Jewels makes a return

This is a first for me. The family that adopted Jewels so happily in June wants to give her back. Apparently she's beating up their elderly Corgi and since he has seniority Jewels has to go. I tell them I'll gladly take her.

The whole family comes to give Jewels back. The little girl is especially upset. As she says goodbye she's sobbing. The family is truely upset about this, they've written a letter telling all the good things they know about Jewels. They've also included a stamped envelope and ask that I let their daughter know where Jewel ends up. By the time they leave I have tears in my eyes! Jewels sits by the fence for quite a while and watches them drive off.

Soon Jewels is playing with Patch and racing around the house. She's a great dog and I'm enjoying seeing her again. I hope this time I can find her a home that sticks.

I'm officially, offcial !

George's confidence seems to have grown by leaps and bounds. I think he feels better so he's become more active. His weight has dropped a little but he's still a portly gentleman.

I've agreed to take in another foster. They bring him over in the evening. I tried to close the dog door tight but as we lead Duke into the back yard the rest of the dogs come charging thru the door. George goes after Duke with a ferocity that amazes me! He's attacking Duke and won't let go. I wade into the fight and grab George. In the middle of all of this Duke bites me. He wasn't going after me but my leg was in the middle against all those teeth. The owner decides to take Duke back home with him. I feel terrible and am shocked at George.

I guess I'm official, I've bled for the Humane Society!

George's Makeover

We have a new volunteer with the Humane Society who is a dog groomer, she volunteers to take a look at George and see if she can get him evened out a little. I load George up and off we go.

Cathy takes one look at George and winces. While whoever tried to trim George before hacked all the hair off his back they left mats all over his tummy and butt. She also finds stickers embedded in George's fanny. Poor baby!


Cathy starts clipping George down and is shocked with the amount of dirt stuck in him. After the first clip we convince George to walk up the ramp and get in the tub. Wow! It's solid mud in the tub! It becomes apparent that Cathy is a perfectionist. She scrubs and scrubs and then spends 30 minutes blowing George dry. Just when I think we're in the home stretch she says he needs clipped again and then hand trimmed.To get all the stickers out of his tush Cathy has to clip him almost bald. George now has baboon butt! When we get done George is pewter colored with black spots! I think his top coat will grow back in glossy black but what a weird undercoat. It takes 3 hours but we leave with George looking odd but better and smelling great!

George

I'm at work and get a call about a dog that needs to be surrendered for his own safety. George lives on a bird farm, apparently some wild dogs have killed several birds and the owner is sure George was involved, he is planning on shooting George. The owner's sister in law has talked him out of the dog and wants to give him to me. She thinks there is no way George could have been involved.

After meeting George I think I agree with her. George has been in a pen for 3 years with unlimited access to crappy food. He's over weight and slow moving. He does however, like to mark everything! If George had anything to do with the dead birds it was probably peeing on them after they were dead. Poor George is also the victim of a terrible haircut, he looks like he was attacked by sheep shears. George hasn't been in a house in 3 years but seems to remember the rules. It's going to be a challenge to find a home for a 5 year old fat dog with a bad haircut but I'll try

Grizz lands on his...big sister?

I love to get follow up pics of my kiddos in their new homes. It looks like Grizz is in a good place and his big sis may have gotten more than she planned on!

Shayla gets recycled

Shayla has been with me for several weeks now. I originally took her in from a nurse I work with at the hospital. She's been featured on Petfinder and in the local paper but so far hasn't seemed to stir much interest. Finally after several weeks I get a call from a gentleman wanting to know more about her. When he asks me what her history is I start to explain where she came from, after a startled few seconds of silence the caller identifies himself. He also works at the hospital and I've talked to him many times on the phone!

M and his wife come down to take a look at Shayla and it's obvious after the first 5 minutes that she'll be going home with them. Mrs M gets in the car with Shayla as M fills out the paperwork. I take a look at the car and start laughing. Shayla is sitting in the driver's seat ready to go! A few days later I get an e mail from Mitch telling me how much his teenage son loves her. Good for Shayla!

Grizz's turn.

Right after Gracie pulls away I get a call from a girl who would like to come look at Grizz for her boyfriend. She doesn't seem to have very good listening skills. I tell her that I've had a couple of other calls for him too and that I'll be home after I get off at 5 if she'd like to come see him. She calls me at 3:15 to tell me she's on the way and will be at my house soon. I reply that while that's cool I won't be there until after 5! She finally understands and sets up to come ......after 5.

I'm never quite comfortable with potential adoptions like this. Young people who are living together are notoriously unstable homes for dogs. When the break up happens, what happens to the dog? She shows up 30 minutes late (not a good sign) in a surprisingly big, fancy, expensive car. It's obvious she's not that into Grizz but she keeps telling me how much her boyfriend wants him. I'm liking this less and less. She leaves saying that her boyfriend should be home when she gets there and she'll bring him by. I've got my fingers crossed something else happens first, I've never had to turn down an adopter yet but I don't have confidence in this one.

Within 15 minutes after girlfriend leaves I get a call from the J's in Rifle. They are looking for a rottie mix to keep they're 2 yr old rottie mix company after they've lost their older dog. I tell them I've had a couple of calls about Grizz and someone just left after looking at him. Mrs J is in a panic! They can't come until Wednesday and she doesn't want him to be gone, what can she do? I explain that she can pay the adoption fee thru PayPal. This will hold him and if she decides he's not for them I'll refund the money. She pays the fee within 5 minutes of hanging up.

Wednesday arrives and so do the J's. Again I'm spending my lunch hour adopting out dogs. I'm a little surprised when I meet the J's because they are older than I expected to be adopting a dog that's going to weigh 100lbs when he's done growing. They love him and bring out Sadie to meet him, she's not so sure but they're sure she'll warm up to him. Grizz seems happy to have someone to chew on. The paperwork is filled out and Grizz is on his way to Rifle. I'll miss those little (ok not so little) babies, but at last I can shampoo my carpet and have it stay clean!

Gracie gets twins!

I'm surprised the puppies have been here for over a week. I really expected them to be gone in a flash based on how cute they are. Monday I get a call from a lady who would like to look at my babies. She arranges to come by during my lunch hour and shows up with her 4 year old twin boys. One twin climbs right out ready to meet and greet, the other brother stays in the car and tries to hide when I talk to him.

I've brought both kiddos out in the yard to be looked over. Grizz immediately tries to tackle the little boy, while Gracie sits quietly and watches all the hub bub. After a few minutes I take Grizz inside and let them get up close and personal with Gracie. It's love, and Gracie has won herself some boys to grow up with. I think she will be great with them. My last Newfoundland grew up with Madison and it was a very special relationship.

Grizz is sitting in the house barking when I come back in. this is the first time he's been away from his sis and he's not liking it. As the day wears on Shayla seems to take him under her wing. She plays with him and lets him chew on her more than she ever has. I think she would be wonderful with a little boy or girl of her own.

Grizz and Gracie

I drop the other volunteers a note to let them know Piper is adopted, and I mention how hard this one was. Carol, who's the official "puppy woman" for the DCHS calls and offers me a couple of puppies she's taken in that day. After work I head up to her house to pick up the new kids.

What a pair of cuties! They're lab/rottie crosses. These two have been passed around from one place to another until someone's mother finally brings them to us. At 14 weeks they don't even have names! After the ride home I decide to name the boy Grizz. He has more of a rottie head and the rottie eyebrows. I'd like to give the girl a bear name too but the only thing I can come up with is Charmin and that seems like a crappy name for a sweet puppy, so Gracie she becomes.

It's been awhile since I've had a puppy in the house. I'm loving everything about it, the clumsy galumphing around the house, the puppy breath, the all out playing followed by the all out napping. Ok, there's one thing I'm not enjoying, I swear these puppies poop more than any other puppy I've ever met. The house training is going slowly, Grizz and Gracie are together all the time, by the time you smell the problem they're both sitting there smiling at you. Who do you scold? I'm sure they've worked out this plan ahead of time!

Grizz may look more like a lab but he sure acts like a lab! His favorite position to take a nap in is with his chin on the edge of the water bowl. Every now and then he'll wake up, take a paw and KERSPLOOSH splash water all over. He's almost always wet from sitting in the kiddie pool. I wish I could of gotten a picture of he and Gracie sitting there side by side. My oldest daughter Sierra works as a life guard at the rec center. One evening after she comes home from work I ask her to keep an eye on the puppies for a bit. They seem to catch a second wind at about 9pm, unfortunately I don't! After a few minutes Sierra comes into my room. "Look" she says, "It's bad enough I have to save drowning people at work, but then I have to come home and save a drowning dog?" It seems Grizz has tried to get a drink out of the toilet and over balanced. He's fallen in head first and can't get himself back out. Sierra yanks him out. thank goodness she was there, it would have broken my heart to find a drowned puppy in the toilet. Sounds funny tho doesn't it?

Piper leaves me

I knew there would be dogs that touched me more than most. Piper has become one of those fosters. She sleeps on my bed every night and is a perfect lady about it. No bed hogging, no snoring and no kicking. Pi has even decided it's worth not chasing the cat and sharing the bed with Kitty if it means she gets to stay there too. During the day it's game on if Kitty wanders thru the room but as bedtime approaches an overnight truce is declared.

Piper is the Humane Society's featured pet in one of the local newspapers. With 24 hours I've gotten 6 calls about her, one from as far away as Colorado Springs! One couple in particular are anxious to meet her and come to the house on Thursday after seeing her in the paper on Wednesday. As per my usual practice I take Pi out in the yard by herself to meet and greet, it's just so much calmer that way. When the D's pull up the first words out of Mrs D's mouth is...."Oh this is a good dog!" She hasn't even talked to her yet. I tend to agree but wonder just how she can tell so fast. Within 15 minutes Piper is officially theirs, she calmly climbs in the back seat and prepares to leave. I'll admit it, I'm a little teary. I give her a last kiss on the nose and wave goodbye.

I'm feeling pretty blue after Piper leaves. I call Madison, who's still at her Dad's and tell her Piper is gone and I'm sad. She repeats to me, almost verbatim my lecture on why we do this. On this she listens?

Dead Time

The veteran volunteers kept telling me this was coming. It's been a couple of weeks and I haven't had one serious inquiry about the dogs. I guess I'd gotten spoiled by how easily and quickly the first several fosters were adopted. I did have one e mail about Shayla, I didn't recognize the town they said they were in. They're in Michigan! I write back and tell them all of Shayla's fine attributes, I finish the letter with, "You do realize I'm in Colorado?". It's the last I hear from them.

Much as I enjoy Shayla, Lola does not. This is the first foster that Lola has had a problem with. When I walk in the door at the end of the day both dogs want to be the first to greet me and the closest to me. The end result is always a fight that sounds so much worse than it really is. I've tried several different mediation techniques but so far I haven't figured out how to get both of them to stop this. In the beginning Shayla was the instigator but I can see that Lola has become the bully now. I keep threatening to put her up on Petfinder but I know she doesn't believe me. I've told you how smart she is haven't I?

I continue to be amazed that someone let Piper go.Whenever I come home I yell out "Hi Pi!!!" and she gives me a toothy smile. How could someone give that up? When I take her to the vet to have her checkup he tells me she's even younger than I thought, maybe 1 1/2. She's also been spayed in the not too distant past. Why spend the money to do that and then just dump her and not look for her? Piper loves to sleep on the bed with me. She'll paw at the covers until I stick one of my hands out, then she licks it a few times and rests her chin in my palm. Content, Piper drifts off to sleep.

Tonight is the 4th of July fireworks show. With all the kids out of town and 3 foster dogs in the house I'll be staying home. I'm hoping that none of them will have a problem with the noise. My small dog Duffy is terrified and I'll be giving him some herbal calming drops that really seem to work for him. Gee I hope that after the holiday people start thinking about adopting again!

Shayla

One of the nurses I work with has been talking to me about Shayla for the past week. Shayla is 1 and is left home alone almost all the time. I tell her that I'll happily take Shayla and find her a new home. After several days of debate Shayla comes to stay.

I've been told Shayla is a Great Pyrenees, German Shepard and Border Collie mix. Once she gets to my house I'm surprised. She's not nearly as big as I expected her to be. There are a few tearful goodbyes and then Shayla comes in to meet the gang.This is the first time I've been up to 5 dogs, my two and 3 fosters. It's a wild whirl of dogs as everyone meets and greets. We have a few raised hackles but for the most part things go well.

Patch is in love! He adores Shayla and follows her around barking at her. He still only has one volume, super loud. Shayla tries to growl at him a few times to tell him she's had enough but because he can't hear her he misses the cues. He gets a few nips on the nose before he learns the signals. Soon they're laying on the couch together cuddled up. Patch has fallen for a blond, as a brunette I think I resent this.

Piper has been officially listed on Petfinder and today Shayla goes up too. It's kind of a fun challenge to write the ad so that people get a view of the dogs personality and are interested. I've listed Piper as a mystery lady and Shayla as a beautiful blond. We'll see how it works.

Freddie Finds His Forever Home

It's Tuesday when I get a phone call from one of the other families that were interested in Freddie. She'd like to know if Freddie was adopted, I tell her not yet and she whoops with joy and almost yells at me, "We want him! We'll be there tonight!" They've decided to adopt both Freddie and a chocolate lab mix Lilly that Carol has. Two puppies at the same time, these people are brave!

That evening they get to my house and everyone is dancing with joy. Their little boy, Mom and most of all Freddie. After a few minutes to do paperwork Freddie follows them to the truck with his tail wagging, ready to go. They tell me that if he rides well in the truck the gentleman might take him on the road with him occasionally as he drives his semi. I think Freddie would love that! The next day I get a call from the first family. They're disappointed that Freddie is no longer available. I guess it goes to show...you snooze you loose.

We've continued to get to know Piper. I chose her name, I don't know whether she's incredibly smart or I just happened to chose something close to her old name. I continue to be baffled that no one seems to be looking for her.

It's Logan's turn to fall in love with a foster. He's home for the weekend again and gets to meet Piper for the first time. When Logan settles on the couch Piper jumps up beside him, pushes her way under his arm and lays her head on his shoulder with a big sigh. While Logan gushes about how cool she is Piper just snuggles in. Once again we have to have "the talk".

Here and Gone

Sunday morning I receive a call from the family that looked at Freddie multiple times at the Pick-A-Pet. They'd like to know if they can come by and look at him again. We set up a time to meet and I give them directions. In the meantime Sierra has fallen in love with Freddie. He's a funny looking little boy with red short hair and a face that has twice as much skin on it as it should. This gives Freddie lots of interesting wrinkles on his face that shift as he turns his head. Most of the time he looks slightly worried.

Sierra has decided that SHE wants to adopt Freddie and offers to pay the $50.00 to make it official. I point out that she won't be able to have him next year in her college apartment. Sure I can keep him but by then he'll be almost 2 and will have spent most of his life with me. This is the same discussion I had to have with Madi. Much as we love the dogs we can't keep them. It's our job to find them their forever home. The fun is you never know who the next dog to come around the corner is going to be.

Freddie's perspective family show up and spend an hour waffling over what to do. They're in the area camping and won't be going home for another few days. Finally they decided to NOT decide and think about it some more. I've been worried about Annie and I'm planning on calling her new owner to find out how she's doing. Before I get the chance, he calls me. He tells me Annie is doing well but wants to know what kind of food she eats. She hasn't eaten the food he offered but she has eaten pizza crusts, cottage cheese, hot dogs and hoof trimmings from a visit to the horse corral. I teasingly tell him that if she's getting all that stuff why would she want to eat plain dog food?
I'm so relieved she seems to be adjusting well!

Pick-A-Pet

Every month during the warmer seasons we hold an adoption event at a local store. This will be the first one I've attended as a foster mom and I want to be sure my kiddos do me proud. I'll be taking Patch and Annie, Piper is still just beginning her two week hold time. I'm fairly certain that a special needs dog like Patch won't get adopted, and I'm not sure I want him to be. Patch is not a dog for a spur of the moment decision. He's going to take time and a commitment to working with him every day. I would rather keep him for the rest of his life than send him to a home that sticks him in the yard and ignores him again because he's too much work.

The night before the event I give Annie a bath. She's less than thrilled but comes out soft and smelling wonderful. We get up Saturday morning, the dogs eat breakfast and we get ready to go. I hook both Patch and Annie up to leashes and head out the front door to load them up in the car. Patch seems to enjoy riding in cars but for some reason doesn't like to get in and today is no different. While I'm bodily shoving Patch's butt into the back seat Annie pulls back on her leash and manages to slip her collar. Great! This ought to be fun!

Annie starts to run in big loops around the front yard. I'm trying to call her back to me and she seems to think it's all a game. She ducks thru the hedges and runs into the old biddy next doors front yard. Just what I need, this lady hates dogs and has hated us since the day we moved in. A few years ago she even called the dog police and told them my elderly Newfoundland had jumped over the 6 ft wood fence and pooped in her yard! She admitted she didn't actually see him, but she knew it was him! Thank goodness the animal control officer knew me and had a solid sense of reality.

Annie has now run between the houses and is running laps in the old ladies back yard. I'm having visions of said old lady stepping out her back door with a shot gun and starting to blast away. Finally I convince Annie to come back and put her in the back seat with Patch, who is panting like a freight train because he's been locked in a car with no windows down for 10 minutes. Wonderful, we're going to be late AND I'll get to smell like dog breath all day! We've hit the highway and are cruising along, Patch has his head out the window and seems to be enjoying the wind blowing his ears back, he's got a big smile on his face. No sooner has the thought "I hope he doesn't decide to go out the window" cross my mind then I look back and see Patch trying to do just that. He's got one front leg out the window and is trying to push off the arm rest with his back legs. Suddenly I'm slamming on the brakes, swerving towards the side of the road and grabbing Patch's collar and yanking for all I'm worth. I get him all the way back inside and roll the window up so there's only a few inches of space.

It's a nice day and there seems to be a steady flow of people stopping to look at the dogs. Because Carol had a prior commitment today my two kiddos are the only dogs being offered. Several people seem fascinated with Patch but as I suspected no one is ready to take the challenge. Soon an older gentlemen and his two grandkids stop and decide to adopt Annie.

I'm a little torn over this adoption. I'm glad Annie has found a home, but I'm concerned because the gentlemen seems a little gruff and Annie needs a gentle touch. I do my best to give him a detailed description of her personality, probably far more than he actually cared to know. We're only half way thru the morning so the decision is made to head out to Carol's and pick up one of her puppies, Freddie to show for the rest of the morning.

Freddie is an instant hit. A man and two kids on bikes stop by and look at him then leave. Soon the man and the kids father are back on bikes to look at Freddie. Next it's the mother and one of the kids....all of them love him but are undecided if they are ready for a new dog as they've just had to return theirs because it bit someone. by the end of the morning I have the mom and her two kids walking Freddie around on a leash. At the same time I have two other families that want to look at him. Wow...Freddie has a waitlist!

Piper the Mystery Lady

We joke that Piper turned herself into foster care. She just showed up in the front yard one evening with no collar, standing outside the fence looking like she wanted to come in. This foster home has an open door policy....so come in she did!

I don't know much about Piper, she seems like a very sweet lady. Because she's a foundling I'm required to hold on to her for two weeks before I can post her for adoption. This will give anyone looking for her a chance to find her before we place her in a new home.

The few times I've lost a dog in my life I've been heartsick until they were found and came home. It's become apparent that no one is looking for Piper and it just baffles me and breaks my heart. This is a sweet, sweet dog! Piper knows sit, stay, down, shake and is a lady on a leash. I can't find one bad habit.

My faith in my rapport with canines is shown once more on the first night Piper is here. Because I don't know much about her I decide to keep her outside in the kennel for the night. I make sure the dog house is turned so the wind isn't blowing inside and that there's a nice cozy blanket inside. Piper doesn't want to go in but I convince her, tell her good night and head inside.

A short time later I'm sitting in my cozy bed reading and I can hear Piper barking. I decide to leave her for a while to see if she settles down. Soon the barking changes to a very strange howling whine. After a couple of minutes of this I decide I better go check on her and bring her in. My neighbors have all been very nice about the foster home, but I don't want to push it!

I realize as I head out into the backyard that I don't have a flashlight that works. Start a Wal-Mart list! As I round the corner of the garage I can suddenly see what the problem is. Piper, by standing on top of the dog house has managed to wedge herself into a hole where the chain link is not attached to the top rail. She's got her front half thru but is stuck and panicking. I immediately run over and start trying to either push her back thru the hole or pull her the rest of the way out. She seems to be firmly wedged. Thank God I'd bought a pair of wire cutters just a couple of days before to fix a hole in the fence. I get the cutters and widen the hole, it's then that I find that Pipers collar is also hung up on another piece of wire. Poor Baby, the whole time I've been trying to pull her out I've also been choking her and she hasn't said a word! I finally manage to get her free and carry her in the house. She's exhausted and falls asleep, I'm scared that she's passing out so for a few minutes I wake her up just to make sure all is well. She licks my hand and seems to be trying to reassure me that things are fine.

It's only later as I'm laying in bed still trying to calm down that I happen to think, "What would have happened if Piper had been a mean dog?" She was scared, hurt and stuck. Here I was trying to pull her out of a fence that was over my head. My face was right there by hers. Thank God for protecting fools that rush in.

We soon discover Piper's special secret. She smiles! The first few times she graces us with a grin Sierra and I look at her closely and try to decide if she's baring her teeth at us. Soon enough we notice that not just her tail but her entire back end is wagging and she's got a big grin on her face. The few times I've had to scold her she sits with her head ducked a little and sheepishly gives me the smile. How can you be mad at that? And how could anyone ever give this dog up?

Patch Blossoming

This has to be one of the most fulfilling things about being a foster mom. Patch is absolutely thriving. When Patch came to us he had never had the opportunity to interact with other dogs. At first Patch had no idea how to play with other dogs, he tended to stand back and watch the action. Slowly he started to participate.

My son Logan has come home for the weekend after graduating from college. He's grown up around huge dogs and is comfortable getting physical with them. Patch is not a small boy, he weighs 65lbs and is solid muscle.

One evening Logan is playing with Patch in the living room. He's roughhousing, pushing and playing. Patch is having a blast and is romping around with his tail wagging to beat the band and a big smile on his face. All of the sudden he barks! This is a first for Patch, he's never made any noise other than the "screaming monkey" sounds his owner complained about. Patch's bark is almost more like a roar, I don't know who's more excited Patch or us. Patch obviously can't hear himself barking but I believe he can feel the vibrations because he starts bouncing around the living room barking his head off.

This becomes a daily routine for Patch. He has gone from standing back watching the other dogs playing to instigating the mayhem. I don't know if Patch is loud due to his deafness or his size, but boy can he rock the house! I don't have the heart to make him be quiet when he gets going because he's so happy. The other dogs? Not so much....they all tend to flinch once he gets going.

Patch is also learning signs. So far we perfected sit, come and good boy. Responding to the No sign is a hit or miss thing, it depends on his mood. When I started reading about teaching deaf dogs one of the jokes was that soon you start using the good boy (thumbs up) sign to co-workers and kids. Thursday I got stopped by the Highway Patrol. I admit to the officer that I was speeding and I just wasn't paying attention. The officer kindly decided to give me a warning...and I find myself giving him the good boy sign! How embarassing!

Rejection

I get a call from a family that's interested in meeting Annie, they explain that they have another Shepard mix that they adopted from a Humane society who has a very similar personality. Both the husband and wife are on extensions of the phone and ask me many very specific questions. I try to give them a good understanding of Annie's confidence issues and how much progress I feel she's made. They then e mail me a picture of their dog and set up a meet and greet.

The next day the whole family turns out to meet Annie. They bring not only their black Shepard but also their 2 , 4 and 11 yr old. The dogs give each other a through sniff test and seem to agree that they kinda like each other. They spend 45 minutes with Annie, the mother in particular is very careful to check all of Annie's potential triggers. She pulls Annie's ears, plays with her feet, rubs her tummy. The 4 year old even walks Annie around the yard with a leash and she is a perfect lady. The only time she even flinches is when the 2 yr old smacks the 4 yr old across the face with a stick he found. The 4 yr old is screaming the 2 yr old is crying because he got in trouble and Annie comes and leans on me looking worried.

The family leaves telling me they need to have a family meeting and vote on taking Annie. I'm feeling pretty good about the adoption, Annie was awesome and they seemed to like her. I figure I'll be getting a call tomorrow setting up a time to pick Annie up.

This is horrible! 2 days have gone by and nothing! No call, no e-mail. You know when you go out on a first date with someone? You're digging him, he seems to be digging you....he gets your jokes, loves your stories and compliments your smile and then..........nothing! I think this rejection of Annie hurts worse, can't these people see how special she is? I finally pacify myself by deciding that they were obviously too stupid to appreciate all of Annie's qualities.

Annie Moves In

Annie is such a gentle soul. She wants so badly for you to love her but is scared and scarred. One of the things I know about myself is I've always had a soft spot for the wounded. It's applies to both animals and people. Yep, I learned the hard way to not let this shade whom I date!

Annie loves to be rubbed, she will crawl up on the couch or the bed and lay with her head in your lap. She is so soft and her ears are like velvet. We start to have "self esteem" sessions. Annie will sit and stare into my eyes and I'll touch her all over her face and ears telling her what a good girl she is. I try very hard not to raise my voice around her but have to finally get stern about chasing the cats. Annie cringes but seems to get over it.

I find quickly Annie loves shoes, especially my flip flops. I quickly lose 4 different sandals. Of course none of these shoes are from the same pair! I blame Annie for the first shoe but after that I'll take the blame. It's my fault for not remembering to shut my bedroom door. Thank goodness she doesn't seem to have a taste for expensive shoes!

As the days go by Annie becomes more confident in our home. She has quickly learned how to sit for a dog cookie. I don't know whether I've been very lucky or whether the other dogs are doing the teaching, but I've still had no accidents in the house.

At this point I have 4 dogs in the house. Walking them all at the same time is an adventure! One Sunday morning I'm out with all four dogs and the leash comes unclipped from Annie's collar. The other 3 dogs immediately go wild and start pulling in 45 different directions. Annie gets scared and runs off behind a house. I start to chase her but it becomes obvious that holding onto 3 crazy dogs and trying to make them all go in the same direction to find Annie is not going to work. The dogs pull me down over a sidewalk. I sit, look at my bruised, bleeding knee and come to the realization that I'm not going to be able to catch her. It's bad enough to lose one of my own dogs...but it feels so much worse to lose a foster. As I sit there bleeding and frustrated Annie quietly walks up behind me and sticks her nose in my ear. Thank you Annie!

Annie

Annie came to Carol's foster home as a new mom. She was skin and bones and had been dumped in a field with her 9, 1 week old fat butterball puppies. It was obvious that someone had not been kind to Annie, but Carol was amazed at how gentle she was and how she let Carol handle both the puppies and her. When they were old enough Carol found new homes for the puppies. By this time she had managed to fatten Annie up a little and found her a home also. She warned the new owners about Annie's past and her fear and hoped that things would work well.

When I arrived at Carol's that day to pick up another dog Annie had been back for a week. She had seemed to be adjusting well to her new home, but after getting caught chewing on the furniture for the second time the man smacked her on the fanny and yelled at her. Annie immediately went and hid under the porch and wouldn't come out for a week. The owners felt terrible and took all the blame but felt that Annie would be better off in another home.

Carol admitted she had a soft spot for Annie, if she had room she would adopt her. She thought that Annie might do better being in a foster home where she had more contact with people and was allowed in the house. I went into her run and introduced myself quietly to Annie. After a couple of minutes she was letting me scratch her ears. Soon Madison and I get her loaded in the back seat and head for home.

Annie is very nervous and is panting rapidly. She's not really interested in the open window but shoves her way up between the front seats so she can lean on us. We're about 5 miles from home when Annie suddenly throws up in Madi's lap. While I found this funny, Madi decidedly did not!

Jewels Goes Home

Each week Petfinder sends us a report on how often each of our dogs and cats are viewed. Jewels has been the most popular dog for the last several weeks. I've answered 5 different e-mail queries on Jewels but so far nothing has come from them. Carol has told me to expect this. I feel it's very important that anyone interested in any of my dogs has a good understanding of the dogs personalities before they decide to give them a home. I do my best to not only tell the good points but also point out any personality traits that might be an issue. Jewels is a sweet cuddly girl, but she hates to be home alone.

Finally I receive a call on Jewels, they ask if they can come meet her and bring their other dog along. I give them directions and get ready for the visit. I've found that it works better if I take the dog being looked at out into the front yard and away from the rest of the barking fools. As we stand in the front yard I can see Lola and Duffy standing on the couch, looking out the front window howling. I usually find this funny (except in the middle of the night!) but tonight I'm a little embarrassed. Patch is in the backyard trying to figure out how to get over the fence to join the fun. His ex owners had told me he screamed like a monkey, this is the first time I've actually experienced it.

The K family has brought their Corgi with them to meet Jewels. They tell me that he doesn't really like most other dogs but he seems to treat Jewels with indifference and they see this as a positive sign. The family has 4 children and they home school them so someone is almost always home. This seems like a perfect match! They fill out the adoption form, let us take a picture of the new family for our newsletter and load Jewels up in the car. As always I stress to them that if they feel things aren't working out for any reason I'll take Jewels back.

I'm down to one foster dog again! Off to the country to get another kiddo from Carol. I sure hope that all this mileage will be a tax deduction at the end of the year.

Three and a half senses

In my research into deaf dogs I'd found that they can sleep through almost anything. Patch is no different. They suggest that you put your hand in front of the dogs nose and let him get the smell of you so he will wake up. Many deaf dogs have a tendency to snap when startled. The first day Patch is with us I take this to heart and stick my hand in front of his nose and talk to him to wake him. Look, I know that he's deaf but I still find myself talking to him almost all the time. I suppose in the interest of total honesty I should admit I talk almost all the time to everyone so Patch is treated no differently.

I'm bent over waving my hand in front of Patch's nose trying to get him to wake up...nothing. Soon I start to touch his shoulder gently as I continue to talk to him. Still nothing...how hard does this dog sleep? I can see he's still breathing! Finally I shake him, the whole time my voice has continued to get louder with each attempt. As I've said, I can't help it! After a couple of shakes Patch jumps straight up in the air like I've poked him with a sharp stick. So many of the traits I've read about deaf dogs apply so well to Patch, thank goodness he chose a different path on the snapping. Patch doesn't just sleep hard, he sleeps like the dead.

I find that Patch walks well on a leash. For the most part he doesn't pull, he likes to walk beside you and keep you in his peripheral vision. He's a joy to walk, other dogs bark at him, he doesn't notice. Someone is mowing the lawn, he just keeps up a steady pace. Because Patch is down a couple of senses he spends a lot of time living in his sense of smell. Sierra comes home while he's asleep, comes into the room to talk to me and then goes to her room. As soon as Patch wakes up he notices someone has walked thru and follows the trail back to Sierra. Occasionally on a walk he'll pick up a trail and take off to follow. I find he also likes to taste me. He'll come to me and gently hold my arm in his mouth. He also gives actual smoochy kisses. I'm already very attached to this amazing guy. It's going to take someone special for me to agree to him leaving.

Patch

Patch was my very first special needs dog. I had known Patch for a couple of years and had always felt horrible about his situation. Born deaf and blind in one eye, Patch had spent his life chained up in a back yard with very little stimulation and interaction. His owners complained that he got too excited whenever they went out back to see him so they just left him alone. Even with all of his special needs Patch was still an Australian Shepard and needed to be challenged. When I had confirmation that he was going to be surrendered to me soon I started doing research on the best way to deal with a deaf dog.

There is a wealth of information on the web about training deaf dogs. I knew from the start that regular sign language wasn't going to work. Patch is blind in one eye, his other eye is blue and has what's called a starburst pupil. It's very difficult to tell if he's focusing on you or not. I decided that I was going to have to make the signs I taught him loud (i.e. big).

When I made the decision to do foster care the first purchase I made was a dog door. This door fits into the patio door as an insert and allows the dogs to come in and out at will. It can be closed if you want to block traffic for a bit. Patch learned the door quickly, this was a dog that had never been allowed in the house and yet he to this day has never had an accident in the house. Ok there was the marking incident with the recliner, but once I made it clear that this was not a good thing he hasn't tried again. It's funny, I know the dog is deaf but first instinct is to yell NO at the top of your lungs when you see him lift his leg. He doesn't care.

The first night Patch is with us he finds a way out of the backyard and goes missing. I drive around for an hour and a half looking for him. How do you find a deaf dog? You can't call him. Best scenario is you get in front of him and get him to come to you. I stopped to ask a couple of teenagers if they'd seen him running around. They said no but they would keep an eye opened for him. They then asked his name, "Call him whatever you'd like" I reply, "He can't hear you anyway!"

Finally I get pulled over by the police for driving slowly in circles and making turns without a signal. When I first found Patch gone I called the police dispatcher and asked him to please tell the officers on duty to watch for him. It became obvious quickly that this hadn't happened. The officer that stopped me had no idea what I was talking about. When the 2nd officer arrived for back-up (this is a small town after all and they don't have a lot to do most nights) he advised us that he had just heard the Highway Patrol radio in that they had picked up a dog in the middle of the highway matching Patch's description. I immediately go to the Animal Control lock up and pick Patch up. Both officers there comment on how sweet he is and are surprised when I tell them he's deaf. Thank God I found him.

Jewels

Many of the dogs that come to us have murky bloodlines. Most of the time we take a look and make our best guess based on traits we think we see. This is how Jewels go labeled a Lab/St Bernard mix.

When I first saw Jewels you could see where the St Bernard guess had come from. The coloring, especially the black around the eyes looked very Saintly. I expected her to be bigger than she was. At 9 months old she still probably has some growth left in her but not too much gain in height, Jewels was the size of a small lab.

Carol has been a volunteer with the Humane Society for many years. She's put together an amazing set up where each dog has their own run complete with a covered space that includes a heated dog igloo in winter and a box fan in the summer. Carol has also provided old furniture for each dog to lay (and sometimes chew) on. The dogs are happy, warm and dry. For the last several years Carol has also been the "Puppy Lady", she's the expert on taking in pregnant dogs, or young puppies. The one thing Carol is not totally comfortable with is bigger dogs. Retired and living alone and somewhat isolated Carol doesn't want to get knocked down and banged up, and who can blame her?

For the last 25 years I've had big, giant, humongous dogs. The list includes 2 Newfoundlands, a St Bernard and a Great Dane. When we got our first giant dog, a Newfoundland, the breeder very strongly told us. "This dog is going to outweigh you, you cannot let him win an argument or get away with misbehaving even once. You must ALWAYS win every dispute". I took this to heart and have applied it ever since that day. I love big dogs and have no problem being the boss. I think this is actually a testament to how dang stubborn I am over me being a great dog trainer.

Jewels came to me because she was a larger dog and from the beginning she fit right in. By the time we were halfway home on the drive back she had her head resting on the console between the 2 front seats and was snoring loudly. She made herself at home in the house too, climbing right up on the sofa and going back to sleep. Jewels only fault was she did not like to be alone. She would began barking and not quit until you returned. I was between 9-5 gigs at the time so this worked out well for both of us. She liked to try to get the ball when I tossed it but OCD Lola was just a couple of steps faster and usually won.

By now my older daughter Sierra (now 19) was home from college for the summer. Sierra immediately begin a campaign to have us keep Jewels who had begun sleeping with Sierra on her bed. I understood the feeling, Jewels was a very sweet lovable dog but I tried to explain to Sierra that's not what we signed up to do. Our job is to find forever homes for these dogs and that way they're in a great place and we get new dogs.

2 for 2

All of our animals in the Humane Society are posted on Petfinder.com. What an amazing site this is! It lets us post pictures and descriptions of our cats and dogs and lets people search by area, animal, breed etc. Most of our adoptions actually come from people looking on this site. It's amazing how far some people will drive to adopt the "right dog".

I've had Oreo for one day when I get a call on him. The gentleman works on an organic farm that has a herd of 25 sheep and would like a dog he could train to be a good farm dog. I give him directions and tell him Oreo sounds like a great fit. A few hours later J shows up and it's official. Oreo has a new home with sheep! He also has a new name, Oreo just won't do for a 20 something's farm dog. Oreo becomes Tavoc and gives me one last lick as he heads out the door.

Wow 2 days and 2 dogs. I'm doing so well now I'm down to no dogs again! I call Carol and we agree that I'll drive out to her place in the country and pick up one of her fosters. Madison (my 15 year old) decides to tag along and away we go.

Oreo

Oreo has arrived , and makes sure everyone knows it! He is true to both his breeds, this dog has more energy than any other dog I've ever met and that's really saying something based on my Lola's energy (That's her in the background making sure Oreo isn't after her ball!)

I admit it, I've raised an Obsessive, Compulsive dog. Lola is absolutely bonkers about tennis balls. She will fetch until she collapses from exhaustion and then as soon as she's recovered she'll be dropping a spitty ball in your lap to start all over again.I took her several times to the local dog park thinking she might enjoy running around with the other dogs. She just embarrassed her mom however, tearing around and stealing everyone else's tennis balls. Oreo has upped the stakes in the fetching game. He could care less about chasing a ball. He does love to chase Lola. Here is a dog that has never had any training and yet it takes him minutes to figure out that instead of running all the way to the end of the yard he can stop halfway and wait for Lola on her return trip. It's amazing to watch him hunker down, and fix intently on Lola running and then suddenly burst into action and try to herd her back to the porch. Lola now has to concentrate not only on "get the ball! get the ball!" but try to take evasive maneuvers while bringing it back.

My 3 veteran volunteers are impressed that I adopted out Zeke so quickly. I've broken the record for a rookie apparently. They do warn me that it's not always going to be so easy.

I'm official

Today I put up a sign on my fence County Humane Society Foster Facility, I guess that makes this whole adventure official.

The sign has only been up for a few hours when my doorbell rings. I find a somewhat nervous lady standing there. "I need to ask a stupid question" she starts out. "Do you take dogs?" She goes on to tell me about Oreo, the 7 month old border collie, blue heeler mix that they have. Oreo has too much energy and when they let him out of his kennel at the end of the day he chases the kids and bites at their heels. They were going to put him down on Saturday and she feels my sign going up was a God send.

You know on some level I knew that this happened but...what were these people thinking? You take a dog that's a mixture of two very high energy breeds, lock him up all day and then you're surprised when he's hyper when you let him out? Sure he's biting the kids ankles....duh...Blue Heeler? I tell her to bring Oreo by this evening and I'll gladly take him and find him a place that's a better fit. At this point Zeke ambles into the living room and leans against our legs when we talk. It's love at first sight with Zeke and Mrs. H. She wants to bring her husband and kids back with her tonight. I think I see a dog trade in the making!

Later that evening the whole family shows up. Mom, Dad and the two kids, along with Oreo on a knotted up rope. I put Oreo in the back yard to calm down the whole new dog meet and let them take a look at Zeke. The little boy wants to know if Zeke will lay next to him on the floor and let him pet him while he watches TV? I tell him that Zeke would absolutely love attention like that! Soon it's a done deal, Oreo stays and Zeke leaves with his new family. Wow, I've been at this 24 hours and have already made my first adoption!

Zeke

It's always baffled me why someone would get a dog and then chain it up in the backyard for years. Our dogs have always been members of the family and my foster home is no different. Many of the dogs that come thru have never actually been inside a house before. Some are scared to come thru the door into the house the first time they're invited. I'm continually amazed however, at how quickly they figure out the couch is comfy!

Zeke had spent all 6 years of his life chained to a tree. They threw food out the back door at him, when they thought about it. When they brought Zeke to one the volunteers, Carol, to surrender him it became obvious what kind of life Zeke had been living. The owners had a loud argument about how old he actually was and even though they had him from a puppy they didn't know if he had been neutered or not. Duh folks! It's pretty easy to tell!

Zeke came to me after he got back from his trip to the vet. (Yep those balls were still there) He was unsure about coming in the house, and a little insecure about being around my two dogs. Lola my black lab welcomed him without a second thought. Duffy my little mutt stayed true to his "small dog syndrome" ways. For the first couple of days he would sneak up behind Zeke and ankle bite him...it's just what he does.

Zeke proved himself to be a love sponge. For the first time in his life people were paying attention to him and he was soaking it up! He would lean against your leg and just groan as you scratched him. He figured out the dog door quickly and proved how smart he was by never having an accident in the house.

Wow this foster thing is easy, all I have to do is love on them and feed them.

A Trip to the Mutt House

The descent begins......

I've been single for several years now and have devoted the large majority of my energies to finishing raising my kids. In my life "mother" is a verb. As the years went by and the kiddos got older I found myself with more and more time on my hands. Ya know...I thought about foster care for kids, but I know myself and sending a child back into a situation I knew was bad would break my heart.

So I settled on foster care for dogs. I've always had dogs, when I went away to college it was the first time in my life I hadn't had a dog around. I actually caught myself "accidentally" dropping bites on the floor only to realize there was no dog down there! My reasoning was this...when a dog is surrendered to us there's no getting him back. He's mine and I get to find him a "forever home". I called the Humane Society and within a couple of days had my first furry kiddo.