 6 - June 15

These were a couple of crazy kitties we fostered until they got up to their adoption weight. CMHS has a policy that all animals have to be 8 weeks old and 2 pounds before they can be put up for adoption. They were just shy of the 2 pound mark, so we had to fatten them up.

It's been about 9 years since I've had a kitten, and holy hell I forgot how insane they are! For tiny little guys, they can do a heck of a lot of damage. Nothing too crazy - just large objects pushed off counters, entire rolls of toilet paper unrolled, etc.

As of today, they're back at the shelter, trying to con some poor sucker(s) into adopting them.

*****

Roxanne, Border Collie/Terrier Mix, 1 year old
Fostered June 15 - present

Roxanne is a crazy, crazy girl. Her owner dropped her off at the shelter because he's going into the Navy, and has no one who can take her.

She's super sweet, but oh-so-very high energy. She's absolutely fascinated by the cats - she would (and has) watch them for hours, even if they're just laying there. Rocco's not entirely in love with her, but that's pretty standard for him.

We've had her for just over a week, but she's been a little handful (though not her fault). She was perfect the first 4 days in the house - no accidents, crated fine, etc. Then one day, I came home from work to an unpleasant surprise in her crate. She went outside and shitsploded all over the yard (I think I just coined that word...like it?). Let's just say it was like nothing I had ever seen before.

I called the shelter, they asked me a few questions trying to rule out Parvo, and told me to keep an eye on her. Even though they ruled it out, I was convinced that Rocco and Lizzi were going to die from Parvo, which would have sucked a lot. Roxanne's bowels didn't really improve over the course of the next couple days, so she went back to the shelter as we went out of town for my friend Claire's wedding (originally she was going to come with us, and stay in the hotel with Lizzi and Rocco, but her poo issues nixed that plan). We picked her up yesterday, poo is now solid, and all around here are happy once again.

They don't know it yet, but when Todd & Angie get back from vacation, Roxanne is going to try and woo them into adopting her.