Zoe Foster

Zoe - showing off her bad leg

Zoe is still here and probably will be as she has had no interest.  The rescue owner wants to have her leg amputated because she thinks she will get adopted that way.  I hate to have it done unless it is truly needed.  She walks and runs and jumps just fine with it.  I am thinking of taking her to my vet for a 2nd opinion, but will have to pay for it myself.  Zoe also is very jumpy and very mouthy.  I normally train my dogs with positive reinforcement, but that did not work for Zoe's biting so I am ashamed to say that I resorted to a nose tap and that is working much better. I know her behavior comes from being in the shelter her whole life until she came here. It is hard to get the pups that have been in the shelter for so long because they are so crazy. She is a smart little pup and has learned sit, down and touch quickly.  She has not mastered loose leash walking yet, but she is not a strong puller so walking her is not an issue.  I am trying to get her trained well in case she is not adopted and ends up staying here.  I actually have thought of keeping her,  but that would put an end to fostering as there is just not enough room in my house or money in my pocket for another dog.  It might be nice to have the same dogs in the house for a while and just be able to work with them.  Lexi and Lacey both need some training time too.  I will have to think on this.

Everyone Misses Whitley

It is very subdued at my house this morning.  I think all the other dogs are missing Whitley.  I know I am.  He went to a good home with a guy that will love him.  Way out in the country in an old farmhouse that needs a lot of work.  It is such a good place for Whitley.  He went crazy when we got there and was dragging me all over the place because there were so many good smells.  Then he went over to Will (his adopter) and sat down and they seemed to just bond.  It really was good. Will has been living alone for two years since his last dog died and really needed another dog.  I think they will make a great pair.

Fingers Crossed for Whitley

Whitley is one of my foster dogs.  He has been here almost eleven months now.  I have pretty much given up hope of finding him a home.  The poor guy has some issues - leash reactivity, fence fighting, pacing if he feels anxious, scared of loud noises.  It took me about eight of the eleven months to learn how to handle all his issues so everyone can live peacefully here.  All except the fence fighting - once he's engaged there is not much I can do until the dog on the other side of the fence is taken in.  Not a lot of adoptability here.  But ----- there is someone interested in him and I have explained all his issues and he is still interested.  Single guy - lives way out in the country in an old farmhouse - no other dogs.  This would be a good place for Whit and he so needs his own person.  I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying alot that this is his day!
I know I will cry if he gets adopted, but I know in my heart that he would be better off somewhere that has more space and isn't so noisy. That's another pitfall of fostering - getting attached.

Whitley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitfall of Fostering

Lucky Dog Rescue posted a blog about fosters backing out and sending dogs back to her.  I posted a comment and I thought I would write about it here. 

Fostering dogs is not always an easy thing to do.  I have had 17 dogs come through my house in the last 15 months.  Most of them have had intestinal infections. This is a lot of yucky cleanup for several days and a trip to the vet to see what is going on.  I have had all kinds of worms and coccidia. I have had to put my dogs on Interceptor year round because the worms are now in the soil in my yard and apparently can live for a long time.My carpet bit the dust late last fall and my kitchen floor is not far behind.  There are puppy teeth marks on most of my furniture.  I have had dogs with broken legs that required amputation and I have had puppies with severe mange that required long term treatment.  Last summer I had two pups that I agreed to take temporarily because they were becoming kennel crazy - they were not a lot of fun when they got here.  Add to that the underlying stress of always worrying about how this is affecting my own dogs and I can understand why some fosters send their dogs back to the rescues.  We have had it happen to our rescue.  Sometimes a dog is not safe around other dogs or children and they have to go back.  You never know what a dog is going to be like until you have it for several days. No one told me any of this when I started fostering, probably because no one would foster if they knew what was coming.  Some days I think I am insane for doing this.  And then I adopt out another dog to a great family and immediately e-mail the shelter that we pull from in the south and tell them I have an empty crate - send me a dog.  Not everyone is cut out for fostering - I am glad that I am.